Inspector Ellis (simply called Ellis in the UK) is a detective series. Sharon D. Clarke stars as a detective “with the mind of a jaguar” who is dispatched to rural locations to take over cases that aren’t going well under local control.
Inspector Ellis is a bit of an enigma herself. She never reveals anything personal to the people she works with. She always has the charging cord attached to her phone even when it isn’t charging. The man assigned to work with her, DS Chet Harper (Andrew Gower), begins carrying his phone around that way, too! LOL.
There are only 3 episodes in the series, but each is an hour and a half long. The cast and location change in every episode, with Ellis and Gower the only constants. Part of the pleasure in the series comes from the fact that DCI Ellis faces racism and sexism at every new location. She handles it with stoic dignity, which makes the people around her look like fools.
Each case involves a murder, but each case is very different. Ellis works hard – she’s always working. Each day she takes a few seconds to try to make contact with her daughter who isn’t responsive.
In the first case, she works with an idiot officer, but meets Chet Harper there and they click. He continues to follow her about from case to case after that. The second case involved a missing police woman. The third was the death of honeymooners.
Sharon D. Clarke has an impressive list of credits on IMDb, including Red, White, and Royal Blue. This is the first time I’ve seen her carry a series on her own. I hope she gets the opportunity again, because I really enjoyed watching her as the lead in this.
It was a big cast with new people in every location. A few noteworthy characters were played by Josh Bolt, Amanda Drew, Charlotte McCurry, and Michael Simkins.
The entire series is now available on Acorn TV.
Discover more from Old Ain't Dead
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I enjoyed this show. I liked how there weren’t any amateur investigators who were smarter than the Police. I liked how there was no soap opera back story, at least not yet. Seriously, is it de rigeur to have a disaffected teenage daughter in these crime drama shows?
One thing I am curious about wasn’t explained. In episode 3, Harper greets Ellis with “Long time, no see” which indicates that he has cop duties elsewhere when not working with her.
Regards, Will. Toronto
I wasn’t clear on the daughter’s age, but that kind of troubled relationship is a trope for working women (though seldom working men). In reality I think teenage daughters are a struggle for all parents. I appreciated having a woman of color in the lead role.
I’ve really been captivated by Ellis. First and foremost, I love her no-nonsense approach to her introduction to each new situation, always quivering. on the aggressive. VERY effective – I’ll be practising! Somehow she strikes just the right note to get everyone in the place she wants them. I follow the machinations of her investigations with complete fascination and hope against hope there will be more. A very classy series.
Classy is a good word for it. Ellis is definitely a class act when it comes to facing down the sexism and racism she encounters everywhere.
My spouse and I greatly enjoyed the series and were very disappointed when it ended and learned that there were no more episodes. Our hope is that there will be another season !!
The format is certainly ripe for more episodes. Ellis is a great character.