Prime Suspect


Prime Suspect is a British police procedural television drama series devised by Lynda La Plante. It stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service, who rises to the rank of Detective Superintendent while confronting the institutionalised sexism that exists within the police force.

Plot

Prime Suspect focuses on a no-nonsense female Detective Chief Inspector, Jane Tennison, who is an officer in the Metropolitan Police, initially at the fictional Southampton Row police station.
The series follows her constant battles to prove herself in a male-dominated profession determined to see her fail, with the support of her boss, Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Kernan, and loyal Detective Sergeant Richard Haskons.
In later series, Tennison is reassigned to rotating duties, including a Vice Squad in Soho and a Gang Squad in Manchester. She is promoted to Detective Superintendent in series four, and retires from policing at the end of series seven.

Cast

Main

Concept and development

Themes

The first series features sexism in the workplace as a significant subplot and a barrier to the investigation. Sequels have tended to downplay this theme, relying on straight procedure or on other subplots, such as institutional racism in Prime Suspect 2 and child sexual abuse and prostitution in Prime Suspect 3, but continued to demonstrate the determination of male peers and the police upper echelon to see her fail.
Tennison's difficulty in achieving a balance between her work and her life outside the job and her difficulty in maintaining stable relationships are a recurring theme within the series. Toward the end of Prime Suspect 3 she arranges to have her pregnancy terminated. As the series progresses, she increasingly relies upon alcohol to help her cope; this culminates in the final episode of the series in her attending meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, where she finally acknowledges and confronts her addiction.

Setting

Prime Suspect is set mostly in London and the outer areas, with series five being set in Manchester.

Production

Each series of Prime Suspect follows a single case, and runs around 3½ hours, usually aired in two or four parts. Prime Suspect 4 is an exception at slightly over five hours, with three separate cases.
The first five series were produced annually from 1991 to 1995, until Mirren left the role, supposedly to avoid typecasting.
She returned to play the character in 2003, and again in 2006. Prime Suspect was produced by Granada Television for the ITV network. Series four through seven were co-produced by WGBH Boston for its Masterpiece Mystery anthology series.

Music

The first five series were scored by Academy Award-winning composer Stephen Warbeck, who was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for Prime Suspect series one.

Reception and impact

Prime Suspect was voted 68th in the list of 100 Greatest British Television Programmes as compiled by a poll given by the British Film Institute, and in 2007 it was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME." The series has won multiple BAFTA Awards, Emmy Awards, and a Peabody Award.

Awards and nominations

Prime Suspect won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Serial over G.B.H. in 1991. Afterwards, four of the seven voting members of the jury raised a discrepancy to jury chairperson Irene Shubik, and later signed a public statement declaring that they had voted for G.B.H. to win. BAFTA Chairman Richard Price stated that the ballot papers passed on to him by Shubik had shown four votes for Prime Suspect and three for G.B.H. Price claimed that the ballot papers could not be recounted as they had subsequently been destroyed. Prime Suspect won Best Drama Serial once more for series three, and was nominated four other times. The series won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries three times, and was nominated twice more.
Mirren has won three BAFTA TV Awards for Best Actress for the role, and has been nominated three other times. She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie twice, with four additional nominations.
Prime Suspect 3 was awarded a Peabody Award in 1993 for its realistic scenes and dialogue. Writer/creator Lynda La Plante received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for series one in the category of Best TV Feature or Miniseries. The following year, Allan Cubitt won in the same category for series two. Prime Suspect was later nominated for series three and six.
SeriesAwardCategoryNomineeResult
Series 1 BAFTA TV AwardBest TV ActressHelen Mirren
Series 1 BAFTA TV AwardBest TV ActressZoe Wanamaker
Series 1 BAFTA TV AwardBest TV ActorTom Bell
Series 1 BAFTA TV AwardBest Drama SerialChristopher Menaul, Lynda La Plante, Don Leaver
Series 1 BAFTA TV AwardBest Film or Video Editor – FictionEdward Mansell
Series 1 BAFTA TV AwardBest Film or Video Photography – FictionKen Morgan
Series 1 BAFTA TV AwardSound – FictionRay French, Brian Saunders, John Rutherford, Paul Griffiths-Davies
Series 1 BAFTA TV AwardDesignRoy Stonehouse
Series 1 BAFTA TV AwardOriginal Television MusicStephen Warbeck
Series 1 Edgar AwardBest TV Feature or MiniseriesLynda La Plante
Series 2 BAFTA TV AwardBest TV ActressHelen Mirren
Series 2 BAFTA TV AwardBest Drama SerialPaul Marcus, John Strickland, Allan Cubitt
Series 2 BAFTA TV AwardBest Film or Video Editor – FictionEdward Mansell
Series 2 BAFTA TV AwardSound – FictionNick Steer, John Rutherford, John Thomas, John Senior, Jaquie Ophir, John Whitworth
Series 2 Emmy AwardOutstanding MiniseriesSally Head, Paul Marcus
Series 2 Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or SpecialHelen Mirren
Series 2 Edgar AwardBest TV Feature or MiniseriesAllan Cubitt
Series 3 BAFTA TV AwardBest TV ActressHelen Mirren
Series 3 BAFTA TV AwardBest Drama SerialPaul Marcus, David Drury, Lynda La Plante
Series 3 BAFTA TV AwardBest Film or Video Editor – FictionEdward Mansell
Series 3 BAFTA TV AwardDesignChris Truelove
Series 3 Emmy AwardOutstanding MiniseriesSally Head, Paul Marcus
Series 3 Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or SpecialHelen Mirren
Series 3 Emmy AwardOutstanding Writing in a Miniseries or SpecialLynda La Plante
Series 3 Peabody Award
Series 3 Edgar AwardBest TV Feature or MiniseriesLynda La Plante
Series 4 BAFTA TV AwardBest ActressHelen Mirren
Series 4 BAFTA TV AwardDrama SeriesPaul Marcus
Series 4 BAFTA TV AwardPhotography and Lighting – FictionDavid Odd
Series 4 BAFTA TV AwardSound – Fiction/EntertainmentNick Steer, John Rutherford, John Senior, John Whitworth
Series 4 Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actress – MiniseriesHelen Mirren
Series 5 BAFTA TV AwardBest ActressHelen Mirren
Series 5 Emmy AwardOutstanding MiniseriesGub Neal, Rebecca Eaton, Lynn Horsford
Series 5 Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or SpecialHelen Mirren
Series 6 BAFTA TV AwardBest ActressHelen Mirren
Series 6 BAFTA TV AwardBest Drama SerialDavid Boulter, Peter Berry, Tom Hooper
Series 6 BAFTA TV AwardEditing – Fiction/EntertainmentSt John O’Rorke
Series 6 BAFTA TV AwardSound – Fiction/EntertainmentSimon Okin, Ben Baird, Nick Roberts
Series 6 Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or MovieHelen Mirren
Series 6 Emmy AwardOutstanding Miniseries or MovieDavid Boulter, Rebecca Eaton, Andy Harries
Series 6 Emmy AwardOutstanding Directing for a Miniseries Movie or a Dramatic SpecialTom Hooper
Series 6 Edgar AwardBest TV Feature or MiniseriesPeter Berry
Series 7 BAFTA TV AwardBest Original TV MusicNicholas Hooper
Series 7 BAFTA TV AwardBest WritingFrank Deasy
Series 7 BAFTA TV AwardEditing – Fiction/EntertainmentTrevor Waite
Series 7 BAFTA TV AwardBest Drama SerialAndrew Benson, Philip Martin, Frank Deasy, Andy Harries
Series 7 Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or MovieHelen Mirren
Series 7 Emmy AwardOutstanding Writing – Miniseries or MovieFrank Deasy
Series 7 Emmy AwardOutstanding Directing – Miniseries or MoviePhilip Martin
Series 7 Emmy AwardOutstanding Miniseries or MovieAndrew Benson, Philip Martin, Frank Deasy, Andy Harries
Series 7 Golden Globe AwardsBest Actress – Miniseries or Television FilmHelen Mirren
Series 7 Golden Globe AwardsBest Miniseries or Television FilmAndrew Benson, Philip Martin, Frank Deasy, Andy Harries

