The 'Bergerac' Trailer Puts the Detective on the Case
The cast of 'Bergerac'
UKTV
The 2015 reboot of Poldark turned out to be the leading edge of a wave of British remakes of TV series from the 1970s and 80s, many of which were broadcast on local PBS stations during the era when the PBS mothership didn't try to control what aired on its rapidly proliferating affiliates. Nowadays, these remakes are more official; the original Van der Valk and All Creatures Great & Small were never national shows for PBS, though so many local channels took it on a second run, they might as well have been. Both reboots are now under the Masterpiece banner, guaranteeing them Sunday night berths in primetime.
The mid-2020s will bring another wave of remakes of familiar titles from PBS' early days, including Maigret to The Forsyte Saga. Meanwhile, across the pond, there's a new version of Bergerac, the 1980s-era detective series that originally made Midsomer Murders' John Nettles famous. This reimagined version is based on the original series, which Robert Banks Stewart created. However, it will bow to some of the newer standards of prestige TV, going from case-of-the-week to one murder mystery per season, the way modern hit dramas like Unforgotten do.
Set across the channel in Jersey, France, DS Bergerac is initially introduced as a detective with Le Bureau des Étrangers (The Foreigners' Office), a department of the State of Jersey Police. The original series kicks off when he leaves to become a private investigator due to his mental and physical health issues, and one assumes the new series will follow that same eventual track. What won't change is Jim Bergerac's demons, including disabilities that come from his injuries on the job and his alcoholism from self-medicating his depression.
Here’s the series synopsis:
Jim Bergerac is a broken man, grappling with grief and alcoholism following his wife’s recent death. But when a member of one of Jersey’s wealthiest families is murdered, Chief of Police Uma Dalal wants their best detective on the case. Bergerac returns to work to help him become the formidable detective he once was, whilst also trying to prove to his daughter Kim and mother-in-law Charlie Hungerford that his life is back on track.
The Wakefield’s, led by patriarch and businessman Arthur, are keeping their cards close to their chests, whilst a man from Bergerac’s past resurfaces to make a shocking accusation. Is Bergerac up to the job?
Damien Molony (Being Human) leads the series as the titular detective, with Zoë Wanamaker (Black Ops) as his mother-in-law, Charlie Hungerford, Chloé Sweetlove (The Crow Girl) as his daughter, Kim, and Sasha Behar (Foundation) as his boss, Uma Dalal. The supporting cast includes Philip Glenister (Steeltown Murders) as Arthur Wakefield, Pippa Haywood (Bodyguard) as Margaret Heaton, Robert Gilbert (Big Boys) as Barney Crozier, Timothy Renouf (A Very British Scandal) as Julien Wakefield and Celine Arden (Bridgerton) as Kara.
Being Human’s Toby Whithouse is the series creator and lead writer, along with Brian Fillis, Catherine Tregenna, and Polly Buckle. Directors Colm McCarthy and Sean Spencer split helming duties across the show’s six episodes, with Clare Alan producing. Whithouse executive produces with Ben Bickerton & Philip Trethowan for BlackLight TV, Brian Constantine for Westward Studios, and Helen Perry for UKTV.
The Bergerac reboot will debut on U&Drama and stream free for UK residents in February 2025. No American distributor has been announced, but all nine seasons of the original are streaming on BritBox, so there’s a better-than-even chance that’s where it will land.
