User reviews

This show is for people who like mysteries set in quaint, small towns with a likeable protagonist and charming, recurring characters. It's for oriole who like she's like "Midsomer Murders", "Doc Martin", "Father Brown", "New Tricks", etc. Light entertainment and (after the first episode) I've grown to really like the two leads.

If you like your mysteries cosy rather than gritty, then I'd give this one a try. I really like Howard Charles anyway and Kerry Godliman is a great lead actress. Quirky characters and lovely scenery.

Pearl Nolan runs a restaurant and a Detective Agency, her investigations often cross with those of Detective Inspector Mike McGuire, a straight talking, grief stricken cop.

This show is the reason I pay my Acorn subscription, one of the best shows on the platform. It will definitely appeal to fans of shows like Mallorca Files, Father Brown and Midsomer Murders, it's light, but definitely intriguing and suspenseful.

It must have done wonders for the tourism in Whitstable, it looks incredible in parts, very picturesque.

The cases are always intriguing, but the characters just offer a little bit more than most shows, they're so well realised.

Kerry Godliman and Howard Charles are both terrific, and their relationship becomes one of the show's most interesting elements, they really play off one another very well.

The supporting cast are very good, especially Frances Barber, Dolly is wonderful, shades of Patsy Stone.

8/10.

Good acting, nice seaside town, several main characters with just the right amount of information on their backstory to keep your interest. Looking forward to the next episodes.

I disagree with the reviewer who said it was boring, I found it enjoyable and engaging and the characters as well as the actors who are playing them were all very good. Highly recommended and cannot wait until they bring out more seasons.

I thought this was a really enjoyable Show! Three episodes in and hope thy do more. I found it just as entertaining as Father Brown, Vera or Shetland... everything doesn't have to be as deep as Broadchurch to be entertaining.

... now heading into its third season, has been a most enjoyable two season series so far... seems all pieces fit very well together... good-script-cast-production-values... all are some of the best for the genre

... his character's a bit weary-wearing lots of times, but not sure how it could be toned-down and still remain true to the storyline... overall all of the leads are amiable-people... one critic writing.. "Like so many series on Acorn, this one's about good people doing their best. Even the criminals have good reasons for what they do, sometimes unintentionally. The scenery along the coast of England is beautiful, the characters are mostly kind and good, the series is charming. Take a look if you can." ... sounds about right.

It has enough comedy with the 'will they won't they' romance. The mysteries are light and realistic.

And it's in Whitstable, that's worth a star.

I love Pearl and the Detective! Her mom is funny! Will there be a season 2?

I am five episodes in. On the plus side, this series has good acting, a pleasant seaside setting, and nice family dynamics. On the downside, the mood is slightly morose and the storylines feel flat. I am finding that is not holding my interest.

Kerry Godliman is very watchable. Beautiful scenery. At times I found the series entertaining but there's just something missing. It's almost as if bits of the plot got cut out in editing and some of the acting isn't great. Not awful but there are better crime drama out there.

Whitstable Pearl I saw this programme pop up on the Drama Channel, and I decided to check it out via the UKTV App.

I was never any good at geography and funnily enough, I thought that Whitstable was somewhere in the West Country, so I checked it up to confirm that I was right and, was really surprised when I discovered where it actually is.

In the first episode DCI Mike McGuire, says that he was visiting the area, but after several episodes in he is still here, his excuse to Pearl Nolan was that he "had decided to hang around" When the show started he, was the only old bill in evidence, now he is accompanied by a DS Nikki Martel, but no other old bill are seen.

I realise that Whitstable is a small community, but surely it must have its own police force, so where the heck are they?

The character of DCI Mike McGuire appears, to me to be somewhat of a dry dull tedious type, and frankly the acting of Howard Charles, doesn't exactly bring the person to life for my mind, he is far too wooden in his characterisation.

DCI Mike McGuire Is being provided with, what appears to be some kind of back story, or more accurately some aspects of a past, is being allowed to seep out of his environs.

Kerry Godliman is an actress that, I haven't seen that much of on the box, browsing through her Filmography on IMDb, I wanted to see how many, of the shows I had actually heard of. There aren't that many that I know, and only the ones that feature Ricky Gervase, stand out as those that I remember watching. Her acting in Derek and After Life, is good within these shows but, nothing to really jump for joy about.

In making Pearl Nolan the central character, an effort was being made to make something of her, in building a story, and scenario, for her rational, a world of family, work, and community is created.

