Entertainment This Week

September 2 - 8, 2023 3 coverstory BY SARAH PASSINGHAM In the mood for mystery: Detective dramas return with back-to-back premieres Marc Warren in "Van Der Valk" Some of television's favorite detectives are hot on the trail of chilling cases across Eu- rope as PBS welcomes back two crime dramas for season premieres on this side of the pond. "Unforgotten" and "Van der Valk" debut back-to-back season premieres on Sun- day, Sept. 30. "Van der Valk" premieres the first installment of its three-episode third season fol- lowing the titular cynic detective Piet Van der Valk (Marc Warren, "Flack") as he combs through the criminal underbelly of idyllic Amsterdam to solve the city's murders. A re- boot of the 1972-1992 series of the same name starring Barry Foster ("Maurice," 1987), both series are inspired by the "Van der Valk" detective novels by author Nicolas Freel- ing. The character's stories have been adapted not just for TV but for radio and film as well. In the season premiere of "Van der Valk," the detective chases leads in the murder of a prominent freerunner. Connections in the case to Amsterdam's drug scene send Van der Valk on a mission that puts his street smarts to the test. Maimie McCoy ("All Creatures Great and Small") stars as Insp. Lucienne Hassell, with new additions this season, Djan- go Chan-Reeves ("Industry") as Sgt. Citra Li and Azan Ahmed ("Mood") as Sgt. Eddie Suleman. Emma Fielding ("Sanditon") returns as Van der Valk's boss, commissioner Julia Dahlman, and Darrell D'Silva ("Domina") is back this season as forensic pathologist Hendrik Davie. London-set drama "Unforgotten" stars Sanjeev Bhaskar ("Yesterday," 2019) as DCI Sunil "Sunny" Khan and new addition Sinéad Keenan ("Showtrial") as DCI Jessica James in its fifth season of cold case deep dives. Each six-episode season centers on one decades-old case reinvigorated by newly discovered evidence. The much-anticipated upcoming season of "Unforgotten" kicks off with a puzzling first case for the newest member of the cold case unit. A bit stiff and overly professional in her new role, DCI James is sent to Hammersmith, London, to investigate the discov- ery of remains that could possibly date back as far as the 1930s. Uncovered during restoration work, it is not immediately clear which of the antiques in the historical home could be contemporaneous to the remains. The team must quick- ly figure out how to work together if they are going to construct a timeline that could very well span a century. Returning this season are Carolina Main ("Foundation") as DC Fran Lingley, Jor- dan Long ("Prime Suspect: Tennison") as DS Murray Boulting, Pippa Nixon ("Angela Black") as DC Karen Willetts, Georgia Mackenzie ("Casualty") as pathologist Dr. Le- anne Balcombe and Michelle Bonnard ("Blindspot") as Sally Field, Sunny's partner. Fair warning that spoilers lie ahead that reveal the events of the fourth season of "Un- forgotten." If you are caught up on the show, then you already know who is missing from cast members returning for the new season. "Unforgotten" said goodbye last season to the beloved DCI Cassie Stuart, portrayed by "Annika" star Nicola Walker. Stuart's tragic on-screen death imitated life in a way for Bhaskar, as he told Master- piece in a 2021 interview, that between scenes at Stuart's bedside in hospital, "We were all sitting around talking about 'Hey, do you remember when... ?' 'Do you remember the first day you were on set?' It was that weird, weird thing of the energy mimicking the scenes that we don't see between them." Losing such a central character is merely a creative challenge for "Unforgotten" series creator Chris Lang, who told Masterpiece that he and Walker worked on her exit from the show together over two seasons, asking her to stay for Season 4 so that he could, "Write [her] a proper story." Inspired by how American dramas like "Breaking Bad" deal in big swings, Lang added, "Writing out your lead — it's quite a challenge there to move forward, but it's a really good challenge."

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