The First Trailer for 'Patience' Was Worth the Wait

Over on Walter Presents, Astrid (Astrid et Raphaëlle) is hitting peak popularity, as the series' fourth season is handed the honor of kicking off the foreign language anthology series' 2025 slate at the beginning of January. However, the true sign of a Walter Presents series officially being a hit is for the anthology's executive producers, Jo McGrath and Walter Iuzzolino, optioning the rights to remake it as a U.K. set series via their other company, Eagle Eye Drama. Lo, Astrid's English-language remake, retitled Patience, is also arriving at the beginning of January... across the pond on Channel 4.

Like Eagle Eye's other major remake hit, the English-language Professor T with Ben Miller, remaking Astrid for U.K. and U.S. audiences was a no-brainer decision. Professor T was an obvious choice since the Flemish language series had already been remade in French, German, and Czech. Astrid is also an obvious choice because of the material: the France 2 series follows the adventures of DCI Raphaëlle Coste (Lola Dewaere) and police archivist Astrid Nielsen (Sara Mortensen), an autistic savant who Raphaëlle comes across hiding herself away in the basement of the precinct. 

However, Mortensen is a neurotypical actor playing a person with ASD. The English remake quietly corrects this bias, with neurodivergent actor Ella Maisy Purvis playing neurodivergent protagonist Patience Evans (the series' titular analog of Astrid) in the new version. Laura Fraser (Outlander) plays Bea Metcalf, the show’s version of Raphaëlle Coste. Check out the trailer:

Here is the series synopsis, which notably centers Patience’s POV rather than the woman who discovers her:

Patience Evans works in the criminal records department of Yorkshire Police, cataloging and filing the evidence produced during major cases. A young autistic woman, she craves routine and order, relishing the solitude and structure her job provides, but she yearns for more. A brilliant, self-taught criminologist, Patience has an instinctive eye for crime scenes and a passion for problem-solving. Detective Bea Metcalf is the first person to spot and utilize her talent, which opens a door into a whole new world for Patience.  Patience attends a regular support group for autistic adults where they discuss the barriers in operating in a neuro-typical world and how best to navigate it. 

Fraiser and Purvis are joined by a cast that includes Ali Ariaie (The Great), Nathan Welsh (Domina), Tom Lewis (Gentleman Jack), Liza Sadovy (Ridley Road), Sabina Arthur (Queen Charlotte), Jamie Maclachlan (Slow Horses), Joseph Arkley (The Capture), and Rupert Holliday-Evans (Showtrial). Neurodiverse actors will play all neurodivergent characters in the series.

Matt Baker (Hotel Portofino) is the lead writer, with a team of Stephen Brady, Sarah Freethy, and Daniella DeVinter, all of whom have personal experience relating to autism. Director Maarten Moerkerke helmed all six episodes. As always, McGrath and Iuzzolino executive produce.

Patience Season 1 will premiere in the U.K. on Channel 4 starting Wednesday, January 8, 2025. PBS has not yet confirmed when the show will land on this side of the pond, but it's a decent bet we'll probably see it sometime in the Summer of 2025, perhaps paired up with Grantchester's return for its landmark 10th season in the Summer of Mysteries block. 

While American fans wait, Astrid Seasons 1 through 3 are streaming for members of PBS Passport. Season 4 will arrive with all eight episodes on Sunday, January 5, 2024, on PBS Passport and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel. Season 5 airs on France 2 through the end of December 2024 and will likely land in the States in early 2026. France 2 is expected to greenlight Season 6 in early 2025.