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- PBS
- Mar 2, 2017
- PBS
- Mar 2, 2017
- PBS
- Mar 2, 2017
- PBS
- Mar 2, 2017
Where to Watch
Season Episodes
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Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
59
40% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
60% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
59
40% Positive
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
60% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Viewers will notice how skillfully Prime Suspect: Tennison reflects modern issues--such as workplace gender equity and police brutality--within a story that’s set 44 years ago. It has a subtle but effective sense of relevance that so many post-“Mad Men” dramas set in the ’70s and ’80s attempt but so often fumble.
Martini was a solid pick. ... As for the stories inside Prime Suspect: Tennison, they hold up because they are gruesomely complicated (the murder of a 17-year-old girl that hardens Tennison) and ambitious (mob shenanigans in the B-storyline that also serve to slowly hone Tennison's deductive skills, which are innately there when we meet her). As a standalone series, this might be a letdown, but as the beginning of a separate journey and an ongoing exploration, it's full of promise.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 User Ratings
7.1
69% Positive
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
15% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
15% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 User Ratings
7.1
69% Positive
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
15% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
15% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Brilliant new TV show. I hope it runs for many series to come. Loved the mix of storylines, the Tennison home life, the Bentleys, the relationships in the station. The period detail is spot-on, the music is to die for. One of the best new TV shows of the season.
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SEASON 1
This is a solid, beautifully made police drama. It doesn't match the original Prime Suspect, but the later Prime Suspects didn't either. The plot is really strong, with lot of great characters and it's a massively enjoyable watch. Stefanie Martini is a great leading lady. Let's not forget this series is based on a book (written by the coproducer La Plante), so there's not a lot of room for development. In the book, Jane is rather weak and if anything, she is more involved in the investigation in the series and much stronger. Martini makes her her own character, rather than do an impression of Helen Mirren.
Overall, it's hard to think of a series I've been more surprised by than this one. I recommend it.
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SEASON 1
Martini does an admirable job channeling Mirren's spirit. The cases, however, are uninspired, and the writing dull. [23 Jun 2017, p.59]
Stefanie Martini lacks the steel and fire to make us truly believe this rookie constable could be so precociously intuitive. .... The prequel is most intriguing when Jane, still living with her parents and defending her career choice, struggles with an ethical work dilemma and the affections of a superior. [26 Jun - 9 Jul 2017, p.13]
Martini is all right ... [But] it’s hard to imagine such a shallow character growing into Mirren’s complicated soul. If Martini were playing a different character, if the “Prime Suspect” branding were not attached, that urge to compare would not distract, and Martini might have a chance to develop the role according to her own bent. But since she is Jane Tennison, her creative wiggle room is limited. Like the series, she is stuck in the shadow of a legend.
Your 270 minutes are better spent with those reliable classic episodes [of Prime Suspect] than with Martini’s muddled contribution.
Installments runs past the 80-minute mark in order to tell a meandering, unexceptional story that could have used far more ruthless pruning and honing. A bigger problem is the casting of Stefanie Martini in the lead role. The writing does her no favors--it’s obvious and superficial throughout--but Martini brings nothing but a wide-eyed innocence and a bland, earnest tentativeness to the role.
Ms. Martini is very well cast. She carries the weight of presenting young Tennison with aplomb. It is in her mother's gestures while smoking that I caught a glimpse of the great Helen Mirren. The pilot is quite engaging, promising a high caliber, if not quite spectacular, series. I'll be tuning in to this one. Ms. Martini appears to have a very bright future indeed.
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SEASON 1
Well I really liked the first episode and was expecting nothing after reading such bad reviews, so I totally recommend it. No, she is not Helen Mirren, but hey, nobody is folks! It's a good cop show. If you like a good ole British police drama you will enjoy this little series.
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SEASON 1