BritBox Announces a New 'Lynley' Series Reboot
Leo Suter as DI Thomas Lynley Sofia Barclay as DS Barbara Havers in 'Lynley'
Jonathan Hession/Playground TV
Rumors have swirled since June 2024 about a possible reboot of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. It took until October, but the BBC and BritBox have finally released an update. The new series, Lynley, is officially heading to TV in 2025 as production begins in Ireland. Based on the Lynley Mysteries by writer Elizabeth George, the new series will star Sanditon's Leo Suter as the titular detective DI Tommy Lynley, the Oxford-educated Earl of Asherton, and Ted Lasso's Sofia Barclay as his working-class partner-in-crime-solving, DS Barbara Havers.
The Lynley Mysteries were a hit out of the gate after 1988's A Great Deliverance, George's debut novel, won an Agatha Award. The original adaptation, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, debuted in 2001 and aired six seasons on the BBC and PBS's Mystery!/Masterpiece Mystery. (The final season aired in the U.S. after the Great Masterpiece Rebranding.) The series featured Nathaniel Parker (Merlin) as Lynley, Sharon Small (Flesh & Blood) as Havers, and a rotating cast as Lynley's love interest Helen, including Emma Fielding (Van der Valk), Lesley Vickerage (Lewis), and Catherine Russell (Poirot). The first two seasons covered the 12 books published up to that point before going off on its own tangent in Season 3.
The new series will have more material to work with; George is up to 21 novels, the most recent being 2022's Something to Hide. Also, the double-digit episode seasons made up of the mystery of the week trend of the '90s and '00s (which eats through novels) is no longer as prevalent a format; prestige series prefer one case per season, which seems likely for the new show, which is four feature-length episodes, which means the new series has years of material to work from.
'Lynley' series cast headshots: Leo Suter, Sofia Barclay, Daniel Mays, Niamh Walsh, Michael Wokeeye, Joshua Sher
Joseph Sinclair/Michael Shelford/Will Thompson/Harry Livingstone/Daniel Lindegren/Brian Rolfe/BritBox
Here's the series synopsis:
Tommy Lynley is a brilliant police detective but an outsider in the force – simply by virtue of his aristocratic upbringing. He is paired with Barbara Havers, a sergeant with a maverick attitude and a working-class background. With seemingly nothing in common and against all odds, the mismatched duo of Lynley and Havers become a formidable team, bonded by their desire to see justice done. His brain and her spirit – his knowledge and her instincts. It is only through working side by side that they both find where they truly belong. The unconventional detective duo in the thrilling, sophisticated crime drama will explore timely themes of gender, class and ethics, all while under the pressure of seeking justice.
A high-profile cast joins Suter and Barclay, featuring Moonflower Murders' Daniel Mays as Lynley's antagonistic boss at Three Counties Major Incident Team, DCI Brian Nies; Niamh Walsh (The English Game) plays Helen Clyde, an estate agent/Lynley’s love interest; Michael Workeye (My Lady Jane) is tech specialist Tony Bekele; and Joshua Sher (Vera) is the team forensic scientist Dr. Simon St. James.
All four episodes of Lynley were written by series creator Steve Thompson (Vienna Blood); Ed Bazalgette (Marie Antoinette) serves as lead director with Suzanne McAuley (Magpie Murders) as series producer. Thompson and Goerge are listed as executive producers alongside David Stern & Colin Callender for Playground; Robert Schildhouse, Stephen Nye, Jon Farrar & Jess O’Riordan for BritBox; Kate Woods for BBC Studios; and Sue Deeks for the BBC.
Lynley is currently in production; the series is expected to arrive on BBC One and BritBox in 2025.