It's no real surprise that there is some form, of love interest that is being, floated into the Kentish breeze between, our eponymous heroine Pearl Nolan, and the taciturn obstreperous old bill DCI Mike McGuire.

Whitstable Pearl as a television drama is okay, it's always good to see different locations featured, that don't normally get shown on the TV, and Whitstable makes for an interesting backdrop. I am totally unfamiliar with either, the town or the surrounding areas, and it will make for an interesting, aspect of an otherwise ordinary show.

A very enjoyable show. My husband and I are watching it and hoping for season 2. Wish there were more episodes.

Dull stories and dull leads make this a scenery show and there's not even much of that.

Plot has restaurant owner (Kerry Godliman) working part-time as a local private detective. Moving into down is a sullen London cop (Howard Charles) and of course they get involved in each other's lives. He's the cop but he needs her local knowledge to solve the various crimes. It's notable that there's zero chemistry between these two.

There are a few other regulars but they have nothing to do other than Frances Barber as the mother with a few secrets. This main plot plays in the background of a series of limp crime stories and finally washes up on shore in the final installment.

It's one of those shows where the local girl (Godliman as Pearl Nolan) knows nobody in town, which is the size of a shoe. Comparing this to shows like VERA or SHETLAND makes this look like a school play.

A couple of interesting guest actresses like Cathy Tyson and Annette Badland help but they can't save this, and a few of the plot surprises are totally unbelievable.

Blah.

Let's get right to it. Pearl doesn't look like a mid-thirties women because she's not. Will be fifty soon. Yep, 50. The male lead is in his thirties and lost his significant other a year previously. Photos of her appear to show a very young women who is no less than a nine and a half.

So you want me to believe he's going to be interested in a women who looks and is ten years his senior? There are female leads who could pull it off. Unfortunately, Kerry Godliman isn't one of them.

The male detective most certainly could be interested in his police partner detective. She's just a few years younger and very attractive.

I was hoping that other reviewers would point out this issue, but I couldn't find one.

Another problem, in at least the first three episodes, is that the editing drops the ball at least once or twice in each show. You're following the story line and all at once something seems totally off. You can stop the tape and rewatch that section, but it still does make sense.

Loved the character development in Episode 3. Looking forward to seeing what happens next.

In the first episode I kept thinking I had missed an episode or two. Then I figured out they like to just explain as you go along. I can work with that, but I can't work with sudden jumps in the crime solving. It's a good show, I like it, and will continue to watch. The only really big issue is the sound. I hate it when the music is louder than the actors, and I know it's not my system as I have to turn it down for many other shows on Acorn via Roku. This one I have to turn it way up. Other issues with using Acorn via Roku, but that is something they are hopefully going to resolve after numerous complaints. It is all of the Acorn shows, not just this one.

This show has lots of potential! The characters are likable and intriguing, the locations absolutely breathtaking, and the dialogue rings true. It's a small English town so you just know it's full of secrets, lies, and crimes. Th acting is quite good, what this program needs is better writing. Solid 7, would be a 9 if the writing was better.

The good - lively intro, seaside location and Kerry Godliman. The bad - boring, lacklustre storylines with not enough mystery. It's all been done before, horny mother living with adult daughter who is single with a kid (shades of The Coroner), brooding detective with tragic past and zero personality (just about any cop show in the last 20 years). There is no spark between the two main characters and the romance feels forced. What on earth has Frances Barber done to her face, it doesn't move? The Coroner was much better.

Great storyline, creative content and loveable characters. It's honest and believable. I'm hoping for a season 2!

I was looking forward to seeing this but it didn't come up to expectations. I didn't feel any connection between the character's, the storyline really wasn't that involving half way through I was scrolling on my phone. It is being performed by some really good actors but I felt they just weren't understanding the characters they portrayed. It definitely, for me at least, lacked any real depth in the characters. It was like watching two people passing in the street with a quick nod to the others existence. I can honestly say I wasn't intrigued enough to watch any more of this series. Pity really.

Well, London's been done, as Oxford, Newcastle, Stratford, Bath, the Shetlands so it's now Whitstable's turn. I thought we Aussies had the corner on speaking with our mouths closed but there's a new contender. Could barely understand any of the dialogue but that didn't matter much. Turned it off halfway through the second episode. It has as much appeal to me as a week old oyster. 2 stars for scenery, but zero for plot and acting. Started with interest but is this a crime mystery or an angst ridden romantic soap? Police work? Didn't see any. Oh well, back to scandi noir. Don't understand Danish but the plots are good!