Beyond Paradise (TV series)
| Beyond Paradise | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Crime drama |
| Created by | |
| Based on | Characters from Death in Paradise by Robert Thorogood |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | Bellowhead |
| Composer | Magnus Fiennes |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 9 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Lindsay Hughes |
| Production location | Looe |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company | Red Planet Pictures |
| Original release | |
| Network | |
| Release | 24 February 2023 – present |
| Related | |
| Death in Paradise | |
Beyond Paradise is a British crime drama television series that first aired on 24 February 2023. It is a spin-off of the long-running crime series Death in Paradise[1] and stars Kris Marshall.
On 8 April 2023 it was renewed for a second series and a Christmas special.[2][3]
Synopsis
The show follows Detective Inspector Humphrey Goodman, who left Saint Marie to be with Martha Lloyd. After becoming engaged, the couple move to Martha's hometown of Shipton Abbott, near the Devon coast. Not long after arriving, Humphrey joins the small local police force, where he quickly makes an impression on the local officers: Detective Sergeant Esther Williams, PC Kelby Hartford and office support worker Margo Martins, bringing a whole approach to police work.[4]
Cast
- Kris Marshall as DI Humphrey Goodman
- Sally Bretton as Martha Lloyd, Humphrey’s fiancée
- Zahra Ahmadi as DS Esther Williams
- Dylan Llewellyn as PC Kelby Hartford
- Felicity Montagu as Margo Martins, office support
- Barbara Flynn as Anne Lloyd, Martha’s mother
Recurring characters
- Jamie Bamber as Archie Hughes, Martha's business partner and ex-fiancée (series 1)
- Melina Sinadinou as Zoe, Esther's daughter
- Chris Jenks as Josh Woods, petty thief
- Eva Feiler as Lucy, Josh Woods fiancée
- Jade Harrison as Chief Superintendent Charlotte (Charlie) Woods
Crossover characters from Death in Paradise
- Don Warrington as Commissioner Selwyn Patterson
- Élizabeth Bourgine as Catherine Bordey
- Ralf Little as DI Neville Parker
- Shantol Jackson as DS Naomi Thomas
- Tahj Miles as Officer Marlon Pryce
Production
Casting
Kris Marshall was one of the most popular detectives to feature on Death in Paradise and the producers knew he resonated with audiences around the world. The producers felt audiences wanted to know what happened to Humphrey and Martha.[4] Sally Bretton also reprised her role from Death in Paradise.
Zahra Ahmadi and Barbara Flynn had both previously appeared in episodes of Death in Paradise playing different characters.
Location
The series is set in the fictional coastal town of Shipton Abbott, South Devon. A number of locations were considered, but the producers settled on the West Country as they felt that Devon had not been used very often in TV drama. They decided to film in the Cornish town of Looe[5] because it has a thriving community with fishing businesses; additionally some scenes were filmed in neighbouring Polperro as well as Fowey. The fictional town is set slightly back from the coast so different storylines could be developed.[4]
Episodes
| Series | Episodes | Originally aired | Ave. UK viewers (millions)[6] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||||
| 1 | 6 | 24 February 2023 | 7 April 2023 | 6.78 | |
| Special | 24 December 2023 | 6.20 | |||
| 2 | 6 | 22 March 2024 | 2024 | TBA | |
Series 1 (2023)
Episodes 4-6 on BritBox in the US were shown a week earlier than they were in the UK.
