Prime Suspect
Prime Suspect title
Genre	Police procedural
Created by	Lynda La Plante
Starring	Helen Mirren
Composer	Stephen Warbeck
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	7
No. of episodes	15(list of episodes)
Production
Running time	100 minutes
Production companies	Granada Television/ITV Productions WGBH Boston/Masterpiece Mystery
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	7 April 1991 (1991-04-07) – 22 October 2006 (2006-10-22)

Prime Suspect is a Britishpolice procedural television series devised byLynda La Plante. Broadcast onITV between 1991 and 2006, it starsHelen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first femaleDetective Chief Inspectors inGreater London'sMetropolitan Police Service, who rises to the rank ofDetective Superintendent while confronting institutionalised sexism within the police force.

For her role as Tennison, Mirren receivedthree consecutive British Academy Television Awards for Best Actress between 1992 and 1994, twoPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, and in 2006, the British public ranked her number 29 in ITV's poll ofTV's 50 Greatest Stars.^[1]

Prime Suspect focuses on a no-nonsense female Detective Chief Inspector (DCI), Jane Tennison (played byHelen Mirren), who is an officer in the Metropolitan Police, initially at the fictionalSouthampton Row police station.

The series follows her constant battles to prove herself within a male-dominated profession in which many of her colleagues are determined to see her fail, though she has the support of her boss,Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Kernan (John Benfield), and the loyalty ofDetective Sergeant Richard Haskons (Richard Hawley).

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 4 and retires from policing at the end of series 7.

• Helen Mirren as Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison, initially of Southampton Row Police Station in Central London, later Detective Superintendent in series 4. Mirren has described Tennison as "extremely directed, ambitious, talented and very uncompromising. Therefore she is deeply frustrated by her job; the way her sex is a barrier."^[2]
• John Benfield as Detective Superintendent Michael Kernan (series 1–4), Tennison's supervisor, later Detective Chief Superintendent
• Richard Hawley asDetective Constable Richard Haskons (series 1–4), later Detective Sergeant and Detective Inspector
• Tom Bell as Detective Sergeant Bill Otley (series 1, 3, 7)
• Jack Ellis asDetective Inspector Tony Muddyman (series 1–2, 4)
• Craig Fairbrass as Detective Inspector Frank Burkin (series 1–2)
• Mossie Smith asConstable Maureen Havers (series 1, 4)
• Ian Fitzgibbon as Detective Constable Jones (series 1–2)
• Philip Wright as Detective Constable Lillie (series 1–3)
• Andrew Tiernan as Detective Constable Rosper (series 1–2)
• Gary Whelan as Detective Sergeant Terry Amson (series 1)
• Stephen Boxer as Detective Chief Inspector Thorndike, later Detective Superintendent (series 2–4)
• Stafford Gordon as Commander Traynor (series 2–4)
• Mark Strong as Detective Inspector Larry Hall (series 3, 6), later Detective Chief Superintendent in series 6
• Robert Pugh as Detective Sergeant Alun Simms (series 6–7)

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The first series featuressexism 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 asinstitutional racism inPrime Suspect 2 orchild sexual abuse andprostitution inPrime Suspect 3, but they continue to demonstrate the determination of some of Tennison's male peers and those in upper echelons 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 recurring themes within the series. Towards the end ofPrime Suspect 3 she arranges to have her pregnancy terminated. As the series progresses, she increasingly relies on alcohol to help her cope. This culminates in the final episode of the series in her attending meetings ofAlcoholics Anonymous, where she finally acknowledges and confronts her addiction.

Prime Suspect is set mostly in London and surrounding areas, but series 5 is set in Manchester.

Every series ofPrime Suspect except series 4 follows a single case and runs around 31⁄2 hours (excluding commercials). It has usually been shown 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 1996, until Mirren left the role, supposedly to avoid typecasting (according to aPBS interview). She returned to play the character in 2003 and again in 2006.

Prime Suspect was produced byGranada Television for theITV network. Series four to seven were co-produced byWGBH Boston for itsMasterpiece Mystery anthology series.

The first five series were scored by theAcademy Award-winning composerStephen Warbeck, who was nominated for aBAFTA TV Award forPrime Suspect series one. Rob Lane composed the music for Series 6.Nicholas Hooper won aBAFTA TV Award for his score for Series 7.

Prime Suspect was voted 68th in the list of100 Greatest British Television Programmes as compiled by a poll given by theBritish Film Institute, and in 2007 it was listed as one ofTime magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME."^[3] The series has won multipleBAFTA Awards,Emmy Awards, and aPeabody Award.

