The streamer BritBox announced a new imagining of Inspector Lynley crime novels has begun production in Ireland. Titled Lynley, the four-part series created, written, and executive produced by Steve Thompson (Vienna Blood, Sherlock), will star Leo Suter (Vikings: Valhalla) as “DI Tommy Lynley” and Sofia Barclay (Ted Lasso) as “DS Barbara Havers.” The mismatched police duo become a formidable team against all odds.
A first-look image reveals Suter and Barclay as the beloved detective duo from Elizabeth George’s internationally best-selling books. The project will explore timely themes of gender, class, and ethics, all while under the pressure of seeking justice. Lynley is produced by Colin Callender’s award-winning production company, Playground (Wolf Hall, All Creatures Great and Small). Ed Bazalgette (Marie Antoinette, The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die) serves as lead director with Suzanne McAuley (Magpie Murders, Love/Hate) as series producer.
“I’m thrilled to see Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers come to television again, especially through the participation of the BBC and BritBox and the production expertise of Playground,” author George said in the initial announcement. “Watching my characters brought to life on television is a real celebration.”
“It’s a privilege and a thrill to have the opportunity to adapt these wonderful books for television. Elizabeth George’s iconic characters are greatly loved and her gripping stories are smart and ingenious,” Thompson added.
Lynley is described as a brilliant police detective but an outsider in the force –simply by virtue of his aristocratic upbringing. He is paired with Barbara Havers, a sergeant with a maverick attitude and a working-class background. With seemingly nothing in common and against all odds, the mismatched duo of Lynley and Havers become a formidable team, bonded by their desire to see justice done. His brain and her spirit – his knowledge and her instincts. It is only through working side by side do they both find where they truly belong.
Daniel Mays (Photo by: Will Thompson)
Among the other cast announcements is Daniel Mays (Magpie Murders), who plays DCI Brian Nies, the astute, suspicious Senior Detective at Three Counties Major Incident Team. His aversion to Lynley is partly born of his own insecurities about class and partly because he knows he’s no longer the smartest person in the room.
Niamh Walsh (Harry Livingstone)
Rounding out the cast are Niamh Walsh (The English Game) as Helen Clyde, an estate agent and Lynley’s former Oxford classmate whose romance with Lynley is sparked when their paths fatefully cross on a case; Michael Workeye (My Lady Jane) as tech specialist Tony Bekele; and Joshua Sher (Vera) as forensic scientist, Simon St. James.
Before this adaptation, PBS aired a BBC crime drama series Inspector Lynley Mysteries that ran for six seasons from 2001 to 2008. Nathaniel Parker and Sharon Small played Lynley and Havers.
Lynley, BritBox, TBD
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