Just remembering that the Internet is global and that people now watch crime shows from all over, I noted CrimeRead’s What to Watch in November was rather US-centric. (Editor’s note: our mistake, Paul…) So here’s what crime TV Europe is watching this November….
Giri/Haji
(BBC 2/Netflix USA in 2020)
A visually acclaimed series following Kenzo Mori, a Tokyo detective, who travels to London in search of his presumed deceased brother Yuto who is accused of brutally killing the nephew of a Yakuza member. A gang war is imminent in Tokyo, Kenzo is rather lost in London until he meets UK cop DC Sarah Weitzmann and Rodney Yamaguchi, a half-Japanese, half-British sex worker. The juxtaposition of organized crime in Tokyo and London respectively (and the two cityscapes) is interesting while the use of Japanese stars alongside the likes of Kelly MacDonald (Trainspotting, Boardwalk Empire) works well. The opening sequence of a yakuza shoot out in a Japanese tea house is pure John Woo.
Engrenages (Spiral) Season 7
(Canal +/BBC 4/Hulu in the USA at some point)
Over its run since 2005 Spiral has become a cult show in France, the UK and much of Europe. If you haven’t yet discovered Spiral it’s a Paris cop show, but not the sort of Paris you’d want to go see on vacation. This is the other side of the city and the cases the team investigate represent the problems in those forgotten arrondissements—poverty, immigration, unemployment, rampant crime and drugs on the banlieues (projects). Season 7 sees Gilou in charge of the squad sparring with new member Ali, while Laure is in therapy. It all starts with a double murder in a Chinese restaurant and, pardon the pun, spirals from there. Spiral looks at the entire French justice system so there’s also lots more of the intense Judge Roban while the duplicitous Maître (that’s lawyer to you) Josephine lingers in jail. The Paris rumor mill says series 8 is already commissioned.
The Capture
(BBC1)
After being acquitted of a war crime in Afghanistan, former UK Special Forces Lance Corporal Shaun Emery finds himself accused of the kidnapping and murder of his lawyer, backed by damning CCTV evidence. Whilst Emery works to clear his name, fast-tracked Detective Inspector Rachel Carey (the excellent Holiday Grainger—Patrick Melrose and Tell it to the Bees) uncover a complex conspiracy surrounding Emery. It’s a vehicle for firm UK favorite Grainger, but Ron Perlman turns up and steals a few scenes. Great reviews in the UK—up there with the recent Keeley Hawes thriller Bodyguard and writer Jed Mercurio’s compulsive Line of Duty anti-corruption quintet.
The Name of the Rose
(RAI 1 Italy/BBC 2/Sundance – US)
Mysterious deaths in a Franciscan friary in Northern Italy in 1327. Of course from the Umberto Eco novel. But this series stars (and was partly written by) John Turturro and Rupert Everett. Just about every European nationality is featured in the cast but it kinda works.
The Mafia Only Kills in Summer
(RAI 1 Italy/Walter Presents – UK)
An Italian show about a family living in Palermo during the 1970s, who try their best to steer clear of any involvement with the Mafia, at a time when the crime families maintained a strong hold over the city (it was a film originally, but now extended out over two series). It’s the Sicilian Cosa Nostra from a kid’s eye view and so is part-classic mafiosa tale and part very dark coming-of-age story.
Agatha Raisin
(Sky 1)
And finally a cosy for the winter season—as it’s all mostly filmed in lovely English summers (yes, they do happen). The series is based on MC Beaton’s popular books and starts with Agatha Raisin And The Quiche Of Death. Dumfriesshire’s own Ashley Jensen (Ugly Betty, Catastrophe) is Agatha. Season 3 has just premiered in the UK just when we need an antidote to all feeling chilly and fed up with the rain.
