Paranoid (TV series)
Paranoid is a British crime drama which began broadcasting on ITV on 22 September 2016, and streaming internationally on Netflix in 2016. The eight-part series focuses on a group of UK detectives working for the fictional Woodmere police force who are attempting to solve the murder of a doctor who is stabbed at a children's playground. During the course of their investigation, the detectives discover the murder has links to a German pharmaceutical company and they enlist the help of their German colleagues in Düsseldorf to find the killer.[2] Indira Varma, Robert Glenister, and Dino Fetscher star as main protagonists DS Nina Suresh, DC Bobby Day, and DC Alec Wayfield, respectively.[3]
| Paranoid | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Crime drama Thriller |
| Written by | Bill Gallagher |
| Directed by | Mark Tonderai Kenny Glennan John Duthie |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producers | Bill Gallagher Nicola Shindler Tom Sherry |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Production company | Red Production Company |
| Distributor | StudioCanal |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV (UK) Netflix |
| Picture format | 16:9 1080i |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 22 September – 10 November 2016[1] |
Plot
Angela Benton, a well-liked local GP in the fictional town of Woodmere, is stabbed to death in a local playground. A team of detectives from Woodmere Police are assigned to investigate the case, including: DS Nina Suresh (Indira Varma), DC Bobby Day (Robert Glenister), DC Alec Wayfield (Dino Fetscher), and their supervising officer, DI Michael Niles (Neil Stuke). They initially suspect the murderer is a local mental patient, Jacob Appley, who is under the care of psychiatrist Dr Chris Crowley (Michael Maloney). When Appley is later found dead, his brother, Henry (William Ash), becomes convinced that Jacob was not responsible for the murder, and has been framed by a party or parties unknown.[4]
Meanwhile, an unidentified man (Kevin Doyle), dubbed the "Ghost Detective", is sending the team information and clues to evidence which could identify Angela's killer. As the investigation continues, the team discovers Angela's death could be linked to her ex-boyfriend, Ruben Lukana. The team enlists the help of Düsseldorf detective Linda Felber (Christiane Paul) to look into Lukana. When he is found dead face down in his swimming pool, Felber and her partner, Walti Merian (Dominik Tiefenthaler), begin an investigation. A suspect for the murders is identified, but when he evades capture and flees back to Germany, Niles arranges for Bobby to travel to Düsseldorf to assist with the German end of the investigation.[5]
Cast
- Indira Varma as DS Nina Suresh, Woodmere Police detective[3]
- Robert Glenister as DC Bobby Day, Woodmere Police detective[3]
- Dino Fetscher as DC Alec Wayfield, Woodmere Police detective
- Neil Stuke as DI Michael Niles, Woodmere Police detective[3]
- Christiane Paul as Detective Linda Felber, Düsseldorf Polizei detective
- Lesley Sharp as Lucy Cannonbury, chief witness to Angela Benton's murder[3]
- Michael Maloney as Chris Crowley, psychiatrist
- Kevin Doyle as the Ghost Detective[3]
- Dominik Tiefenthaler as Detective Walti Merian, Düsseldorf Polizei detective[2]
- Polly Walker as Monica Wayfield, Alec Wayfield's mother[2]
- Anjli Mohindra as PC Megan Waters, Woodmere Police staff
- Danny Huston as Nick Waingrow, Director of External Affairs, Rustin Wade Pharmaceuticals
Recurring characters
- Jason Done as Dennis, Nina Suresh's long-term boyfriend
- John Duttine as Eric Benton, Angela Benton's father
- William Flanagan as Luke Benton, Angela Benton's son
- Shobna Gulati as Parcival, Bobby Day's GP
- Wiliam Ash as Henry Appley, Jacob Appley's brother
- Ayda Field as Sheri, Ruben Lukana's American girlfriend
