'Poldark's Aidan Turner to Star in 'The Suspect'
Fans of Poldark were saddened to learn that the series would end after five seasons and that the series would not jump ahead ten years to finish out the Winston Graham books. But just because the scything is over doesn't mean that star Aidan Turner will be gone from our screens long. The actor has recently signed on for a new project from the production distributer behind the Bodyguard, called The Suspect.
The series is an adaptation of Australian crime fiction writer Michael Robotham's opening novel from his Joseph O'Loughlin series, encompassing nine books and counting. The five-part series will cover the first book with Turner starring as O'Loughlin. Though the series is currently being billed as a standalone, fans can assume that Turner will have found himself a franchise if it is a hit.
The Suspect revolves around Dr. Joe O'Loughlin, a successful clinical psychologist with a seemingly perfect family life. He's also an online personality and hero after preventing a suicidal jumper from taking his own life after climbing out the hospital window. The initial novel came out in 2004, the latest book in the series was released in 2018.
Here's the show's current synopsis:
When a young woman is found in a shallow grave in a West London cemetery, veteran police officer DI Vincent Ruiz and his young partner DS Riya Devi are assigned to the investigation. But has the young woman been murdered, or is this a case of suicide? As a successful author, O'Loughlin's opinion is much sought after, and when he meets DS Devi, he's only too willing to offer help with profiling and his expertise. But as the investigation into Catherine's death gathers pace, we start to ask, do we know the real Joe, or does he have a secret life? And has his work as a clinical psychologist allowed him to develop a criminal mindset? Or worse?
The series will costar Shaun Parkes (Small Axe), Sian Clifford (Fleabag), Camilla Beeput (The Split), Adam James (Doctor Foster), and Anjli Mohindra (The Sarah Jane Adventures). Gangs of London writer Peter Berry will open the series with James Strong (Broadchurch) directing all five episodes.
This is the first English language adaptation of the O'Loughlin novels to be produced. A series of German TV movies covering the first six books in the early 2010s. Robotham's standalone novel, The Secrets She Keeps, was recently adapted into a six-part TV series by Network 10 in Australia and became a massive pandemic lockdown hit when it aired on the BBC in 2020.
The Suspect does not yet have an American distributor on this side of the pond. But with Turner's high profile due to his time as one of PBS' leading men, and World Production involved (which was the production distributer that landed Bodyguard on Netflix), fans will hopefully learn where The Suspect can be seen here soon.
