Scott & Bailey, an ITV production, features two (women) detectives who not only work together, they also rely on each other as friends. The series begins as the senior detective Janet Scott (played wonderfully by Lesley Sharp) is training her partner Rachel Bailey (played by Suranne Jones – another wonderful performance). These ladies work in the Major Incident Team – which handles murders. As with all jobs, sometimes the lines between underlings & their bosses are blurred when there is too good of a personal relationship.
These two women, while both extremely smart and dedicated to their jobs, are very different. The older of the two (Janet) has a family – two daughters, a husband, and her mother. Janet’s very long, erratic hours add to Janet’s character. Janet seems to be pulled in all directions.
Rachel, on the other hand, lives for Rachel, Rachel’s job, and Rachel’s enjoyment. The two women couldn’t be any more different! (I read somewhere that one of the creators of the show was a Cagney & Lacey fan. If you’ve watched those shows then you’ll see the remarkable similarities.)
The third strong woman in this show is Detective Chief Inspector Gill Murray, played by Amelia Bullmore. The actress brings the right touches needed for being a tough boss with a heart. Detective Superintendent Julie Dodson (Pippa Haywood) is a friend of Gill’s who frequently comes to the office for work-related reasons and/or because of their friendship.
There is one downfall of the show: the men. I enjoyed these secondary characters, but thought they all came off as losers. When there is a promotion to replace the second-in-command of the office, it left me wondering why not one of the men had passed his sergeant’s exam!
As I mentioned before, I enjoyed Scott & Bailey. It is not a Cozy television show, and (at least at the moment) available on Amazon Prime.
For more movie and television show recommendations, visit the TV and Movies page on my site.
I watched this mystery show years ago (I think it was on the BBCA channel), but I’m re-watching it now. I would categorize it as a ‘dramedy’. Some shows have more comedy than others, depending on the plot line. And, a few of the episodes don’t have a mystery. My husband and I enjoy all of them, but I definitely recommend you watch them in the correct chronological order. If you want to really enjoy the shows, it’s pretty important to know the characters.
