8.4/10
6,359
23 user 22 critic

Prime Suspect 

Trailer
1:23 | Trailer
A female police detective investigates a series of serial murders while dealing with sexist hostility from her male comrades.
Reviews
Popularity
1,457 ( 21)

Episodes

Seasons


Years



1  
1991  
12 wins & 6 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Edit

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Helen Mirren ...  DCI Jane Tennison 2 episodes, 1991
Tom Bell ...  DS Bill Otley 2 episodes, 1991
John Benfield ...  DCS Michael Kernan 2 episodes, 1991
Jack Ellis ...  DI Tony Muddyman 2 episodes, 1991
Craig Fairbrass ...  D.I. Frank Burkin 2 episodes, 1991
Mossie Smith Mossie Smith ...  WPC Maureen Havers 2 episodes, 1991
Ian Fitzgibbon Ian Fitzgibbon ...  DC Jones 2 episodes, 1991
John Bowe ...  George Marlow 2 episodes, 1991
Andrew Tiernan ...  DC Rosper 2 episodes, 1991
Philip Wright Philip Wright ...  DC Lillie 2 episodes, 1991
Zoë Wanamaker ...  Moyra Henson 2 episodes, 1991
Richard Hawley Richard Hawley ...  DC Richard Haskons 2 episodes, 1991
Mark Spalding ...  DC Oakhill 2 episodes, 1991
Tom Wilkinson ...  Peter Rawlins 2 episodes, 1991
Jeremy Warder Jeremy Warder ...  Joey 2 episodes, 1991
Andy Abrahams Andy Abrahams ...  Tilly 2 episodes, 1991
Gareth Tudor Price Gareth Tudor Price ...  Willy Chang 2 episodes, 1991
Jessica Turner ...  Pam 2 episodes, 1991
Angela Bruce ...  Helen Masters 2 episodes, 1991
James Snell James Snell ...  Arnold Upcher 2 episodes, 1991
Michael Fleming Michael Fleming ...  Major Howard 2 episodes, 1991
Daphne Neville Daphne Neville ...  Mrs. Howard 2 episodes, 1991
Ralph Fiennes ...  Michael 2 episodes, 1991
Julie Sumnall Julie Sumnall ...  Karen / ... 2 episodes, 1991
Learn more

More Like This 

Crime | Drama | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.1/10 X  

Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison's (Dame Helen Mirren's) investigation of a murder is complicated with the unexpected participation of her secret lover in her detective unit.

Stars: Helen Mirren, Colin Salmon, John Benfield
Crime | Drama | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.2/10 X  

Assigned to a Vice squad, Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison (Dame Helen Mirren) investigates a child murder and discovers a sinister link to the police.

Stars: Helen Mirren, Tom Bell, Karen Tomlin
Crime | Drama | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

Superintendent Jane Tennison (Dame Helen Mirren) orchestrates a search for an abducted baby, but events take a turn for the worst when personal emotions cause complications.

Director: John Madden
Stars: Helen Mirren, Beatie Edney, Robert Glenister
Crime | Mystery | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

Superintendent Tennison (Dame Helen Mirren) investigates a seemingly straightforward drug murder that she believes is linked to a smugly smooth crime boss.

Stars: Helen Mirren, Ray Emmet Brown, John Brobbey
Crime | Drama | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

A seemingly straightforward sex murder investigation by Superintendent Jane Tennison (Dame Helen Mirren) leads to a hidden political scandal.

Director: Sarah Pia Anderson
Stars: Helen Mirren, Thomas Russell, James Laurenson
Crime | Drama | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.3/10 X  

Approaching retirement, Jane Tennison investigates the murder of a missing girl. But the cracks soon begin to show as Jane struggles with an alcohol problem and the death of her father.

Stars: Helen Mirren, Stephen Tompkinson, Laura Greenwood
Crime | Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.2/10 X  

Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison's (Dame Helen Mirren's) investigation of the murder of a Bosnian refugee leads her to one, or possibly two, Serbian war criminals determined to silence the last witness to a massacre a decade before.

