| Genre: | Crime drama |
| Creator: | Elizabeth George |
| Starring: | Nathaniel Parker Sharon Small Lesley Vickerage Catherine Russell Paul Hickey Shaun Parkes Emma Fielding |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Producer: | Sally Haynes |
| Executive Producer: | Ruth Baumgarten |
| Network: | BBC One |
| Runtime: | 90 minutes |
| Num Series: | 6 |
| Num Episodes: | 24 |
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries is a British crime drama television series that aired on BBC One from 12 March 2001 to 1 June 2008, consisting of six series and 24 episodes. The protagonist, Detective Inspector Thomas "Tommy" Lynley, 8th Earl of Asherton (Nathaniel Parker), who is assigned to Scotland Yard, finds himself paired with Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers (Sharon Small). In addition to the tensions involved in solving murder cases, the series is built on clashes of personality, gender and class: Lynley is a polished man and a peer of the realm, and Havers is an untidy woman from a working-class background.
In August 2007, the BBC announced its intention to stop production of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. Fans of the series mounted a campaign to save it, with a petition and by contacting the BBC, but to no avail. All six series have since been released on DVD, distributed by Acorn Media UK.[1]
All episodes from the first two series and two from the third are based on novels by the American writer Elizabeth George, though the plots and characters are often significantly altered. Later episodes are original stories for television based on her characters. The music for the series was composed by Robert Lockhart; later series were scored by Debbie Wiseman.
The first episode (pilot), A Great Deliverance, was broadcast on 12 and 13 March 2001, becoming the only two-part episode throughout the series run. It was also based on the inaugural Inspector Lynley novel. The first full series began broadcasting on 8 April 2002, with the first episode based on and named after the third novel, Well-Schooled in Murder. The first eleven episodes were based on, and named after, the eleven Inspector Lynley novels published from 1988 to 2001, beginning with the inaugural novel A Great Deliverance, but subsequently departing from the print sequence. Nine more novels have since been published as of 2018, with a further volume due out in 2021.
Exterior shots of Lynley and Havers' base were filmed at the Bircham Dyson Bell solicitors offices on Broadway, central London. The first episode of series five was notable for being shot in Dungeness in Kent.[2] In the first episode, Lynley drove a Peugeot 607; whereas in both series one and two he drove a Jensen Interceptor; and in later episodes a Bristol 410. Despite the frequently recurring remark in PBS Mystery! presenter Diana Rigg's introductions to the series that Lynley "is the one with the Bentley", he never drove a Bentley on TV. He does, however, drive one in the George novels. In the pilot episode, the character of Helen Clyde was played by Emma Fielding. She was later portrayed by Lesley Vickerage from series one to three (from series three she and Lynley had married and she was thus known as Helen Lynley) and by Catherine Russell in series five.
The broadcast of Limbo and Know Thine Enemy was initially postponed: they were due to air on 9 and 16 August 2007 respectively but did not air as scheduled.[3] Their premiere broadcast came on 11 and 18 November 2007 on BBC Entertainment, before being broadcast on BBC One for the first time on 25 May and 1 June 2008 respectively.
In the United States, all six series were broadcast on PBS from 2002 to 2008.
Episode 4 was the final broadcast of Mystery! before WGBH retooled the classic anthology series, along with Masterpiece Theatre, into Masterpiece.
In December 2014, Knowledge Network began broadcasting the series from the beginning in Canada.
| The Complete First Series | July 3, 2006 | April 2, 2008September 14, 2016 (Re-Release) |
| The Complete Second Series | April 21, 2008 | May 6, 2010September 14, 2016 (Re-Release) |
| The Complete Third Series | March 15, 2009 | May 1, 2013September 14, 2016 (Re-Release) |
| The Complete Fourth Series | June 1, 2009 | November 6, 2013September 14, 2016 (Re-Release) |
| The Complete Fifth Series | October 5, 2009 | September 14, 2016 |
| The Complete Sixth Series | May 10, 2010 | September 14, 2016 |
| The Complete First & Second Series | April 14, 2014 | N/A |
| The Complete Third & Fourth Series | N/A | |
| The Complete Fifth & Sixth Series | N/A | |
| The Complete Inspector Lynley Mysteries | September 14, 2016 |
A new adaptation of the Lynley books is in development for BritBox, to be written by Steve Thompson and directed by Ed Bazalgette. Leo Suter will star as Lynley, whilst Havers will be played by Sofia Barclay. The series will consist of four 90 minute episodes.[4]