User reviews

Sometimes I'm not wanting different or radical. Sometimes I want easy and familiar and just watchable. This is it, familiar places with just a touch of humour. Sonita Henry is great and a good foil to Adrian Scarborough who plays the DI with a slight weariness that is subtle and smile worthy to enjoy. The plots are easy and it's a distraction that's not too taxing after a working day.

Just what I expect from a British detective show. No fancy car chases, no blazing gun fights, just solid police work.

I hope there will be more seasons.

Nothing terribly innovative here. Just another interesting detective procedural. The two leads are fun to watch but, surprisingly, lead fairly normal lives. DI Arnold( Scarborough) is struggling with the breakup of his marriage and DI Shamsie (Henry) just had a baby and is making adjustments. But it's all within a normal range and so the emphasis is on the detecting. Their two costars (played by Bankole and Phelps) are a good addition and create a team of uber-competent policepersons. Adrian Scarborough is a revelation. I'm used to seeing him in comic buffoonish roles. He plays it serious here with his cycling, piano playing, dyslexic detective and does it well. The plots are the usual combo of twisty narratives, people lying to the police (sometimes for absurd reasons..."Why didn't I tell you I was at the victim's house five minutes before he was bludgeoned to death? I didn't think it was relevant.") and interrogations accompanied by legal counsel who remain silent and doodle on yellow pads. It's all been done before but it goes down easy. Good show!

Wonderful well rounded characters especially for a first season show. I want more. I certainly hope it's renewed and they keep up the quality writing and acting. I just find it so enjoyable. Not too dark. Quirky & coupled with a good story line. Continuous personal drama but completion of "murder of the week" (so to speak) I really enjoyed this show.

Good choice of actors; a bit more normal than we usually find in crime series (no bizarre issues or personalities). Crimes are fairly normal also, but just different enough to be interesting. Forensics (important) are well done.

The bad review bears all the hallmarks of someone who read the synopsis and cast list but didn't actually watch the program and therefore doesn't understand it. OK, it's not the deepest, most thought-provoking programme you'll ever see, but having watched the first I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the series to see how the characters develop, particularly the complex relationship between the protagonist and his estranged partner. The crime-solving is an added bonus!

You review this show in terms of what it is not. Not Morse. Not Lewis. Not even close. Not written by Moffat. Not something you would go out of your way to schedule for a family viewing. Not fast moving. In fact if Scarborough's detective were any slower, he would require dusting. But it is safe, it is comfy, it is not excessively woke, and it holds the attention. Sonita Henry does an especially decent job as the sidekick, packing a massive amount of dignity and self-confidence into a role nobody usually pays attention to. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Yet another superb British cop show. Due to its size and dominance in British culture, a good number of UK police dramas are set in London, the capital. UK TV show makers have based a good number of cop shows in regional parts of the UK and the local customs and accents add flavour to the show.

With the exception of Whitechapel, which was East End specific, The Chelsea Detective makes a virtue of its specific London suburban location with lots of gorgeous shots of Chelsea landmarks, a focus on the mostly affluent lifestyles in what was once a village near the city rather than big city life in central London, a cameo by the famous Chelsea Pensioners, and the lead detective DI Max Arnold (Adrian Scarborough) is a local lad with long standing family connections to the area. Arnold adds Chelsea colour by living on a Thames houseboat and riding a mountain bike to work.

The show is gentle and very much steeped in the upper crust lifestyle of Chelsea but the plots are strong and the supporting cast of detectives, especial DS Priya Shamsie (Sonita Henry) in Season 1 and DS Lavia Walsh (Venessa Emma) in Seasons 2 and 3, are an excellent compliment to DI Arnold's mildly eccentric persistence and witty dry humour. Yes there's the obligatory racial quotas in the cast but the show avoids much of the PC wokery one sees in dramas in the 2020's. Seasons 2 and 3 are just as strong as Season 1.

I would have never given this show 10. Neither 3. It is sort of average, but good entertainment and quite watchable. Not very handsome, ginger, middle aged and sligthly over weight - the main character, despite all that is rather symphatetic. Some death, some life, as ususal in British criminal story. And this makes it likeable. Good acting, good dialogues, London nicely shown. And that is it.

Really enjoying this and I do hope it comes back for another series. What is it I like about it? That's a difficult question to answer. It just works, the characters are good , the storylines are good and I'm pleased to be seeing it set in London for some reason. As a Yorkshire man I think I've seen enough northern dramas for a while. Keep up the good work.

