When there is a series like this Death in Heaven When it becomes a phenomenon, no one knows exactly how to react. The Caribbean-set crime drama, currently in the midst of its 13th series on BBC One, has none of the hallmarks of what we think of as a contemporary TV crime drama. This is no true detective or quest line. There is no jaded detective haunted by his past. There is no worrying political intrigue. There is no complicated, serialized story. We have a wonderful copper who solves a different strange crime every week. And yet Death in Heaven It became the sixth most watched program of 2023 and then the second most watched fiction series. happy valley.
The series follows quirky British detective Neville Parker (Ralf Little), who moves to the fictional island of Saint Marie (actually Guadeloupe) to work with a group of local cops. It’s a procedural, the kind of TV show everyone complains about isn’t being made anymore. Most of each episode follows a fairly strict canon text as Parker and he fish in a red herring pond before convolutedly describing the fraud and why. As a premise, the series has already proven unusually resilient, with its lead actor recovering from his exit not once but three times – with Little replacing Ben Miller, Kris Marshall and Ardal O’Hanlon. As a work of dramatic fiction Death in Heaven It’s a decidedly unspectacular affair: the writing is simplistic and repetitive to a fault, the acting is broad and stilted. But there must be a reason why millions of people keep coming back.
To some extent, Death in Heaven “comfort TV” has been pushed to its logical extremes. The serene setting, shot without any real flair or finesse, nevertheless evokes the limp, sweaty feeling of being on a tropical vacation; Benidorm and ITV reality series Love Island. The truth is that many Death in HeavenIt’s clear in the final product that ‘s writers come from the world of soap operas. can share Coronation Street or EastEndersThere’s, let’s say, a lax approach to verisimilitude, but it also clearly has that same see-you-next-episode knack for endearing itself to viewers’ routines.
not similar Death in Heaven It is a kind of perversion. Consider Martin Clunes’ twee medical series Doctor MartinThe series, which ran for 18 years and ends in 2022, was watched by 10.6 million people at its peak; Even his last series, in which he dropped to about half the points, could be considered a win by most measures. This was another series that moved forward with a kind of genial middle-brow politeness—further proof of the appeal of the inoffensive.
In a less flattering comparison, Mrs. Brown’s BoysThe BBC’s former disgusting cross-dressing sitcom that received nothing but humiliation during its 13 years on air. Created by Irish comedian Brendan O’Carroll, the series still relentlessly achieves huge viewing figures every Christmas; It’s a lasting, paradigm-shattering reminder of the gap between the kind of TV that “drives the conversation” and broadcasts watched by millions. Proportion of Brits actually prefer to watch.
This is also not a uniquely British phenomenon. There is a similarly marked divide in the United States. real most watched TV series – shows NCIS, FBI, chicago fire And Blue Bloods – and the so-called hits that dominate the conversation. (Shows like this Subrogation, White Lotus, Bear All of these laid-back procedural-type shows are some way off when it comes to viewership figures, but of course you’d never know that by reading much of the press.) Part of this is about reach: it’s another thing for the aforementioned shoddy hits to all be available on basic terrestrial networks Death in Heaven that’s what he’s going for.
There are more mistakes to find Death in Heaven It’s more than just aesthetics, mind you. Many critics noted that the racial undertones were offensive. Death in Heaven: Frankly, the sight of a white British copper being sent to a colonial island to show some far less competent foreign officers how it’s done doesn’t look good. This may be a sign of how ingrained our country’s harmful love of empire is—or, more likely, people aren’t reading that deeply into it.
After all, Death in Heaven It will be framed as a complete success story. Eight million people can’t be wrong. I’m sure they’ll continue to release more episodes in the years to come – and why wouldn’t they? Death in Heaven It’s just about giving people what they want. Whether we want a little more is another matter.
‘Death in Paradise’ is now available to watch on iPlayer and new episodes will air on BBC One at 9pm on Sunday.