After the recent death of her daughter, therapist Susannah Newman (Anne-Marie Duff) is forced to reconfront her trauma when a patient seemingly confesses to a series of murders while under hypnosis, opening raw wounds for the grief-stricken mother and exposing a fresh web of lies and deceit for her to unravel.
Revealing the potential key suspect of your show in the first episode is a bold move, but this clever conceit immediately raises the stakes for our characters and changes the way we as a viewer experience the rapidly unfolding events in season two of this sharply scripted British crime series. It also helps set Suspect apart from other similarly themed murder mysteries, which rely on a more traditional approach to their central “whodunnits”.
Dominic Cooper as Jon Fallow. Credit: Eagle Eye Drama / Toon Aerts
Suspect is adapted from the Danish series Face to Face (also streaming ) , which like the best of the Nordic Noir genre has earnt itself a reputation for frequently wrong footing it’s audience and presenting characters with moral ambiguity. Despite playing with similar narrative conventions, Suspect puts a fresh spin on the concept, in no small part due to some familiar faces among its esteemed British cast.
Season one (also streaming ) was notable not only for the inclusion of Oscar nominee Richard E. Grant, but also for yet another memorable performance from the always compelling James Nesbitt. No stranger to playing psychologically damaged detectives, the BAFTA winner played Susannah’s husband Danny, whose investigation into the death of their daughter set the entire plot in motion.
Deftly filling Nesbitt’s shoes as the lead this time around, Duff (The Salisbury Poisonings) makes for a compelling on-screen presence, with her state of mind holding on by the barest of threads as she races against the clock to prevent the murder of more young girls. There is a desperation behind the eyes of Susannah Newman, who knows she has little left to lose and is willing to damage as many personal relationships as it takes to gain some sort of closure for her daughter’s death.
Ben Miller returns as Detective Superintendent Richard Grove. Credit: Eagle Eye Drama / Toon Aerts
Duff is ably supported by the likes of Ben Miller (Bridgerton), Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan) and new cast member Dominic Cooper (Preacher) as Newman’s patient and prime suspect Jon Fallow, whose name could itself be a carefully crafted ruse. But Fallow isn’t the only one with questionable motives, as Newman’s inner circle of acquaintances slowly reveal their own petty self-interests.
Newman’s race against the clock is further fuelled by the way the show uses its condensed timeline to build tension, with the entire season effectively taking place over the course of one day. With each passing episode she moves from one lead to another, picking up valuable new pieces of information while at the same time exposing fresh layers of corruption and potentially exposing herself to new threats along the way.
Susannah Newman (Anne-Marie Duff) faces a twisting chase for answers. Credit: Eagle Eye Drama / Toon Aerts
This lends the show an added layer of immediacy which bear similarity to the real time hijinks of hit series 24. But where that action packed drama relied on a high body count to achieve its thrills, here we have a far more grounded protagonist at the centre of our story. One who must use words and intellect to gain the trust of others, instead of relying on fists and physicality to get the answers she craves, yet there is still a very real sense of danger lurking beneath the surface.
We put ourselves in the shoes of Susannah Newman, wondering how far we might go in the name of family, when all those around us would seek to protect those more powerful. There are times in the show's ever twisting narrative when we question her theories or perhaps whether the events taking place are exactly as she perceives them. But what we never doubt are the strengths of her convictions, which carry us through a labyrinthine-like plot in which no one can be fully trusted, and everyone is a suspect.
Season one and the newly arrived two of Suspect are streaming now at SBS On Demand. Season 2 will also air weekly on SBS on Monday nights, starting 11.05pm Monday 2 September.
Stream free On Demand
Suspect
series • crime
MA15+
series • crime
MA15+
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