Scandi noir is back, baby, and the latest offering to hit our screens is the Channel 4 drama Suspect.
Based on the Danish series Forhøret, the detective series boasts an all-star cast and is written by Matt Barker, whose work includes the Channel 4 drama Before We Die.
Is it worth a watch? We break it down for you.
What’s it about?
In typical crime drama fashion, the series follows a veteran detective – in this instance, Danny Frater, played by James Nesbitt.
Though Danny’s an old hand at the job, nothing prepares him for the day he turns up at a hospital mortuary for what he thinks is a routine murder. Instead, he finds the body of his estranged daughter Christina – and must work out who killed her.
So far, so dark. And over the course of the eight-episode series, we see Frater interview a different suspect each episode, before uncovering (presumably) the guilty party and what he’s going to do about it.
This is the latest high-profile drama for Irish actor Nesbitt, who has recently appeared in Bloodlands and via cameo in Line of Duty.
Given that every episode focusses on a new suspect, he has quite some digging to do – and is joined by Joely Richardson’s pathologist Jackie, who is convinced that Christina’s death is a suicide.
His suspects include Anne-Marie Duff as Danny’s ex-wife Susannah, Richard E Grant as business mogul Harry, Ben Miller as Danny’s former boss Richard and Sacha Dhawan as drug dealer Jaisal. Now that’s a line-up.
Where’s it set?
In London, naturally.
“Our idea was to see London through an unusual and different visual prism – this was the opposite of the ‘London from above’ branding of Apprentice-style shows. We wanted ‘London from below’,” executive producers Jo McGrath and Walter Iuzzolino have said.
“A slightly mysterious city, depleted of human life and traffic, with major landmark buildings only fleetingly appearing from below bridges, side streets, abandoned car parks etc. We wanted to capture the spirit of Edward Hopper paintings and transfer it into contemporary London, as we thought this would lend the city a palpable emotional quality."
What are the reviews saying?
The series has so far received mixed reviews, with many reviewers praising the cast but noting that the concept does veer into silliness at times – and that we may have hit peak Scandi drama remake. Is there such a thing?
Regardless, catch your fix of Suspect on Channel 4: it’s out now.
