Suspects (TV series)

Suspects is a British police procedural television series that aired on Channel 5 from 12 February 2014 to 31 August 2016. The series follows members of the Metropolitan Police as they investigate murders, assaults, and other crimes across London.

Most of the show's dialogue is improvised in order to make it seem natural. The actors have a detailed story document and perform from there. The show is filmed within Brownall House the former Tower Hamlets Council offices on Cambridge Heath Road, London. The building exterior also features in ITV's comedy series The Job Lot.

Premise
Set in a London police station, Suspects follows DI Martha Bellamy, DS Jack Weston, and DC Charlie Steele in their investigations of crimes across London. Each episode features a different case, including murders, attempted murders, missing persons, drug overdoses, child abuse, and sex crimes. While sequential episodes do not follow a story arc — each consisting of a standalone case — cases in series two and five are split across multiple episodes. As such, episodes generally focus on the details of the case at hand rather than the private lives of the investigators.

Cast

 * Fay Ripley as Detective Inspector Martha Bellamy (Series 1—4)
 * Damien Molony as Detective Sergeant Jack Weston (Series 1—5)
 * Clare-Hope Ashitey as Detective Constable Charlotte "Charlie" Steele (Series 1—5)
 * Lenora Crichlow as Detective Sergeant/Inspector Alisha Brooks (Series 5)
 * Perry Fitzpatrick as Trainee/Detective Constable Gary Roscoe (Series 5)
 * James Murray as Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Drummond (Series 5)
 * Vauxhall Jermaine as CID James Tanner (Series 1)
 * Jack Greenlees as Justin Marecroft (Series 1-2)

Production
Unlike most police procedural television series, actors improvised their dialogue from scene to scene based on characterisation and a detailed plot description a rather than a rehearsed script. The main cast's characterisation process included a police workshop with a retired police officer, where they learned interview techniques, police terminologies and general day-to-day lingo. Improvised dialogue and fly on the wall filming were employed to facilitate genuine character reactions and make investigations appear realistic. Shooting time was limited to two and a half days per episode, leaving only 18 minutes on average for the filming of each scene.

Series 1 (2014)
The first series, consisting of five episodes, aired from 12 February to 12 March 2014 and was subsequently released on DVD on 1 September 2014.

Series 2 (2014)
The second series aired from 20 August to 28 August 2014. It consists of two 2-part stories, each originally aired on consecutive days in the same week.

Series 3 (2015)
The third series, consisting of four episodes, aired from 13 January to 21 January 2015.

Series 4 (2015)
The fourth series, consisting of four episodes, aired from 25 November to 16 December 2015.

Series 5 (2016)
The fifth and final series, consisting of six episodes, aired from 3 August 2016 to 31 August 2016. Main cast member Fay Ripley was unable to reprise her role as DI Martha Bellamy due to her filming commitments for the new series of Cold Feet. Because of this, her character, Bellamy, is found dead in the first episode of the series, having been fatally shot. Three new cast members were introduced to the main cast with the initial premise of investigating her murder: Lenora Crichlow as DS Alisha Brooks, James Murray as DCI Daniel Drummond, and Perry Fitzpatrick as TDC Gary Roscoe. Unlike prior seasons, all six episodes focus on an ongoing story arc entitled The Enemy Within.

Dutch and German Remakes
In October 2016 it was announced that Suspects would be getting a German remake. The company UFA will produce the remake for RTL Television.

In March 2017 a Dutch remake of Suspects was released in the Netherlands on Videoland, produced for RTL Netherlands.