Honestly, if you missed the original run of the British crime drama Above Suspicion, you’ve basically skipped a masterclass in how to make a police procedural feel genuinely uncomfortable. It first landed on ITV back in 2009. At the time, the landscape was already crowded with detectives who had drinking problems or tragic backstories, but this one felt gritty in a way that stayed under your skin. It wasn't just about the "who-done-it." It was about the weird, borderline-obsessive power dynamics between a rookie detective and a high-profile suspect who seemed way too calm for his own good.
Lynda La Plante wrote it. That name carries a lot of weight if you know anything about UK television history. She’s the mind behind Prime Suspect, the show that basically redefined how we see women in law enforcement through Jane Tennison. With Above Suspicion, she tried something a bit more psychological and, frankly, a bit more disturbing. We follow DC Anna Travis, played by Kelly Reilly before she became a household name in Yellowstone. She’s green. She’s trying to live up to her father's legacy. Then she gets thrown into the deep end of a serial killer investigation led by Detective Chief Superintendent James Langton, played by Ciarán Hinds.
The show isn't just a relic of the late 2000s; it’s a specific vibe of British noir that doesn't really exist anymore.
The Weird Allure of the First Case
The first series focuses on the hunt for a killer who has been brutally murdering young women for years. It’s dark. Like, actually dark, not just "TV dark." When Travis joins the team, she’s immediately out of her depth, but she has this sharp intuition that catches the eye of Langton.
The suspect at the center of it all is Jason Barker. He’s a famous actor. He’s charming. He’s also terrifyingly plausible as a monster. The tension doesn't just come from the forensic evidence; it comes from the way Barker manipulates Travis. It makes you lean in. You’re constantly wondering if she’s actually getting close to him or if he’s just pulling her into a trap. This isn't the kind of show where the hero wins a clean victory in forty-five minutes. It’s messy.
Ciarán Hinds as Langton is a force of nature here. He’s not a "nice" boss. He’s demanding, occasionally sexist, and incredibly pressured by the brass to get results. His relationship with Travis is the engine of the show. It’s not exactly a mentorship, and it’s certainly not a romance—at least not in the traditional sense. It’s a collision of two people who are both obsessed with the job for very different reasons.
Why Kelly Reilly Was the Perfect Anna Travis
Before she was Beth Dutton, Kelly Reilly had this ethereal, almost fragile quality that worked perfectly for Anna Travis. In Above Suspicion, she spends a lot of time looking like she’s about to break, but she never does. That’s the hook. You see her navigating a male-dominated CID (Criminal Investigation Department) where she has to prove she’s not just a "diversity hire" or a legacy kid.
The character of Travis is interesting because she makes mistakes. Real ones. She gets too close. She lets her emotions cloud her judgment. In the first installment, titled simply Above Suspicion, her interactions with the suspect are so tense they’re almost hard to watch. She uses herself as bait, which is a trope, sure, but the way La Plante writes it feels more like a desperate gamble than a heroic moment.
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Breaking Down the Later Series: The Red Dahlia and Beyond
After the success of the first two-part pilot, the show expanded into longer arcs. The Red Dahlia is arguably where the show found its peak intensity. It’s a copycat case based on the infamous Black Dahlia murder in Los Angeles. It’s gruesome. The show never shied away from the procedural details of the morgue or the crime scene, which gave it a clinical, cold feeling that contrasted with Travis’s internal turmoil.
Then came Deadly Intent and Silent Scream.
By the time we get to Silent Scream, the fourth series, the dynamic between Travis and Langton has curdled into something much more complex. They’ve been through too much together. The cases start involving the glitzy, shallow world of celebrity and film, which allows La Plante to bite back at the industry she knows so well.
- The Red Dahlia: Focuses on a sadistic copycat killer.
- Deadly Intent: Deals with the disappearance of a former police officer and the murky world of drug trafficking.
- Silent Scream: Investigates the murder of a young British actress, Amanda Delany.
Each of these series (or "series" in the British sense, meaning seasons) usually ran for three episodes. It’s a tight format. No filler. Just the investigation, the psychological warfare, and the eventual, often unsatisfying, resolution.
What People Often Get Wrong About the Show
A lot of critics at the time compared it unfavorably to Prime Suspect. That’s a mistake. While both were written by La Plante, Above Suspicion is a different beast. It’s more of a gothic thriller disguised as a cop show. It’s obsessed with the "monster" and the "maiden" archetype, even if Travis is carrying a badge and a gun.
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Some viewers found Langton’s character to be too abrasive. They weren't wrong. He’s a jerk. But that’s the point. He represents an older, more cynical version of policing that is constantly at odds with Travis’s more modern, empathetic approach. The friction between them is what makes the procedural elements tolerable. If they got along, the show would be boring.
Also, can we talk about the fashion? Anna Travis’s wardrobe was a whole thing. She wore these sharp, high-fashion suits and heels to crime scenes. It was criticized for being unrealistic—and it was—but it served a purpose. It was her armor. It was how she distinguished herself from the "lads" in the office who were mostly wearing ill-fitting polyester. It was a visual cue that she didn't belong, and she knew it.
The Cancelation Controversy
It’s still a bit of a sore spot for fans that ITV canceled the show after Silent Scream in 2012. The ratings were actually decent. Over seven million people tuned in for the final series. So, why kill it?
Word on the street at the time was that the production costs were high and the network wanted to move in a different direction. There were also rumors of creative differences. Whatever the reason, it left a lot of threads hanging. We never got to see the full evolution of Travis into the leader we knew she could become. It ended on a somewhat muted note, which, looking back, actually fits the cynical tone of the series quite well.
Where to Watch and Why You Should Bother
If you’re looking to binge this now, it’s usually floating around on streaming services like Acorn TV, BritBox, or sometimes even Amazon Prime depending on your region.
Why should you watch a show from fifteen years ago? Because it’s a time capsule of a specific era of TV. It’s before everything became ultra-sanitized. It has a raw, slightly dirty feel to it. Plus, seeing Ciarán Hinds and Kelly Reilly play off each other is worth the price of admission alone. They are both heavy hitters who don't phone it in.
The show also tackles themes that are still relevant. Institutional sexism. The ethics of undercover work. The way the media turns victims into characters in a play. It doesn't give you easy answers. Most of the time, the "bad guys" are caught, but the cost to the detectives is so high that it doesn't feel like a win.
Actionable Steps for the Aspiring Crime Buff
If you're diving into the world of Above Suspicion, or if you've already finished it and want more of that specific flavor, here is how to navigate the genre effectively:
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- Read the Books First (or After): Lynda La Plante’s Anna Travis novels provide way more internal monologue than the show could ever capture. Start with the first book, also titled Above Suspicion, to see how the character was originally envisioned.
- Compare the Eras: Watch an episode of Prime Suspect and then an episode of Above Suspicion. Notice how the portrayal of female detectives changed between the 90s and the late 2000s. It’s a fascinating look at social evolution in media.
- Track the Guest Stars: Keep an eye out for actors who are now huge. The show was a bit of a revolving door for talented British character actors who have since moved on to major Hollywood projects.
- Look for "The Commander": If you finish Travis's story and need another La Plante fix, find The Commander. It’s another series featuring a high-ranking female officer, but with a completely different, almost experimental tone.
The legacy of Above Suspicion is one of dark, uncompromising storytelling. It didn't try to be liked. It tried to be evocative. Whether it succeeded depends on your tolerance for grim realities and complex, often unlikable characters. But in a world of cookie-cutter crime shows, it remains a distinct, sharp-edged piece of television history.