''Prime Suspect 1973'' (also known as ''Prime Suspect: Tennison'') is a

British television Television broadcasts in the United Kingdom began in 1932, however, regular broadcasts would only begin four years later. Television began as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transm ...

detective drama series starring Stefanie Martini as the young Jane Tennison. It is a

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...

to the long-running ''

Prime Suspect ''Prime Suspect'' is a British police procedural television series devised by Lynda La Plante. Broadcast on ITV between 1991 and 2006, it stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater Lo ...

'' series that had starred

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (; born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov; 26 July 1945) is an English actor. With a career spanning over six decades of Helen Mirren on screen and stage, screen and stage, List of awards and nominations received by Helen Mirre ...

. The series debuted on ITV in the UK on 2 March 2017, comprising six episodes. On 21 June 2017, it was confirmed there would be no second series.

Synopsis

Set in Hackney, the series depicts 22-year-old Jane Tennison ( Stefanie Martini) as she begins her career as a woman police constable (WPC) in 1973 with the Metropolitan Police Service. At a time when women were beginning to be gradually integrated into the police force, Tennison has to deal with sexism, as well as difficulties in her home life, as her family disapprove of her career choice. Under the guidance of DI Len Bradfield ( Sam Reid), the naive and inexperienced Tennison assists in investigating the murder of a young runaway, Julie-Ann Collins. Meanwhile, criminal Clifford Bentley ( Alun Armstrong) is released from prison and, along with other members of his family, is planning a bank heist. Links to Collins's murder threaten to expose the Bentley family's plans.

Cast

Main cast

* Stefanie Martini as WPC Jane Tennison * Sam Reid as DI Len Bradfield * Blake Harrison as DS Spencer Gibbs * Alun Armstrong as Clifford Bentley *

Ruth Sheen Ruth Sheen is an English actress. From the late 1980s, she has appeared in British television shows, films and plays. A participant in the films of Mike Leigh, she won the European Film Award for Best Actress for her performance as Shirley in L ...

as Renee Bentley *

Jessica Gunning Jessica Faye Gunning (born 1 January 1986) is an English actress. She has appeared in the TV series '' White Heat'' (2012), '' What Remains'' (2013), ''Back'' (2017–2021), and '' The Outlaws'' (2021–2024). She received widespread critical a ...

as WPC Kath Morgan * Andrew Brooke as Sergeant Jim Harris

Supporting cast

* Nick Sidi as Andrew Tennison *

Geraldine Somerville Geraldine Margaret Agnew-Somerville (born 19 May 1967) is an Irish-British actress. She is known for her roles in the film ''Gosford Park'' (2001) and the ''Harry Potter'' film series as an adult Lily Potter (2001–2011). Her other roles ha ...

as Joyce Tennison *

Geoffrey Streatfeild Geoffrey Streatfeild (born 1975) is an English actor in film, television, stage and radio. Career His notable film and TV roles include '' The Other Boleyn Girl'' and '' Kinky Boots''. He also appeared in the Royal Shakespeare Company's "His ...

as George Collins * Nancy Carroll as Mary Collins * Rosie Day as Pam Tennison * Lex Shrapnel as John Bentley * Jay Taylor as David Bentley * Jacob James Beswick as Eddie Philips * Joshua Hill as DC Edwards * Daniel Ezra as DC Ashton *

Anthony Skordi Anthony George Skordi is a British-American actor. He is best known for his roles as Admiral Garrick Versio in ''Star Wars Battlefront II (2017 video game), Star Wars Battlefront II'', and The Dealer in the ''Hand of Fate (video game), Hand of F ...

as Silas Manatos * Tommy McDonnell as DC Hudson * Jordan Long as DS Lawrence

Episodes

Production

Development

The series is produced for ITV by Noho Film and Television, and was adapted by Glen Laker from the novel ''Tennison'', written by original series creator

Lynda La Plante Lynda Joy La Plante, CBE (née Titchmarsh; born 15 March 1943) is an English author, screenwriter and former actress often known for writing the '' Prime Suspect'' television crime series. In 2024 she was honoured with the Crime Writers' Asso ...

. Commissioned by ITV in June 2015 under the working title ''Tennison'', the series was set to be penned by LaPlante, who had also written the original ''Prime Suspect'' novels, and contributed to episodes of the long-running television series of the same name. The announcement of Martini as Jane Tennison, as well as further casting was announced in July 2016. In early 2016, La Plante pulled out of the project. ''

Vera Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarr ...

'' and '' Home Fires'' writer Glen Laker was drafted in to write the series.

Filming

Filming began in July 2016 in London.

Cancellation

In June 2017, ITV confirmed that the series had not been recommissioned, despite high ratings for the first series. The cause is reported to be creative differences between author Lynda LaPlante and ITV.

Broadcast

''Prime Suspect 1973'' first aired on 2 March 2017 on ITV. Internationally, broadcast under the title ''Prime Suspect: Tennison'', the series premiered in South Africa on 6 April 2017 on ITV Choice. The series premiered in the United States on 25 June 2017 on '' Masterpiece Mystery'' on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

, airing over three 90-minute instalments.

Reception

The series received mixed reviews from critics, achieving a 50% approval rating based on 12 reviews as aggregated on ''

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

''. Critics praised Stefanie Martini's performance and the period detail, in particular. Upon its broadcast in the United States, the ''Washington Post'' recommended it as "one of the best shows you’ll find on TV this summer", while the ''Los Angeles Times'' said that "''Tennison'' does not quite measure up to ''Prime Suspect.''" In contrast, ''Salon'' considered it fortunate that the series was forced into early retirement, and noted that this ''Tennison''

failed to focus on Tennison's character development with the same intensity as the "provocative... classic" original did with Helen Mirren's character.

References

External links

* {{Lynda La Plante 2017 British television series debuts 2017 British television series endings 2010s British crime television series 2010s British drama television series 2010s British television miniseries British crime drama television series British detective television series British English-language television shows ITV television dramas Prequel television series Television series by ITV Studios Television series set in 1973 Television shows set in London