Tennison: ITV announce Prime Suspect prequel from original writer and creator Lynda La Plante.
On Thursday the 18th of June 2015, ITV announced it had commissioned a new Prime Suspect prequel series entitled Tennison. Co-produced by La Plante Global and Noho Film And Television, and written by Lynda La Plante, the crime drama will air over six 60-minute episodes.
As fans of the original Prime Suspect series will have already worked out, the shows storyline revolves around the work and family life of a young Jane Tennison, as she sets out on her career in the police force – much in the way Endeavour has in relation to Inspector Morse. Viewers will now finally get an insight into just what it was that moulded Jane into such a complex and formidable Metropolitan Detective.
Set during the 1970’s in the London Borough of Hackney, where female constables are being uneasily ‘integrated’ into the police force, viewers are introduced to Jane – a 22-year-old probationary officer working in a world of chauvinistic high-ranking police officers who have little regard for rules and regulations.
Despite begin a little naive, Tennison’s instinctive nature and single-minded dedication to the job become apparent right from the start.
Premiere Date
Tennison will premiere on ITV in 2016, with the shows broadcast marking 25 years since the first episode of Prime Suspect aired in the UK. Running for seven seasons between 1991 and 2006, Prime Suspect starred actress Dame Helen Mirren as the more experienced DCI/Detective Superintendent Tennison.
Cast List
We’re currently awaiting the first cast announcements from ITV, including the all important matter of who will play Jane. We’ll update this page with the full Tennison cast and character details as they’re released in the coming months.