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by [7] | Written by [7] | Original air date [7] | UK viewers (millions) [6] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Episode 1" | Sandy Johnson | Tony Jordan | 24 February 2023 | 7.57 | |
|
Humphrey literally drops in to his new position as DI of Shipton Abbott police station. His first cases involve a woman convinced she was pushed by a seventeenth-century witch of local legend who steals children, dealing with a petty thief who's in love, and the theft of a number of red cars. Humphrey and his fiancée, Martha, who is pregnant by IVF treatment, are staying with her mother while Martha looks for premises to open a cafe. Humphrey solves the crimes but he and Martha are struck by personal tragedy. | |||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Episode 2" | Sandy Johnson | Tony Jordan | 3 March 2023 | 7.15 | |
|
Humphrey and Esther are called to an unlocked house where the family, Matthew and Laura Colbert and their two children, have disappeared, leaving an unfinished evening meal, television and lights on, and the car still in the driveway. PC Kelby is looking into a hit-and-run with his only clue: pieces of plastic from a broken headlight. Following her personal tragedy, Martha is preparing to open her cafe but the bank refuses her loan and Humphrey has bought a boat, straining their relationship. Humphrey returns to the house and a missing key and a mobile phone belonging to the hit and run victim lead him to a solution. Martha is thrown a lifeline by local vineyard owner Archie Hughes, to whom she had been previously engaged. Humphrey misses the opening of the cafe to save the Colbert's lives. Features a posthumous tribute to guest star Ruth Madoc. | |||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Episode 3" | Matt Carter | Amy Guyler | 10 March 2023 | 7.04 | |
|
A painting called the "Solo Mare" is being kept under covers at Shipton Manor overnight, before its sale to Louise Fitzallan by owner Terence Witham at the next morning's unveiling. PC Kelby is assigned by Humphrey to remain in the room overnight. When the painting is unveiled, it is gone save for its frame. PC Kelby can only offer the explanation of a short power cut and a man in an orange baseball cap running from the house and his leaving of the room for only a few minutes. Humphrey and Esther investigate the provenance of the painting which could lead to a motive for the theft. Humphrey is called to the South West Police Hub to meet the Chief Superintendent and has a beer with Martha's previous fiancée Archie. | |||||||
| 4 | 4 | "Episode 4" | Sandy Johnson | Ian Kershaw | 24 March 2023 | 6.53 | |
|
A man is found dead of a suspected heart attack in the middle of a newly made crop circle at North Farm with no identification and the last page of Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations hidden in his sock. Investigations find his car 10 miles away at the site of an illegal rave with a map of North Farm. The farm is a centre of many sightings of alien ships that the owners, brother and sister Andrew and Cassie Parker, use to supplement the farm's income. Further investigation reveal their estranged father had died recently in prison serving a sentence for a gold bullion robbery that was never recovered. Martha is worried by a food critic coming to review the cafe. She also confides to Humphrey she does not wish to continue the IVF treatment and Archie tries to rekindle their romance with a kiss. Aired two weeks later due to Comic Relief | |||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Episode 5" | Matt Carter | Chloe Mi Lin Ewart | 31 March 2023 | 6.39 | |
|
Three fires twelve hours apart, the last being at Archie's winery, all daubed with the word PIG lead Humphrey to suspect the arsonist is using the children's story Three Little Pigs as a motive as he and Esther can find no connection between the victims. A silver button found at the first fire being the only clue. Kelby finds CCTV evidence at a boat shed where petrol and paint were stolen and Esther, as a mother herself, knows the suspect and a what a mother would do to protect a daughter. During a misunderstanding, Archie lets slip to Humphrey he tried to kiss Martha and heart to heart talks between Archie and Martha, Humphrey and Esther, and finally Humphrey and Martha leads to her breaking off her engagement to Humphrey. | |||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Episode 6" | Matt Carter | Tony Jordan | 7 April 2023 | 6.01 | |
|
Lucy Elliot's home is burgled and fingerprints and a boot print found at the scene lead to her ex-girlfriend Hayley Collins, who at the time of the robbery was in the police station cells. The modus operandi of the theft was of known local thief Atticus Styles, who lived within a hundred yards of the burglary, but had an alibi. Elliot's solicitor Kate Nolan, her current girlfriend, worked for the firm that had represented Styles in the past. Esther struggles with the case as Humphrey, distracted by his personal problems, is unable to give the case his full attention. Unable to resolve his personal problems, Humphrey leaves Shipton Abbot for a holiday on Saint Marie and a reunion with old friends Commissioner Patterson and Catherine, and meets the current police team led by DI Neville Parker. An unexpected second reunion on Saint Marie also takes place. Guest appearances: DI Neville Parker (Ralf Little), DS Naomi Thomas (Shantol Jackson), Officer Marlon Pryce (Tahj Miles), Commissioner Selwyn Patterson (Don Warrington), Catherine Bordey (Elizabeth Bourgine) | |||||||
