The First Images From 'Bookish' Introduce an Array of Colorful Crime Solving Characters

The first images are here from Bookish, the forthcoming Alibi series that's also a charmingly refreshing new entry in the long tradition of British crime dramas about people with normal day jobs who also help solve murders on the side. As the title indicates, this time around, the story follows a quirky bookshop owner whose vast tomes aren't just for sale --- they're also a police resource. 

Bookish hails from Sherlock co-creator Mark Gatiss, who is both writing and starring in the six-part series. (Insert your own jokes about "consulting detectives" here.) Gatiss plays Gabriel Book, an unconventional owner of an antiquarian bookstore with an extremely on-the-nose name who uses the thousands of tomes at his fingertips to help the police think outside of the box and find the answers that might otherwise elude them. (And to doubtless recommend many works of classic literature to the audience watching at home.)

But what sets the series apart is that it isn't just a story about an avid reader who likes to investigate crime. Much like another familiar Alibi series --- Miss Scarlet and the Duke--- Bookish aims to use its unique blend of setting and characters to explore the sort of unconventional lead these sorts of stories often ignore

Like Miss Scarlet, which followed the story of the first female detective in Victorian London, Bookish is a period piece featuring a marginalized lead. Set in post-World War II London, the drama features a lead character who is not only gay, but who must hide his sexual orientation or face legal punishment. 

A closeted gay man in a time when homosexuality was illegal in the U.K. Book is in what was popularly known as a "lavender marriage" to help keep his sexuality a secret. Bridgerton star Polly Walker plays Book's wife Trottie, who owns the wallpaper shop next door and loves her husband deeply, even if she's well aware that their mutual affection isn't of the physical variety. 

Alongside Gatiss and Walker, the series' regular cast members include Connor Finch (Everything I Know About Love) as Jack, Elliot Levey (We Were the Lucky Ones), as Inspector Bliss, Blake Harrison (World on Fire) as Sergeant Morris, and Buket Kömür (Our House) as Nora. 

Bookish also boasts a star-studded array of regular guest stars, featuring Joely Richardson (Renegade Nell) as Sandra Dare, Daniel Mays (The Long Shadow) as Eric Wellbeloved, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (Bodies) as Stewart Howard, Paul McGann (Annika) as Mr. Kind, Michael Workéyè (This is Going to Hurt) as Billy Fox, Luke Norris (Poldark) as Jesse MacKendrick, and Jonas Nay (Line of Separation) as Felix. 

Other familiar faces in the ensemble include Ella Bruccoleri (Passenger), Amanda Drew (The Gold), Rosie Cavaliero (Funny Woman), Tom Forbes (Champion), Mark Umbers (Hotel Portofino), Elizabeth Berrington (Good Omens), Tim McInnerny (The Serpent), and Angeliki Papoulia (The Tunnel). 

Here's the show's synopsis. 

London, 1946, is the dynamic, dangerous, and chaotic setting for this stylish new detective drama. The eccentric Gabriel Book is at the very heart of the story: a self-appointed consultant detective to the local police. The thousands of books lining his shop's shelves provide him with all the knowledge he needs. Book has gathered around him a host of lovable, damaged misfits whom he informally protects, cajoles, and mentors. His wife, Trottie, runs the wallpaper shop next door. She's a charismatic adventuress whom Book loves deeply but not physically, for they are in a ‘lavender’ marriage to help conceal Book’s sexual orientation in a time when it was illegal to be gay.

Bookish is co-written by Gatiss and Matthew Sweet, directed by Carolina Giammetta, and produced by Christopher Arcache. It hails from producer Eagle Eye Drama, the company behind international dramas like Hotel Portofino and English language remakes of popular Walter Presents dramas like Professor T and Before We Die. 

The six-episode series will follow three distinct cases, each spread over two 70-minute installments. Bookish does not currently have an American distributor, but Walter Presents producer Jo McGrath recently hinted that an announcement was likely to come soon.