1. CRIME TELEVISION CASE STUDIES
PRIME SUSPECT

2. • Prime Suspect is a British police procedural television
drama series directed by Christopher Menaul and
starring Helen Mirren. It was made by Granada
Television for the ITV network, starting in 1991 and
finishing in 2006. The teleplays for the first and third
serials (and the story for the second) were written by
Lynda La Plante, and in 1993 she received an Edgar
Award from the Mystery Writers of America in the
category of Best TV Feature or Miniseries for her work.
In 2007 it was listed as one of Time magazine's "100
Best TV Shows” ever." The series has garnered multiple
Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, BAFTA Awards
and a Peabody Award.

3. • This ground-breaking show
focuses on a no-nonsense
female British Detective
Chief Inspector Jane
Tennison (Helen
Mirren), attached to the
Metropolitan Police. It is set
mostly in London and the
outer areas, with series 5
being set in Manchester. In
later series, she is promoted
to Detective Superintendent.
• The series shows how she
survives and thrives in a
male-dominated profession.
Jackie Malton, who was one
of only four female DCIs at
the time this series
began, acted as an advisor to
the writers.

4. • The first series features sexism in the workplace as a
significant subplot and a barrier to the investigation. In
this and later series, she confronts DS Bill Otley (Tom
Bell) and other sexist officers on her squad who
attempt to get her replaced. Sequels have tended to
downplay this theme, relying on straight procedure or
on other subplots—for example, institutional racism in
Prime Suspect 2 and paedophilia, child abuse, and
prostitution in Prime Suspect 3.

5. • 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 issues within
the series. Hard-bitten and chain-smoking, she tackles gritty
cases involving serial killers, rapists, child abuse and
prostitution, but has to deal with her own personal
battles, including her marriage breakdown, and alcoholism.
However, her main on-going battle is with the Met
itself, and trying to forge a career for herself in a tough
male-dominated profession. She is brilliant, methodical and
resilient and her complex personality lies at the heart of the
series' appeal. Her struggle to overcome institutionalised
sexism within the force, reconcile her professional
responsibilities with a strained personal life and still ensure
the killer is brought to justice win her he audience’s
sympathy as well as our respect.

6. • In the first series, the investigation rarely runs smoothly, with
setbacks, mistakes and red herrings contributing to the sense that
Tennison's role is ultimately a thankless one. Crucial to the suspense is
the fact that the viewer is never fully convinced of prime suspect
George Marlowe's guilt - it is to the script's credit that this sense of
ambiguity is allowed to linger even after the closing credits have run.
• The emphasis throughout is on authenticity over sensationalism, and
the internal dynamics of the police force are placed under heavy
scrutiny. The force is portrayed as an unwieldy, inefficient organisation
controlled by an elitist old-boys network.

7. • 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 – a
move seen by some critics as a negative one – that
women cannot compete in a male dominated world after
all.

8. • Prime Suspect's format is multiple episodes; each
case runs around 3½ hours (excluding
commercials), usually aired in two parts or four
parts. It’s noteworthy that the show’s running
time allowed for the development of longer and
more complex storylines and characterisation
than in most shows where the running time is
usually 50-60 minutes and the case is often
closed after one episode.
• The first five series were produced at a steady
pace of one roughly every eighteen months until
Helen Mirren left the role then returned to the
character after a seven-year gap.

9. • 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. One 2006 article in USA Today
calling The Closer "an unofficial Americanization" of the
British series. The show was itself adapated for American
television in 2011.

10. • This wasn’t the first show to have a woman police officer
centre stage. There were two shows in 1980 which did this:
The Gentle Touch (ITV, 1980-84) and Juliet Bravo (BBC,
1980-85); they were followed by the much-praised
American show, Cagney and Lacey (1981-1988), about two
female detectives in New York, both struggling to juggle
their private lives with work and the prejudices of their
male colleagues, to the extent that Cagney later becomes
an alcoholic.

11. • Prime Suspect directly addresses sexism in the
police force, making it a central issue; watching
Spiral now, with its female lead, it is interesting to
note that she is accepted for what she is and
respected because of her abilities and her
character and the gender issue doesn’t come up.
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