“Lynley is on the hunt for justice. And I’ve got cuts and bruises,” a dapper but battered Leo Suter (Vikings: Valhalla) told TV Insider last November on the interrogation room set of this retooling of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (PBS, 2002–08).
Elizabeth George’s novels (now at 22) provide plenty of material for the four 90-minute mysteries of Lynley. The first investigates who killed the wealthy owner of a private island. Suspects include his grim housekeeper, bitter son, and a beautiful archaeology student.
In our exclusive clip from the premiere (below), it’s clear that another puzzle is how aristocratic Lynley will get in sync with his new partner, the working-class Det. Sgt. Barbara Havers (Sofia Barclay, Ted Lasso).
“They have a testy relationship when they first meet,” Suter says. Indeed. “She got where she’s got by grit. She’s unbound and messy,” says Barclay. That’s a jump from her partner, who wears custom made suits and drives a classic 1970s Jensen Interceptor. (“It goes very fast,” says Suter.)
Still, Lynley gets down and dirty when he must. “In one episode, I mud-wrestled with a potential suspect,” Suter admits. (Thank goodness for dry cleaning!)
After the clip, stick around for our cozy chat with Suter and Barclay, who tell us more about their characters, and reveal a link to another famous detective duo. Barclay points out that one of the writers on the Lynley series, Steve Thompson, also wrote episodes for her TV obsession, the Sherlock series starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as sleuths Holmes and Watson.
“There is the element of the two of them not getting on, and their differences being quite logical and heart-based, or intuition-based and intellect-based,” Barclay says. “That thread exists in Sherlock and Watson, but I think it’s expressed very differently through Leo and I. But I think Havers would buck on being compared to anyone!”
Watch the video interview with the stars above for more.
Lynley, Series Premiere, Thursday, September 4, BritBox