Two years ago, the first season of Suspect premiered on BritBox here in the US, and it proved to be popular because James Nesbitt was able to concentrate all of his usual intensity into eight half-hour episodes that felt more like two-person, one-act plays. The main character in Season 2 is played by Anne-Marie Duff, reprising her Season 1 role. Can the intensity of the first season keep going?
SUSPECT SEASON 2: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: A shot of the Thames. In front of a modern-looking house, a black van pulls up.
The Gist: Dr. Susannah Newman (Anne-Marie Duff) is still in mourning over her daughter’s suicide, though like her ex-husband, police Detective Danny Frater (James Nesbitt), she thinks her daughter may have been the victim of foul play. Danny is in custody for killing the person he thought was the killer, though, with his bosses thinking he had an emotional breakdown in the aftermath of his daughter’s death.
She answers the door thinking someone is delivering her a package. But the man at the door, who says his name is Jon (Dominic Cooper), has signed for a hypnotism session with her, looking to quit smoking. His need is urgent since he needs to quit that very day. She gathers herself, puts on some makeup and tries to help him out.
When they go up to her office for the hypnosis session, she tells him that he’ll be aware of what he’s saying and doesn’t have to say anything that he doesn’t want to; it’s more of a way to get him relaxed and open.
This is when, in a semi-conscious state, Jon says he’s really trying to stop killing girls. His urges are so strong that he will kill another girl that night if he doesn’t get help.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Like during its first season, Suspect has the same intense vibe the Taken films, or maybe Luther. The format feels a lot like the one used in The Patient.
Our Take: This season of Suspect, adapted from a Nordic noir series from Denmark, was written by Joy Wilkinson and David Allison, concentrating on Duffy’s character Susannah. In fact Nesbitt’s character Danny is referenced but is safely locked away, with Susannah seemingly being the only one who thinks that he was of sound mind when he killed the person he thought was their daughter’s killer.
The topic comes up as she tries to prevent Jon from killing again; in the second episode, she finds Detective Superintendent Richard Grove (Ben Miller), with whom she had an affair, and tells him he needs to look into this. He seems to know more than he’s letting on, but it’s not until his wife Natasha (Tamsin Greig) gets involved that some motivations become clear, like getting Susannah to sign an evaluation that will get Danny committed.
The intensity of the series is certainly different than the first season, though it seems like Susannah’s mission is going to be as personal to her as the Season 1 mission was for Danny. Instead of finding her daughter Caroline’s killer, she’s trying to protect someone in a way she couldn’t do for her own flesh and blood.
Because of the change from the rage being directed out instead of in, the immediacy of Susannah racing to try to save Jon’s next victim is going to need to fill in the intensity difference. We are sure that Duff is up to the task of conveying that frantic need to stop Jon, and the performances of Cooper, Miller and Greig are certainly helping that intensity.
Other characters Susannah will confront are played by Eddie Marsan, Nicholas Pinnock, Gina McKee, Vinette Robinson and Celine Buckens, and the format will likely follow what happened in the first season, which are essentially one-act plays with two or three characters. We still wonder if the show is more of an acting showcase than a tightly-plotted thriller, but like last season, the acting will likely be so good that won’t matter much.
Sex and Skin: None.
Parting Shot: Susannah tries to get Jon to stay while the patrol car Richard sent arrives, but Jon manages to pull out just as the patrol car arrives.
Sleeper Star: Tamsin Greig is always good, but she’s especially riveting as the cold, calculating Natasha, who knows she’s not the warmest person in a relationship, but is a good listener and an even better lawyer.
Most Pilot-y Line: Susannah tells Jon that he concentrates on cigarettes to distract from dealing with strong emotions. She demonstrates by picking up his cigarette case, fondling a burner, then lighting up. That’s a bit of an obvious way to show the good doctor shielding herself from her own strong feelings.
Our Call: STREAM IT. While not quite as intense as its first season, the second season of Suspect is still very watchable because of the well-paced half-hour episodes and a cast that can handle its tell-don’t-show storytelling.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
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