Prime Suspect 1973 | |
---|---|
Also known as | Prime Suspect: Tennison (US) |
Genre | Crime drama |
Based on | Tennison by Lynda La Plante |
Written by | Glen Laker |
Directed by | David Caffrey |
Starring | Stefanie Martini Sam Reid Blake Harrison Alun Armstrong Ruth Sheen Jessica Gunning Andrew Brooke |
Composer | Carly Paradis |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 6 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers | Camilla Campbell Robert Wulff-Cochrane Rebecca Eaton |
Producer | Rhonda Smith |
Production locations | Hackney, Inner London, England |
Editor | Stuart Gazzard |
Running time | 45 minutes |
Production companies | ITV Studios Noho Film and Television Masterpiece |
Original release | |
Network | ITV |
Release | 2 March – 6 April 2017 |
Prime Suspect 1973 (also known as Prime Suspect: Tennison) is a British television detective drama series starring Stefanie Martini as the young Jane Tennison. It is a prequel to the long-running Prime Suspect series that had starred Helen Mirren.
The series debuted on ITV in the UK on 2 March 2017, comprising six episodes. In June 2017, it was confirmed there would be no second series.
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.
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) | |
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1 | "Episode 1" | David Caffrey | Glen Laker | 2 March 2017 | 7.64 | |
A young prostitute, Julie-Ann Collins, is found murdered in an underpass on a busy London estate. New recruit WPC Jane Tennison is drawn into the investigation, led by DI Len Bradfield, as the search for Julie-Ann's killer gets underway. Suspicion initially falls on her boyfriend, Eddie Phillips, who has no alibi for the time of the murder. Meanwhile, career criminal Clifford Bentley is planning a bank robbery from within prison, with help from his sons, John and David. | ||||||
2 | "Episode 2" | David Caffrey | Glen Laker | 9 March 2017 | 6.64 | |
The search for Julie-Ann's killer continues, as the team try to track her movements from the day she left hospital until the day she was found dead. Tennison uncovers a vital clue which suggests that despite her parents' claims that they had not seen or spoken to Julie-Ann for several months, she contacted them shortly before she was murdered. Tennison also finds the vehicle matching an eye-witness description in the Collins' garage. | ||||||
3 | "Episode 3" | David Caffrey | Glen Laker | 16 March 2017 | 5.90 | |
Evidence discovered in the basement of the Collins' house suggests that Julie-Ann was beaten by one of her parents. The search for the mysterious 'Oz' continues, until Tennison's perseverance results in a major breakthrough. Meanwhile, Clifford Bentley is out of jail and determined to carry out his final heist. Bradfield, however, warns him that he is keeping a close eye. The brewing sexual spark between Tennison and Bradfield becomes talk of the station. | ||||||
4 | "Episode 4" | David Caffrey | Glen Laker | 23 March 2017 | 6.02 | |
Following the arrest of the mysterious 'Oz', the investigation takes an unexpected twist. The Bentleys' plans are nearly blown out of the water by a visit from the police. Tennison gets a new lead that could bring the Bentleys into the murder investigation. | ||||||
5 | "Episode 5" | David Caffrey | Glen Laker | 30 March 2017 | 5.62 | |
Tennison plays the radio recordings to Bradfield who, sensing a chance to get his revenge on Clifford, diverts the team to carry out surveillance of the Bentleys, despite orders from his superior officer to stay focused on the murder case. | ||||||
6 | "Episode 6" | David Caffrey | Glen Laker | 6 April 2017 | 5.72 | |
In the aftermath of the explosion at the bank vault, the police operation descends into pandemonium and panic. As Tennison arrives at the scene, she is met with the news that Bradfield is dead from the explosion. At a search of the Bentley lock-up, Tennison uncovers evidence that it was where Julie-Ann was killed. The Bentleys' van is searched and a small silk bow is discovered which matches Julie-Ann’s bra. The police manhunt ramps up, with David Bentley now as their prime suspect. Tennison gets to the truth of what really happened. |
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. [1] 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. [2]
The announcement of Martini as Jane Tennison, as well as further casting was announced in July 2016. [3] In early 2016, La Plante pulled out of the project. Vera and Home Fires writer Glen Laker was drafted in to write the series.
Filming began in July 2016 in London. [3]
In June 2017, ITV confirmed that the series had not been recommissioned, despite high ratings for the first series. [4] The cause is reported to be creative differences between author Lynda LaPlante and ITV. [5]
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. [6] The series premiered in the United States on 25 June 2017 on Masterpiece Mystery on PBS, airing over three 90-minute instalments. [7]
The series received mixed reviews from critics, achieving a 50% approval rating based on 12 reviews as aggregated on Rotten Tomatoes . [8] Critics praised Stefanie Martini's performance and the period detail, in particular. [9] [10] [11] 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." [12] [13] In contrast, Salon considered it fortunate that the series was forced into early retirement, and noted that this Tennison prequel failed to focus on Tennison's character development with the same intensity as the "provocative... classic" original did with Helen Mirren's character. [14]
Prime Suspect is a British police procedural television 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 institutionalised sexism within the police force.
Lynda Joy La Plante, CBE is an English author, screenwriter and former actress, best known for writing the Prime Suspect television crime series.