Influence on other programmes

Many observers have viewed Prime Suspect as the inspiration for female characters in American TV series, particularly noting strong similarities between this series in general—and the character of Jane Tennison in particular—and the later American series The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick in the role of Deputy Chief of Police Brenda Leigh Johnson. Critics noted the similarities between the series in a stronger way during the first seasons of The Closer, with one 2006 article in USA Today calling The Closer "an unofficial Americanization" of the British series, and a later reviewer noting that, "When The Closer was first shown, critics were quick to compare it to Prime Suspect... there's something in that...."
In interviews, Sedgwick has acknowledged that the show owes "a debt" to the British crime drama, and that her admiration for that show and for Mirren were factors that first interested her in the role. According to Sedgwick, Prime Suspect was one of the shows that "paved the way" for The Closer, and her manager got her interested in the series by saying that it was "a little bit like Prime Suspect." Sedgwick is quoted as saying that the Tennison character did become her inspiration in some ways for her portrayal of Brenda Leigh Johnson.
Reviewers in American papers, including the Christian Science Monitor, have noted that The Closer, while not a direct remake of the British series, "owes" much to it, or that it "echoes many of the elements" of it. One New York Times article refers to The Closer as a "direct descendant" of Prime Suspect, although less hard-hitting than the original:
Other reviewers have also made the point that the differences between the Tennison and Johnson characters are as important as their similarities:
NBC picked up an American adaptation of the British series for the 2011–2012 season. It was taken off the schedule after 13 episodes were produced.

Spoofs

In 1997 a short spoof episode Prime Cracker was produced for the BBC's biennial Red Nose Day charity telethon in aid of Comic Relief. A crossover with ITV stablemate crime drama Cracker, the spoof starred Mirren and Cracker lead Robbie Coltrane as their characters from the respective series, sending up the perceived ultra-seriousness of both shows.
Dead Ringers featured a parody with Queen Elizabeth II in the lead role, as a reaction to Helen Mirren's portrayal of her in the 2006 film The Queen.

Prequel series

A six-part prequel, Prime Suspect 1973, was announced in 2015 by ITV, based on the book Tennison by Lynda La Plante, adapted by Glen Laker. It tells the story of a 22 year old Jane Tennison as a probationary WPC officer in Hackney, London, investigating her first murder case. The series began airing on 2 March 2017. The role of Tennison is played by Stefanie Martini. In June 2017, ITV confirmed that the series had not been recommissioned for a second series.

Home media

On 1 October 2013, Netflix made the Series 1–6 available online for streaming. On 27 August 2013, Acorn Media released the entire series in a seven-disc Blu-ray Disc set. Each disc contains the individual programme, upscaled to 720p HD and converted to 16:9 Widescreen. Bonus material includes a 50-minute behind-the-scenes special, a 23-minute Series 6 behind-the-scenes featurette, a photo gallery and cast filmographies. The DVD format of the series was released in 2010.