Stars: Helen Mirren, Liam Cunningham, Oleg Menshikov
Crime | Drama | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

A series of brutal sex murders disturbingly similar to the pattern of Superintendent Jane Tennison's (Dame Helen Mirren's) first major case leads to the awful suggestion that she may have caught the wrong man the first time.

Director: Paul Marcus
Stars: Helen Mirren, Pip Donaghy, Tim Woodward
Crime | Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X  

Prime Suspect 1973 tells the story of 22-year-old Jane Tennison's first days in the police force, in which she endured flagrant sexism before being thrown in at the deep end with a murder enquiry.

Stars: Stefanie Martini, Sam Reid, Blake Harrison
Cracker (1993–1996)
Crime | Drama | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.4/10 X  

Dr Edward "Fitz" Fitzgerald is a criminal psychologist. He is rather anti-social and obnoxious but he has a gift for solving crimes. Thus he is employed as a consultant by the Manchester Police.

Stars: Robbie Coltrane, Geraldine Somerville, Kieran O'Brien
Cracker (TV Movie 2006)
Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

Fitz returns to Manchester after living 10 years in Australia with his wife and youngest son. He is soon drawn into the investigation of a British soldier who may have been traumatized by his years serving in Northern Ireland.

Director: Antonia Bird
Stars: Robbie Coltrane, Anthony Flanagan, Stefanie Wilmore
Wire in the Blood (2002–2009)
Certificate: 14A Crime | Drama | Mystery
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.3/10 X  

A psychologist gets inside of the minds of both killers and victims to aid the police in solving gruesome serial killings in Northern England.

Stars: Robson Green, Mark Letheren, Emma Handy
Edit

Storyline

Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison (Dame Helen Mirren) has been passed over time and again to lead a murder investigation, so when one of her fellow DCIs has a heart attack just before he's ready to charge their prime suspect, Jane sees her chance to lead a murder investigation. But the murder squad she takes over is hostile to her, the men upstairs are eager to pull the plug on her investigation, her personal relationships suffer from her obsession with work, and the prime suspect remains elusive. Jane has her work cut out for her as she and her team work their way through computer data trails, legwork, intuitive leaps, chases, arrests, and confessions to find the killer. Written by Kathy Li

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis


Certificate:

See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the documentary following the second half of Prime Suspect: The Final Act (2006), Dame Helen Mirren notes that Jackie Malton and her colleagues gave the first "Prime Suspect" a standing ovation because they felt it was the first time the police had been accurately portrayed on television. See more »

Quotes

[George is talking about a day out with his mother when he was a child]
George Marlow: Just as we got to the gates. The lads they all saw it... The wind blew her wig off.
Moyra Henson: [begins to laugh] You're kidding me? Blew her wig off? No...
[she bursts into hysterical laughter]
George Marlow: It wasn't funny, Moyra!
Moyra Henson: [laughing] I'm sorry.
George Marlow: Dad ran down the road to try and get it back.
[Moyra continues to laugh]
George Marlow: Mum just stood there. I didn't know she had no hair... Well, Dad tried to help her put it back on, but he got the parting on the wrong....
[...]
See more »

Connections

Featured in Tennison et les femmes flics (2018) See more »

User Reviews

Great Series!
22 August 1999 | by NicheSee all my reviews

"Prime Suspect" is a dark, sometimes cynical, sometimes inspiring, always disturbing series. I watched most of the series on PBS a few summers back, and found myself instantly hooked. Helen Mirren is simply one of the best actresses alive today. It's a police drama with little on camera violence and true human emotion; you'd be hard pressed to find such a series on American television.


25 of 31 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 23 user reviews »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
Edit

Details

Official Sites:

PBS/Masterpiece Theatre

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 April 1991 (UK) See more »

Also Known As:

Prime Suspect See more »

Filming Locations:

Liverpool, England, UK See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Granada Television See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

(2 parts)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33:1 and 1.78:1
See full technical specs »

Contribute to This Page



Recently Viewed