Geraldine Margaret Agnew-Somerville is an Irish-British actress. She is known for her roles in the film Gosford Park (2001) and the Harry Potter film series (2001–2011). Her other roles have included Daphne (2007), My Week with Marilyn (2011) and Grace of Monaco (2014). In 1995, Somerville was nominated for a BAFTA Award for playing Jane Penhaligon in the television series Cracker.
Alan Armstrong, known professionally as Alun Armstrong, is an English character actor. He grew up in County Durham in North East England, and first became interested in acting through Shakespeare productions at his grammar school. Since his career began in the early 1970s, he has played, in his words, "the full spectrum of characters from the grotesque to musicals... I always play very colourful characters, often a bit crazy, despotic, psychotic".
Jackie Malton is a UK television script consultant and former senior police officer best known for being the inspiration for the character of DCI Jane Tennison in the Prime Suspect drama written by Lynda La Plante.
Jenny Galloway is a British actress and singer best known for her stage career, which includes Madame Thénardier in Les Misérables.
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Katie Griffiths is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Chlo Grainger on the BBC school-based drama series Waterloo Road.
Andrew Harries is chief executive and co-founder of Left Bank Pictures, a UK based production company formed in 2007. In a career spanning four decades he has produced television dramas including The Royle Family,Cold Feet, the revivals of Prime Suspect and Cracker, as well as the BAFTA-winning television play The Deal.
Shaun Evans is an English actor and director. He is best known for playing a young Endeavour Morse in the ITV drama series Endeavour and Coxswain Elliot Glover in Vigil.
Above Suspicion is a British crime drama based on the series of Anna Travis novels written by Lynda La Plante. The series stars Kelly Reilly and Ciarán Hinds as the protagonists Anna Travis and James Langton. Four series were broadcast over a total of four years on ITV. The first episode was broadcast on 4 January 2009, and the final episode on 28 January 2012. The first three series all aired on consecutive nights; whereas the fourth series a more traditional weekly format.
Prime Suspect is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on NBC from September 22, 2011, to January 22, 2012. It stars Maria Bello as Detective Jane Timoney. The series was a "re-imagining" of the original British series Prime Suspect. The series was created by Lynda La Plante and developed by Alexandra Cunningham, who also serves as executive producer and writer. Peter Berg serves as executive producer and director. Sarah Aubrey, Julie Meldal-Johnson, Paul Buccieri, Lynda La Plante, and John McNamara all serve as executive producers. The series is produced by Universal Television, ITV Studios America, and Film 44.
The Governor was an ITV television drama series that began in 1995 and ended in 1996, with just two series being broadcast. It was devised and written by Lynda La Plante, known for her hit television series Prime Suspect, which went on hiatus in the same year. Each episode of The Governor was forty-five minutes long, with the exception of the first episode which was double-length. La Plante felt that the series had reached a natural end and decided not to write any further episodes, therefore the last episode was broadcast on 27 April 1996, and ended with a cliffhanger that was not resolved. The series starred Janet McTeer and Derek Martin as prisoner governors Helen Hewitt and Gary Marshall respectively. The second season was shot in Ireland at various locations around Dublin including Wheatfield prison. The complete first series was released on DVD on 28 March 2011. The complete second series was released on 4 June 2012.
Sam Reid is an Australian actor. He is best known for his work in Lambs of God (2019) and The Newsreader (2021–present), for which he was nominated for the AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama thrice, and his critically acclaimed performance as Lestat de Lioncourt in Interview with the Vampire (2022–present).
Supply & Demand is a British television crime drama series, written and devised by Lynda La Plante, first broadcast as a single feature-length pilot on ITV on 5 February 1997. The series follows the work of ESUS, a crack team of detectives tasked with investigating some of the country's biggest criminal importers and smugglers. The pilot was written in 1996, the year that La Plante's most notable television series, Prime Suspect, went on hiatus. Adé Sapara, Eamonn Walker, Benedict Wong, Juliet Aubrey and Ramon Tikaram were credited as principal cast members for the pilot.
Without Motive is a British crime drama series broadcast on ITV, starring Ross Kemp as the main protagonist, Detective Constable Jack Mowbray, a born and bred Bristol detective whose world is turned upside down when he is assigned to a major murder enquiry involving a serial killer, who is randomly attacking young women, apparently without motive. Two series of the programme were produced. The first was produced by HTV, and the second by Meridian Broadcasting. Both series aired consecutively between 2 October 2000 and 1 November 2001. Both series were issued on DVD on 11 October 2011, exclusively in the United States by Acorn Media.
Mind Games was a one-off British crime drama broadcast on ITV on 6 January 2001, starring Fiona Shaw as the protagonist, Frances O'Neill, a former nun turned criminal profiler who is called in to investigate the horrific ritualistic murders of two middle-aged women. Written by Lynda La Plante and directed by Richard Standeven, the film gathered 6.91m viewers.
Stefanie Martini is an English actress, known for her leading role in ITV's 2017 production Prime Suspect 1973. She also starred in Doctor Thorne (2016), Emerald City (2017), the 2017 film Crooked House and the TV series The Last Kingdom.
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