Prime Suspect
I was reluctantly excited for the US version of Prime Suspect in part because I loved the original so much and I wasn’t sure how the concept would translate nearly 20 years later. I was less worried about the story lines and more worried about the datedness. Of course, I don’t actually think that women facing sexism in a predominantly male environment is a dated concept. But in terms of what we see on television, the concept of a female leader, even in a police drama, is not new ground. Maria LaGuerta is only one example, as fraught as that character can be. And at a time when we are seeing Catherine Willows departing both a leadership role, and CSI itself, to be replaced by the oldest of the 1980s old guard, more women in leadership roles on TV was welcome regardless.
However, I was happily surprised by how engaged I was by the show. I thought Maria Bello was terrific, I felt like it was a welcome, gritty and totally watchable while intriguing take on the procedural, and I really like the character of Jane Timony. I like the whole ensemble in fact. Timony is unapologetic in her actions, her brashness, her relationships, but she feels complex, three dimensional, someone you’d like to know (most of the time). She’s not a caricature, in part I think because Bello is so watchable. Beautiful, but real looking. Hard-edged but not heartless, she’s neither a pushover nor someone willing to back down, but she also has to deal with the real ramifications of actions she took that put her in a bad light: a position she wouldn’t face if she were male.
So I’m disappointed to hear that the show’s been cancelled. I liked her, I liked the stories, and as my other favorite procedurals start to show the wear and tarnish of age, I’m sad to lose a new one that had completely captured my interest.