- Nikol Kollars as Marquito Olivo, mother of Ruben Lukana's son
- Jonathan Ojinnaka, "the bald man"
- Emma Bispham as Angela Benton, murder victim
- Daniel Drewes as Cedric Felber, Linda Felber's husband
- Isabella Pappas as Sadie Waingrow, Nick Waingrow's daughter
Episodes
Series 1 (2016)
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Episode 1" | Mark Tonderai | Bill Gallagher | 22 September 2016 | 6.38 | |
| A local GP, Angela Benton, is stabbed to death in a local playground. Woodmere Police detectives Nina Suresh, Bobby Day and Alec Wayfield are assigned to investigate the case. They soon discover, however, that the murder is much more than an open and shut case. | ||||||
| 2 | "Episode 2" | Mark Tonderai | Bill Gallagher | 29 September 2016 | 4.82 | |
| The detectives discover that Angela's former lover, Ruben Lukana also died within a week of her death. Meanwhile, Alec and Bobby decide to mount a covert investigation of their own – but when they are lured into a trap set by their prime suspect, Alec's life is left hanging in the balance. | ||||||
| 3 | "Episode 3" | Mark Tonderai | Bill Gallagher | 6 October 2016 | 4.58 | |
| Linda suspects that Ruben Lukana's death was no accident, and that he was in fact murdered. Recovering in hospital, Alec receives a surprise visit from the Ghost Detective. Meanwhile, the search for the missing pages belonging to Angela Benton takes a shocking turn. | ||||||
| 4 | "Episode 4" | Mark Tonderai | Bill Gallagher | 13 October 2016 | 4.41 | |
| Bobby is dispatched to Dusseldorf to help link the two cases together. Meanwhile, Niles' interference drives the Ghost Detective underground, but Nina and Alec's dogged pursuit to discover his identity leads Nina right into the killer's path. | ||||||
| 5 | "Episode 5" | Kenny Gleenan | Bill Gallagher | 20 October 2016 | 4.35 | |
| With the Ghost Detective's identity unmasked, the team set about finding out who tried to silence him. In Dusseldorf, Bobby and Linda's investigation takes them to Rustin Wade, a pharmaceutical company linked to Ruben Lukana, but someone soon takes a disliking to their digging. | ||||||
| 6 | "Episode 6" | Kenny Gleenan | Bill Gallagher | 27 October 2016 | 4.14 | |
| Having discovered Lukana was linked to a secret drug trial known as "Mainline", the pressure on Bobby to unmask the killer is made ever greater by taunts from Rustin Wade executive Nick Waingrow. When Lucy is forced to reveal her secret past, the revelations finally tip Bobby over the edge. | ||||||
| 7 | "Episode 7" | John Duthie | Bill Gallagher | 3 November 2016 | 4.23 | |
| The team finally secures evidence against Dr Crowley, but cannot get the support they need from Henry Appley, who isn't convinced of Crowley's guilt. Bobby is sent back to England. Waingrow comes under increased pressure when he finds bugging devices in his house and car. | ||||||
| 8 | "Episode 8" | John Duthie | Bill Gallagher | 10 November 2016 | 4.33 | |
| Henry Appley abducts Dr Crowley and demands that he reveal who killed his brother. Bobby's search for Crowley leads him into an unexpected showdown with the mysterious assassin. The Dusseldorf police's net closes on Nick Waingrow, and Nina and Alec finally accept their feelings for one another. | ||||||
References
- Varma, Indira [@indyv9] (27 July 2017). "I'm afraid not x" (Tweet). Retrieved 31 July 2017 – via Twitter.
- "Netflix signs on to Red's ITV thriller Paranoid". 4 August 2016. Archived from the original on 13 May 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- Tartaglione, Nancy (4 August 2016). "Netflix Gets 'Paranoid'; Boards ITV Conspiracy Thriller As Co-Producer". Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- "Paranoid: a dark, conspiracy drama filled with crime clichés: review". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
- "ITV Media – Paranoid". itvmedia.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
