Prime Suspect (UK TV series)
| Prime Suspect | |
|---|---|
Prime Suspect title
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| Created by | Lynda La Plante |
| Starring | Helen Mirren |
| Composer(s) | Stephen Warbeck |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 15 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
Granada Television/ ITV Productions WGBH Boston/Masterpiece Mystery |
| Running time | 101–207 minutes |
| Distributor | ITV Studios |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Picture format |
4:3 (1991–1992) 14:9 (1993–1996) 16:9 (2003–2006) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 7 April 1991 – 22 October 2006 |
Prime Suspect is a British police procedural television drama series. It stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service, as she rises to rank of Detective Superintendent whilst confronting the institutionalised sexism that exists within her job.
The series focuses on a no-nonsense female Detective Chief Inspector (DCI), Jane Tennison (played by Helen Mirren), who is an officer in the Metropolitan Police, initially at the fictional Southampton Row police station. The series shows how she survives and negotiates 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 shortly thereafter.
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 paedophilia, child 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.
It is set mostly in London and the outer areas, with series 5 being set in Manchester.
Prime Suspect's format is multiple episodes. Each number (1, 2, 3, etc.) represents a case, which runs around 3½ hours (excluding commercials), usually aired in two parts or four parts. Prime Suspect 4 was an exception at slightly over 5 hours with three separate cases. The first five series were produced at a steady pace of one roughly every eighteen months until Mirren left the role, supposedly to avoid typecasting (according to a PBS interview). She returned to the character after a seven-year gap. Prime Suspect was produced by Granada Television for the ITV network between 7 April 1991 and 22 October 2006. Prime Suspect 4 through 7 were co-produced by WGBH Boston for its Masterpiece Mystery anthology series.
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