Prime Suspect
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.
- 1991-1991
- 1 season
- PBS
- Suspense, Drama
- TV-14
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.
Season 1 Episode Guide
2 Episodes 1991
Episode 1
Price to Pay: Part 1
104 mins
DCI Jane Tennison has paid her dues; she has risen through the ranks of the various branches of London's Metropolitan Police, attaining the heretofore unheard rank (for women) of Detective Chief Inspector. But, it is not until the heart attack and death of the popular DCI John Shefford that Jane gets to lead a murder investigation. She expects bad attitudes and bravado from colleagues (and superiors) but she is determined to do her job. In her first hour on the case, Jane demonstrates how DCI Shefford misidentified the murder victim and this enrages her new team; one accuses her of attacking the reputation of their dead comrade. A few of the "boys" try to sabotage their new team leader, but eventually, by doing her job and brooking no nonsense, Jane earns grudging respect from some of her officers. Like the murder inquiry, DCI Tennison is neither as simple nor as obvious as her detractors wish to think.
Episode 2
Price to Pay: Part 2
103 mins
In the opening series, D.C.I. Tennison seizes the opportunity to head a murder investigation--something she should have done long ago, had she not been passed over by her male superiors time and again. With a suspect already identified and her own team openly hostile, she uncovers errors and conflicting facts that point to a cover-up within the force. Is this a single murder or the latest act of a serial killer? Tennison refuses to back off the investigation.