Lynley is back – but not for the better, according to fans (Picture: BBC/Playground TV/Jonathan Hession)
Seventeen years after beloved BBC crime drama Inspector Lynley came to an end, the fresh reboot has just landed to disappointed reception.
The original series, which ran from 2001 to 2008 starred Nathaniel Parker and Sharon Small as crime-busting duo Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley (an upper-crust gent) and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers (a working class lass).
Across six seasons and 24 episodes, they won viewers over with the compelling class dynamic, slew of murder mysteries and gritty portrait of 00s Britain.
Now the show, based on The Inspector Lynley Mysteries by Elizabeth George, is back with a brand new cast and fresh mysteries for the pair of sleuths (and the audience) to get to the bottom of in Norfolk.
This time around, Leo Suter (Sanditon) and Sofia Barclay (Ted Lasso) have stepped into the shoes of our plucky partnership – but to very little fanfare.
The revival, made up of four feature-length episodes, was always going to kick off on the back foot when compared to the original which holds a special place in many people’s hearts.
Critics offered middling reviews across the board.
In its two star review, the Telegraph said it was a ‘bland but serviceable detective drama if you come to it with no expectations’ while The Guardian, more charitably, called it the ‘ultimate undermanding telly’.
Radio Times said in a three-star review: ‘Its refreshingly straight-forward storytelling and abundance of old-school charm should help reel in both a new generation and those who vaguely remember the original.’
Although The Independent critiqued it for its ‘wooden acting and clunky scripts’. The review added that it comes across as ‘a show made with so little apparent care.’
Fans who tuned into the first episode of the reboot on Monday night were just as unforgiving, if not more.
‘It does not have the charm of the original Inspector Lynsey series, and there’s no chemistry between these two new versions, as there was between the original series characters,’ X user Deborah declared.
Where is BBC series Lynley filmed?
When it comes to cosy British crime dramas, the locations almost always became a character in their own right.
In Lynley, unlike the books and OG series which are set in London, the detective duo work for the Three Counties Major Investigation Team which is based across Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.
This means the sweeping shots of the countryside and nature sequences are all set in East Anglia, although the actual filming locations are more varied.
Filming was predominantly done in Ireland, specifically in Dublin,the surrounding areas and further still into the Wicklow Mountains.
There were also shots made of the English countryside and filming crews entering the Thames Estuary to add colour to the show.
Many have said it doesn’t hold a candle to the original (Picture: BBC)
‘Best thing about Lynley was the beautiful scenery. Didn’t stop me falling asleep halfway through though,’ Janey Brooke shared.
‘This new version is abysmal. The characters are lacklustre and have no connection. Duller than dishwasher,’ Hunky Dory echoed.
‘Everything about this new series is terrible. The acting is terrible and the camera work is just strange. Too many clichés. It just feels cheap,’ Barney Rubble agreed.
Although some are willing to give it a chance, with Philip Nolan calling it ‘old fashioned fun’ and Georgia saying she ‘really enjoyed’ the first episode.
‘The first episode was head and shoulders above a lot of the crime series we’ve been served up over the past year,’ wyfan2 defended.
Although the original Lynley first neatly into the role of elite English gentleman (Oxford-educated, cricket lover and plenty of dosh), the new Lynley is a more modern version of the archetype.
The lead stars have both spoken about the difference in this modern take on the story (Picture: BBC/Playground TV/Jonathan Hession)
As Leo told the i paper: ‘People now suppress and hide their Oxbridgeness… certainly their blue bloodedness.
‘It wouldn’t be feasible to be such a blatant toff today, to wear that on one’s sleeve. If our new Lynley is to make his way in this modern police force, then he has to dance around those things a bit more delicately.’
As for Sofia, discussing the pressure given the popularity of the books and original series, she had a different mindset.
She told Country and Townhouse magazine: ‘It’s something that people have a lot of opinions about already, because they care about it so much.
‘But if I’m really honest, Lynley’s script is so different from the books and the original series.’
The actor then praised writer Steve Thompson for doing ‘a beautiful job adapting the world with the same energy, characters, spirits and some of the same plot lines – but with totally different given circumstances,’ which helped remove the pressure.
Lynley airs on Mondays at 8:30pm on BBC One and the full season is available stream on BBC iPlayer now.
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