I enjoy this show as pure entertainment, but I am confused by one thing: why do the detectives don their sterile suits and then walk down the street on their nice white booties to reach the crime scene? Would that not add as many contaminants as keeping their own footwear on? In VERA for example, she puts hers own right at the crime scene tape (often having Aiden place them for her), so she's not tracking through a field and then entering the cordoned area. I realize it's a minor detail, but it distracts me every time. I didn't know if that was procedure, and surely there is a consultant for the show to observe such actions.

I have watched three episodes so far and I will say that it is growing on me. I like the first one and then the second one I was on the fence but the third one got my interest again. I think I like the characters the best and even though the dialogue in parts is not realistic it is engaging and keeps my interest. I also like the photography and getting to see parts of London. It kind of takes me there. I would say it is a solid show and hopefully it will get better with even more character to development.

I enjoyed this more than the Sunday night ITV cop shows. It just feels as if more effort has been put into the writing. Don't get me wrong, it's no masterpiece, but it's above average and an easy watch for a police show that isn't violent.

I thought series 1 of The Chelsea Detective was the best new programing I've seen in ages. Then along comes season 2 and it's totally changed. The characters are no longer intriguing - the pace of the series is now very dull. Why in the world would they take such an excellent series and ruin it like this? The new DS, Vanessa Emma, has no personality whatever. After the dynamic role that Sonita Henry played, it's like they were trying to find the most incredible invisible character they could possibly find. Even Adrian Scarborough's character has been drained of any interest. I am thoroughly disappointed!

My wife and I watched the first episode, and we both were very pleased with this new show. Sometimes 90 minute shows seem like 60 minutes episodes where much padding has been added to extend, but this kept us involved throughout. Early character development, an interesting plot and good dialog made for a fine premiere.

Extremely disappointed with season 2 episode 1. The first season was about him and his qworks his partner and ex-girlfriend. But his work partner is not in this season and they seem to have tried to replace her with two other characters without explanation..the plot is very readable and obvious the acting is overdone on occasions I'm very very disappointed with this.. we want more of the main Character. And better direction on acting.. Last season had its funny bits that seemed natural to him but this seasonIt seems forced....... I will not give give away the plot. But please whoever is making this look back on last season and revert to it..

Ignore the whinging of the few, if you love British cop shows you'll enjoy this delightful series. I'm so, so glad that a second series is said to be in the pipeline! As another reviewer said, there's not really much gore, which is a big relief to me: I'm really fed up with the gratuitous dwelling on horror in some series. The cops don't moralise either, also refreshing. The only irritant for me is DI Max Arnold's nasty ex, Astrid. Does she really have to be so hateful??

Complaints that this show isn't realistic are absurd: if you want to drown yourself in grim, depressing reality, there's plenty of true crime about. Believe me, I've watched it. We don't watch these programs to learn about reality, but for mature, intelligent entertainment and escapism. No shame in that.

... it's a pretty show to look at, that being its number one attraction... with four non-related crime-drama stories, and personal-life-stories very briefly intermingled... it's not that it's bad, it's just not that interesting overall.. the 'find' of the series is Sonita Henry, she makes watching somewhat more palatable.

Endearing lead characters. Well crafted stories. Great performances. The narrative is well developed with surprises and craftily written twists which keeps you interest until the end of each episode.

Almost Decent for an anthology (90 minutes), it doesn't feel rushed but they do cut obvious corners. Best part, Lead Detective treats subordinates with respect & doesn't "clap & bark orders", a pet peeve of mine with police procedures.

Negatives: There is nothing special about Arnold's Crime Board at his private residence. Personal issues of Arnold & Priya are not funny and shallow, respectively.

Last, if someone confesses to a serious crime out in the field, including a long explanation: What Detectives are going to have a Police Car pick up the criminal & then they decide to go straight home without a dot of paperwork & plan to do it tomorrow. Are taped or written confessions ASAP Under Caution no longer important?

Has potential with better writers.

I think this show is brilliant. I love how there are 4 thinks going on at the same time. If you figure out one part of the puzzle, it doesn't mean you solved the case. Very smart show.

Adrian Scarborough is solid as always with just the right touch of quirky and thankfully got us in the suburbs of Chelsea rather than downtown London. And then of course we have all the prerequisite gays, racial issues and relationships that have to be present for today's politically correct presentation reality be damned. The stories themselves have just enough twists and suspects that playing amateur detective is quite entertaining. Perhaps one of the more delightful unexpected characters is the deaf pathologist played by Sophie Stone as again, a pathologist has to be a good character and she has a natural charm and honesty that balances the scenes quite nicely. This could easily be a much higher quality production with less contrived "diversity" and more emphasis on the quality of the various characters and stories rather than making sure all the various minorities are represented.