Hot Picks: Prime Suspect: Tennison

Newcomer Stefani Martini will star as a 22-year-old version of the eponymous character famously played by Helen Mirren.

The young Tennison is a probationary officer starting out with the Metropolitan Police in 1970s Hackney, where she is thrown in at the deep end on a brutal murder inquiry in her first days on the job.

Working alongside DCI Bradfield on her first case, Tennison sees for herself the destructive reality of London’s violent criminal gangs.

The 6 x 60-minute series was devised by Prime Suspect creator Lynda La Plante and is a coproduction between Noho Film and Television and her indie La Plante Global, through which she has produced more than 170 hours of tele vision drama, including ITV’s Trial And Retribution.

Ruth Berry, managing director of distributor ITV Studios Global Entertainment, says bringing back the beloved character of Jane Tennison was a “fascinating” aspect of the series.

“We’ve got the original character we remember from the series and it’s fascinating to go back to a time that predates her and to take the audience on that journey,” Berry says.

“She starts her career in a very male-dominated world and what it shows is her continuing battle in the face of adversity.”

Berry highlights the production’s big scale and ’70s musical backdrop as standout style points. “It’s got a great style, amazing costumes and an age–specific atmosphere – it’s a fascinating area and the production has done a fantastic job in creating the late ’70s so well.”

Berry says setting out specifically to target Prime Suspect’s historical fan base was secondary to capturing a new generation of Jane Tennison fans, but its historical performance will play well with international buyers.

“Buyers are interested in the success Prime Suspect had historically and Tennison is a character a lot of international audiences are familiar with. It’s also crime drama – the heartland of ITV – and we’re optimistic going into Mipcom with a great show and a fantastic genre.”