Entertainment Extra - Your source for on screen entertainment from the Logansport Pharos-Tribune
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2 ENTERTAINMENT EXTRA By Sarah Passingham TV Media S ome of television's favorite detectives are hot on the trail of chilling cases across Europe 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 Sunday, Sept. 30. 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-epi- sode season centers on one decades-old case reinvigorated by newly discovered evidence. An estate reveals hints of a hid- den mystery during renovations in the season premiere. "Van der Valk" premieres the first installment of its three-epi- sode third season following the titular cynic detective Piet Van der Valk (Marc Warren, "Flack") as he combs through the crimi- nal underbelly of idyllic Amsterdam to solve the city's murders. A reboot 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 Freeling. 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 addi- tions this season, Django 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, commission- er Julia Dahlman, and Darrell D'Silva ("Domina") is back this season as forensic pathologist Hendrik Davie. The much-anticipated upcom- ing 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 inves- tigate the discovery 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 his- torical home could be contempo- raneous to the remains. The team must quickly figure out how to work together if they are going to construct a timeline that could very well span a cen- tury. Returning this season are Carolina Main ("Foundation") as DC Fran Lingley, Jordan Long ("Prime Suspect: Tennison") as DS Murray Boulting, Pippa Nixon ("Angela Black") as DC Karen Willetts, Georgia Mackenzie ("Casualty") as pathologist Dr. Leanne 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 "Unforgotten." 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, por- trayed by "Annika" star Nicola Walker. Stuart's tragic on-screen death imitated life in a way for Bhaskar, as he told Masterpiece in a 2021 interview, that between scenes at Stuart's bed- side 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." With filming of the last sea- son interrupted by COVID-19 lockdowns, Bhaskar's perfor- mance of Stuart's eulogy was filmed and recorded in parts over many months. While he shared that it was important for him to strike the right tone when reciting the eulogy, admit- ting he was "terrified" that he would "get too emotional with it or that it would get swal- lowed inside," Bhaskar is pleased with his goodbye to his co-lead, adding, "What was nice, in the end, was that that last scene became about Sunny and Cassie ... it was cathartic to have that moment on-screen." Losing such a central charac- ter is merely a creative chal- lenge for "Unforgotten" series creator Chris Lang, who told Masterpiece that he and Walker worked on her exit from the show together over two sea- sons, asking her to stay for Season 4 so that he could, "Write [her] a proper story." Inspired by how American dra- mas 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." Schwering Realty 2 x 2" Pear Tree Gallery 3 x 2" On the Cover Marc Warren in "Van Der Valk" Detective dramas return with back-to-back premieres Chase Center 3 x 2" American Legion Post 60 2 x 3" Sage & Tonic 2 x 2"