Starts ITV3, October
The rash of British actors cutting a dash in Hollywood continues, as Damian Lewis (star of Band of Brothers and the BBC’s shake-up of Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing) takes on the lead role in this US crime drama.
Lewis plays Charlie Crews, a former police officer who has spent 12 years in the slammer after being wrongly convicted of murder. His settlement after being proven innocent? A ginormous wad of cash and a shiny new detective badge with the word ‘maverick’ written in big letters across it.
He’s an idiosyncratic character – think one half Gregory House, one quarter Monk, one quarter Jeff ‘The Big Lebowski’ Bridges and you might start to get close to his eccentric nature – but the quirks cover a ruthless streak bent on getting to the bottom of the conspiracy that led to him being set up by shadowy figures in the LAPD.
Living in a stunning mansion with disgraced former CEO Adam Arkin to take care of his finances, and paired with acerbic cop Dani (who has an equally complex past and a future in any film Jennifer Lopez turns down), Charlie spouts zen, cocks his head at people a lot, and solves crimes while batting off taunts from LAPD officers who still think he’s guilty.
Once you get over the shock of Lewis with an American accent, the show is definitely worth a look – I think it’s probably a grower, although the first episode has a few frustratingly absurd pilot-esque moments. It’s got a second series in the States already, so Lewis must be doing something right!
The real question is which Brit will crack the States next? David Tennant as a non-conformist New York lawyer? Jeremy Irons as a curmudgeonly vet in Texas? Nick Berry as an alcoholic police officer in 1960s San Francisco? All suggestions are going on an email to the commissioning department at NBC.
• Click here for more great new US shows coming to a screen near you this autumn
