We’re excited for Masterpiece Mystery!’s October lineup, which features three fantastic women detectives. Pop the popcorn, and get ready to settle in for the premieres of these three shows on October 16.
Miss Scarlet and the Duke, Season 2
Kate Phillips (Peaky Blinders) stars in a six-part mystery as the headstrong, first-ever female detective in Victorian London, who won’t let any naysayers stop her from keeping her father’s business running. Stuart Martin (Jamestown) stars as her childhood friend, professional colleague, and potential love interest, Scotland Yard Detective Inspector William Wellington, a.k.a., The Duke.
Season 2, premiering Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022, 8/7, opens a few months after the conclusion of Season One: Eliza has solved her father’s murder, her relationship with William (the “Duke”) continues to slowly simmer, and she continues to face the challenges of being a female private detective in male-dominated Victorian London.
Magpie Murders
A beguiling murder mystery with a solution that will both astonish and shock viewers, the plot of Magpie Murders revolves around the character Susan Ryeland, an editor who is given an unfinished manuscript of author Alan Conway’s latest novel, but has little idea it will change her life.
Adapted from Anthony Horowitz’s bestselling mystery by the author himself, Magpie Murders stars Leslie Manville (World on Fire, Phantom Thread, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris) as editor turned amateur sleuth Susan Ryeland and Tim McMullan (Patrick Melrose, Foyle’s War) as world-famous detective Atticus Pünd. Magpie Murders premieres Sunday, October 16 at 9/8c.
Annika
We had a preview of Annika (it’s available now on PBS Passport), and loved it. Nobody plays brilliant and also imperfect characters like Nicola Walker.
Nicola Walker (Unforgotten, Last Tango in Halifax) stars as DI Annika Strandhed, the speedboat-driving head of Glasgow’s newly-formed Marine Homicide Unit, who juggles baffling cases and a rebellious teenage daughter.
Walker is joined by Jamie Sives (Guilt) as DS Michael McAndrews, Annika’s old colleague; Katie Leung (Harry Potter, Roadkill) as DC Blair Ferguson, the forensic brains behind the unit; and Ukweli Roach (Grantchester) as DS Tyrone Clarke, the new cop at the station.
A police procedural with wit, Annika delighted critics during its recent UK broadcast. “The dialogue is so droll and the performances so charming I’m in for what fisherfolk call the long haul,” enthused the reviewer for The Guardian (UK) and The Times (UK) offered this praise, “Annika allows Walker to let loose a warm sense of humor.” Annika premieres Sunday, October 16 at 10/9c.