Christmas Special (2023)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by [7] | Written by [7] | Original air date [7] | UK viewers (millions) [6] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | - | "Christmas Special" | Sandy Johnson | Tony Jordan | 24 December 2023 | 6.20 | |
|
Under threat of the police station being closed Humphrey and Esther are under pressure to solve four house break-ins when nothing was taken; but a small pile of ash was left at the scene. At one break-in a gold bracelet was found on the floor. Kelby looking for a connection between the scenes of crime discovers each property had been burgled in the week prior to Christmas 50 years ago. A suspect then was interviewed and released due to lack of evidence. Kelby also is looking after a small boy caught shoplifting refusing to give his name. While awaiting social services Sally takes an interest and the boy does not want to go home because his mother took his mobile phone which he used to talk to his grandfather from whom his mother had become estranged when her husband died. All the threads come together and Humphrey receives some Christmas cheer from Chief Superintendent Charlie Woods. | |||||||
Series 2 (2024)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by [7] | Written by [7] | Original air date [7] | UK viewers (millions) [6] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 1 | "Episode 1" | Claire Tailyour | Tony Jordan | 22 March 2024 | N/A | |
|
Humphrey and Esther are standing in for players on a heritage railway murder mystery trip rehearsal for the Shipton Abbot Players organised by Margo. After the train slows to enter a tunnel, the actor playing the victim is found murdered; he had been stabbed in the back but there is no blood present at the scene. The victim had recently moved to Shipton Abbot after inheriting a house, but Humphrey and Esther initially find no details of his past life. The only suspects are the other four players, one of whom is married to the train driver. Humphrey's priority is to discover who the victim was and if he had any connection with the suspects before Superintendent Woods moves the investigation to the Devon Police central hub. Meanwhile, Martha is concerned about her mother's on-line dating and who she is going to meet. Features a posthumous tribute to crew member Dave Thacker, who was a sound recordist and boom operator.[8] | |||||||
| 9 | 2 | "Episode 2" | Claire Tailyour | Kat Rose-Martin | 29 March 2024 | N/A | |
|
Martha and her old schoolfriend, Belle Hammond whose grandfather had recently died, visit a medium, Claire Moss. Moss receives messages from Hammond's grandfather with warnings that subsequently become true. Humphrey and Esther investigate with the former being open minded and the latter sceptical. When Hammond is assaulted and robbed Humphrey realises what is happening and why, when the victim shows him photographs of the items stolen. Martha and Humphrey undergo interviews from social services about becoming foster parents and Martha's mother, Anne has another internet date; this time with Richard. Esther's scepticism is put to the test. | |||||||
| 10 | 3 | "Episode 3" | Sandy Johnson | Rebecca Wojciechowski | 5 April 2024 | N/A | |
| 11 | 4 | "Episode 4" | Sandy Johnson | Ian Jarvis | 12 April 2024 | N/A | |
| 12 | 5 | "Episode 5" | TBD | TBD | 2024 | TBD | |
| 13 | 6 | "Episode 6" | TBD | TBD | 2024 | TBD | |
Reception
Michael Hogan of The Telegraph gave it four stars out of five, proclaiming it 'superior to its mothership show' and 'Charming, cheerful and just gripping enough, it was the cosy crime treat we didn't know we needed.'[9] Jack Seale of The Guardian, conversely, awarded the first episode just two out of five stars.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b Jack Seale (24 February 2023). "Beyond Paradise review – Kris Marshall's detective spinoff swaps sunshine for awful fart gags". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ "Beyond Paradise future revealed after series 1 finale". 7 April 2023.
- ^ "Hit BBC Drama Beyond Paradise to return for second series and Christmas Special". www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ a b c "Beyond Paradise". BBC Media Centre. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ Aplin, Lucy (15 February 2023). "Beyond Paradise filming location in Cornwall for the BBC's Death in Paradise spin-off series". inews.co.uk.
- ^ a b c d "Most Viewed Programmes (See relevant week(s))". BARB.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Beyond Paradise – Episode guide". BBC One. Choose appropriate episode. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ^ "Who was Dave Thacker? Beyond Paradise dedication explained". Radio Times.
- ^ Hogan, Michael (24 February 2023). "Beyond Paradise, review: crime drama's Devon staycation proves a match for the Caribbean". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 29 June 2023.