D.I. Ray

My Review D. I. Ray no on SBS on Demand

My Rating 7:10

D. I. Ray is a very interesting story about important the disturbing issues of Police Corruption and ethic typecasting that often assumes that because a suspect is of a certain racial background that they must automatically be a prime suspect in a crime.

The stories main character is newly promoted DI Rachita Ray played so well by Parminder Nagra.

D. I. Ray takes on a case that forces her to face a lifelong personal conflict between her British identity and her South Asian heritage.

It's obvious from the first episode that D. I. Ray is not welcome in her new role at Birmingham Police Headquarters especially by her superior DCI Kerry Henderson (Gemma Whelan) or her Superintendent Inspector.

DI Ray is assigned to a high profile case that draws her into the world of organised crime involving drug trafficking prostitution and illegal migrant smuggling.

I enjoyed the performances and the story but when it left us hanging in mid air with so many questions still unanswered after 4 episodes I felt robbed .

The storyline in the script is good but needs completion by writers Maya Sondhi and Executive Producer Jed Mercurio. They previously worked together on Line of Duty (2012). Mercurio wrote the show and Sondhi played PC Maneet Bindra.

So the show has a good pedigree I just hope we do get a second series .

I liked D. I. Ray and thought Parminder Nagra and Maanuv Thiara were great in their performances. However the storyline felt disjointed at times and key information about characters was missing. Line of Duty really has set the bar high and I hope they meet it in season 2.

I liked this series because of the way it showed up everyday racism and prejudice in society and the police force. I'm not Asian so the fact that I sympathized with DI Ray's struggles as a British Asian woman says a lot for the acting and writing. Parminder Nagra brought her character to life with an understated performance that showed how she dealt with everyday prejudice starting in the grocery store and onto her work colleagues.

Was really enjoying it then it seemed to speed up and come to an end?

Could have been a couple more episodes between 3 and 4.

Hope it returns for a second season.

The lead character highlights the low and not so low level racism inherent across English society in a measured and realistic way. On the downside the story is a bit thin and leads boss is very annoying (as they always seem to be in British police dramas).