Prime Suspect won theBAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Serial overG.B.H. in 1991.^[4] Afterwards, four of the seven voting members of the jury raised a discrepancy to jury chairpersonIrene Shubik,^[5] and later signed a public statement declaring that they had voted forG.B.H. to win.^[4] BAFTA Chairman Richard Price stated that the ballot papers passed on to him by Shubik had shown four votes forPrime Suspect and three forG.B.H.^[4] Price claimed that the ballot papers could not be recounted as they had subsequently been destroyed.^[5]Prime Suspect won Best Drama Serial once more for series three, and was nominated four other times.^[6] The series won thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries three times, and was nominated twice more.^[7]

Mirren won threeBAFTA TV Awards for Best Actress for the role, and has been nominated three other times.^[6] She won thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie twice, with four additional nominations.^[7]

Prime Suspect 3 was awarded aPeabody Award in 1993 for its realistic scenes and dialogue.^[8][9] Writer/creatorLynda La Plante received anEdgar Award from theMystery 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.^[10]

Many observers have viewedPrime Suspect as the inspiration for female characters in U.S. TV series, particularly noting strong similarities between this series in general—and the character of Jane Tennison in particular—and the later American seriesThe Closer, starringKyra 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 ofThe Closer, with one 2006 article inUSA Today callingThe Closer "an unofficial Americanization" of the British series,^[15] and a later reviewer noting that, "WhenThe Closer was first shown, critics were quick to compare it toPrime Suspect...[and] there's something in that...."^[16]

In interviews Sedgwick has acknowledged thatThe Closer owes "a debt" toPrime Suspect, and that her admiration for that show and for Mirren were factors that first interested her in the role.^[17] According to Sedgwick,Prime Suspect was one of the shows that "paved the way" forThe Closer,^[18] and her manager got her interested in the series by saying that it was "a little bit likePrime Suspect."^[19][20] Sedgwick is quoted as saying that the Tennison character did become her inspiration in some ways for her portrayal of Brenda Leigh Johnson.^[21]

Reviewers in U.S. papers, including theChristian Science Monitor, have noted thatThe Closer, while not a direct remake of the British series, "owes" much to it,^[22] or that it "echoes many of the elements" of it.^[23] OneThe New York Times article refers toThe Closer as a "direct descendant" ofPrime Suspect, although less hard-hitting than the original:

There is one show, however, that is a direct descendant, however different its tone might be:The Closer, on which Kyra Sedgwick’s Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson obsesses over her cases, tramples feelings and battles the old-boy network. Her vice, however, is candy; no booze or one-night stands. If you want the hard stuff, you need to head back toPrime Suspect.^[24]

Other reviewers have also made the point that the differences between Tennison and Johnson are as important as their similarities:

But then there's the locker-room pissiness of her [Johnson's] all-male department, which she navigates like an estrogen version ofPrime Suspect's Jane Tennison. (That's not a running gag error, either: Sedgwick plays Johnson as if her toughness, intelligence and wit blossomed naturally from her Southern femininity, whereas Helen Mirren plays the dogged Tennison as if womanhood were a liability.)^[25]

NBC picked upan adaptation of the British series for the 2011–2012 season.^[26] It was taken off the schedule after 13 episodes were produced.^[27]

In 1997 a short spoof episodePrime Cracker was produced for theBBC's biennialRed Nose Day charitytelethon in aid ofComic Relief. Acrossover with ITV stablemate crime dramaCracker, the spoof starred Mirren andCracker leadRobbie Coltrane as their characters from the respective series, sending up the perceived ultra-seriousness of both shows.

Dead Ringers featured a parody with QueenElizabeth II in the lead role, as a reaction to Helen Mirren's portrayal of her in the 2006 filmThe Queen.

A six-part prequel,Prime Suspect 1973, was announced in 2015 byITV, based on the bookTennison byLynda La Plante, adapted by Glen Laker. It tells the story of a 22-year-old Jane Tennison as a probationary WPC inHackney, London, investigating her first murder case.^[28] The series began airing on 2 March 2017. The role of Tennison is played byStefanie Martini.^[29] In June 2017, ITV confirmed that the series had not been recommissioned for a second series.^[30]

On 1 October 2013,Netflix made the Series 1–6 available online for streaming.^[31] On 27 August 2013, Acorn Media released the entire series in a seven-discBlu-ray Disc set. Each disc contains the individual programme, upscaled to 1080p HD and converted to 16:9 Widescreen (apart from season 4 episode 1 which remains in 4:3 aspect ratio). Bonus material includes a 50-minute behind-the-scenes special, a 23-minuteSeries 6 behind-the-scenes featurette, a photo gallery and cast filmographies.^[32]

The DVD format of the series was released in 2010 by ITV Studios/Global entertainment. It has an overall running time of 1,437 minutes approximately, and encompasses ten discs, with each Series set on one disc except the triple-episode Series 4, which is set over three discs. As with the Blu-ray production, the final disc contains a Behind-the-Scenes of Series 7.

• Prime Suspect at theBritish Film Institute'sScreenonline
• Prime Suspect atIMDb

• 1991 British television series debuts
• 2006 British television series endings
• 1990s British crime drama television series
• 2000s British crime drama television series
• Anthony Award–winning works
• Edgar Award–winning works
• British English-language television shows
• ITV crime dramas
• Peabody Award–winning television programs
• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries winners
• Primetime Emmy Award–winning television series
• Television shows produced by Granada Television
• Television series by ITV Studios
• Television series by WGBH
• Television shows set in London
• Television shows shot in Liverpool
• Television shows shot in Manchester
• British detective television series

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