Patience tells the story of a neurodivergent archivist named Patience Evans. She works in the archive of police records in York, England. The job suits her. It’s quiet, organized, and there are no surprises.

Patience stars Ella Maisy Purvis, an actress who is on the autism spectrum herself. She gives a terrific performance as the young woman who has answers but struggles to be helpful in a world where few understand her.

The police are working a case that looks like suicide. DI Bea Metcalf (Laura Fraser) and DCI Baxter (Mark Benton) are the team on the case. Bea thinks something is wonky about the suicide ruling and requests some old files from the archives.

Patience already noticed a pattern in some recent suicides. She considers it important enough to share the pattern and some addition case files with Detective Bea (as Patience eventually learns to call her). That takes Patience outside her normal environment. She’s in a situation where she’s skittish and easily overwhelmed as she tries to engage with Bea.

Bea and Baxter both quickly see the pattern Patience is pointing out in the suicide cases. But they have no idea how to interact with an autistic person and scare her off more often than they manage to communicate with her.

Bea can see that Patience is brilliant at puzzles and patterns. She invaluable at a crime scene. But learning how to work with her – and getting Baxter on board – takes a while. Their gruff boss can shut Patience down for hours with a sharp word. Eventually, they learn. By the end of season 1 things are going much better and Patience has helped them solve several crimes.

There’s a budding romance between Patience and a police photographer, Elliot Scott (Tom Lewis). That is handled with tender care by the writers as Patience slowly warms to the idea. She also develops a friendship with Bea and her 11 year old son. It’s a first time having a friend and possibly a boyfriend for her. The adjustment to this in her life is shown with understanding, and, dare I say, patience.

Patience is based on a French-Belgian series called Astrid et Raphaëlle. The original series had 6 seasons. So far, Patience has aired two seasons. Season 3 is filming.

The series is excellent. The mysteries are interesting and engaging. The depiction of neurodiversity is so beautifully and carefully done, it’s worth watching just for that. Patience is a delightful character.

In the US, you can see the series on PBS, PBS Masterpiece, Hulu, and it can be rented from several streamers. Absolutely recommended. The original series, called Astrid in English, is also available on PBS Passport.