They say write what you know and like so I thought I'd share one of my favorite tv shows. Midsommer Murders is a British murder mystery series that's been on the air since 1997 and still going strong. It's the longest running contemporary detective drama in UK's television history. If you love mysteries like me, you'll enjoy it. With 22 seasons and well over 100 episodes, it's a binge-worthy watch. Here's a summary of the show from IMDB:
Based on the crime-novel series by author Caroline Graham, `Midsomer Murders' follows the efforts of Detective Chief Inspector John Barnaby to solve crimes that occur in the wealthy, isolated English county of Midsomer, a picturesque and peaceful place on the outside but one filled with amoral and snobbish eccentrics with all kinds of vices.
Acorn Media describes it as “The British rural version of Law and Order”. The show centers around DCI Tom Barnaby in the beginning with his Detective Sargeants who go to country villages to solve often brutal crimes. Sometimes you can guess the killer or killers if you're really good at solving mysteries, but they often have just enough red herrings that they'll keep you guessing.
Pictured left to right are Oliver Ford Davies, Barry Jackson, Jason Hughes, John Nettles, Neil Dudgeon, and Tamzin Malleson. Credit to IMDB.com.
In 25 years, Barnaby has paired up with multiple sargeants. My favorite is Jason Hughes who played DS Ben Jones. In 2011, John Nettles who plays Tom retires from the series and his younger cousin John Barnaby takes over. John Barnaby is played by Neil Dudgeon. It's a smooth transition.
They're creative with the murders with everything used from a cricket bat to croquet stakes and flying wine bottles to antique swords to farm equipment. They recently aired a special on PBS called “20 Things to do in Midsommer Before You Die”. They talk about the fact that they've had about 300 murders in 25 years but Midsommer is a large county so that's a fair share. Seems like a lot to me! You can't beat their 100% case closed rate. But, it's not all doom and gloom. The detectives' family lives are shared and you grow to love them. John Barnaby in particular has the cutest dog ever – Sykes. In the PBS special, the actor said the most asked questions he gets when he's recognized are “Is that your dog? Where's your dog? I only watch the show for the dog.” Sykes is indeed special and it's amazing to watch him act. Neil Dudgeon said that he's never seen an actor including humans come in and nail an audition as Sykes did. Just watching him talk to the dog on the show is charming and funny.
Here's a trailer so you get a sense of what it's all about. You can stream it on Acorn TV through Prime Video, see it on the Ovation channel for free, or find it on Tubi. Check it out and as always drop me a comment below if you try it and like it.
