Suspect

Nothing rose above the weird eyebrows on James Nesbit in this repetitive series. We know he has alopecia - which can be a challenge- but just get a good makeup artist so the overly-black distracting brows could blend in with the rest of James' face!

The ridiculous coincidences where Nesbit's character just happens upon all the people he's looking for just throws me more out of my suspension of disbelief. Then add the daughter sparkling and smiling and encouraging from the beyond... well I didn't even finish watching the thing.

There's a little fun ridiculing every ridiculous conversation followed by an outburst of Nesbit's constant smoldering rage... but a VERY little I'm afraid. Skip it, I say.

Suspect has an unusual format with 30m episodes that are essentially two handers between detective Danny, (James Nesbitt) and a different character each week that he believes will bring him closer to the murderer.

Its a straight remake of a 2019 Danish Noir,' Forhoret' which had two seasons and it keeps the dark tone of the original.

On the positive side production values were good and a lovely score by Stefano Cabrera helped a lot. The major draw was the cast and the format allowed the big names the chance to show off their acting chops.

Unfortunately it was let down by the uninspired script, there were a lot of improbabilities in the story, (detective investigates his own daughter's murder?) some of the dialogue was downright odd and the two handers made it one-paced. Nor did we get to know the daughter except for brief and often inaudible flashbacks. I watched four and gave up.

We have come to like James Nesbitt, whose face resembles a chunk of hard road that broke off & landed in a ditch. This show starts (it's no secret) with him as a cop visiting a morgue, greeted by an unenthusiastic lab tech and discovering the corpse under consideration is, in fact, his own daughter. I want to share a tidbit with you. Nesbitt thereupon tears up and lets out a grievous wail. Where does THIS come from?

Nesbitt, no doubt, borrowed the device from Lear- last Act when the aged King carries dead Cordelia in his arms. 'Howl howl howl howl.. O you are men of stones. Had I your tongues and eyes, I'd use them so heaven's vaults should crack.. ' (I think-- my high school Shakespeare is decades ago!). So, Nesbitt pulled this out of his hat! Lear is 'unactable', of course-- especially THAT scene! But Olivier and Finney have done clinics with their own interpretation. Nesbitt 'tries it on!' (Wondering if anyone would make the cinnection?)

The series may be a but slow, but Nesbitt always shines, if you stick with him. 7/10.

But I am mesmerised by JN incredibly dark eyebrows, they give him the look of Ming the merciless and Griff Rhys Jones!

I am enjoying his portrayal of burnt out policeman grieving the death of his daughter and the mystery of her life!

Down on his luck Detective Danny Frater attends the mortuary to see a young woman, in a tragic twist the young woman is known to him.

I thought the first episode showed a little promise, it was intriguing premise, it boasted a first rate cast, and offered a different setup, 8 twenty five minute episodes, on paper, this should have been great.

Sadly, it just isn't that good, so much potential, but it's repetitive, it's a little dull, and it really is hampered by the restrictions that were clearly in practice at the time.

Episodes one through to seven follow pretty much the same format, chat, accusation, link to the next person of interest, the finale tries to offer something different, for me, it didn't work.

Some decent acting, Nesbitt is always good value, Sacha Dhawan and Richard E. Grant are both good, but their efforts feel wasted. Not one single character, with maybe the exception of Susannah, is likeable or easy to relate to, most of them are loathsome.

I wish I could come up with more positives, I really did want to like this, I just found it so dull.

5/10.