Maigret

Pretty good little show. It took me a while to relax and feel confident that Maigret was not going to turn into Mr Bean. Atkinson is nothing like Maigret from the novels but he does a good job playing a serious, talented detective nonetheless.

This was an unexpected treasure! IMDb tells us "This crime drama is based on Georges Simenon's world-renowned fictional French detective Jules Maigret. Rowan Atkinson plays the legendary detective who features in 75 books written by Simenon." But I discovered the series through an ad on Facebook for a new streaming service called BritBox (https://www.britbox.com/ca/show/Maigret_15974). The first two episodes (each it's own story) were released in 2016 by ITV, and this most recent series (of two) was released in 2017. Now, don't make the mistake that because the lead is played by Rowan Atkinson that these are comedies, he is also a proved dramatic actor and in this role his performance is layered and at times very tender. There is an excellent supporting cast and it has all the earmarks of a classic British police ensemble (it evoked the echos of INSPECTOR MORSE and LEWIS, for me.) The adaptation is well written, and although the characters feel more British than French, that's understandable. My sources say the series has ended after two season but if you can find them I think you'll enjoy them. I give this series an 8 (great) out of 10. [Crime Drama]