Karen Pirie (2022)

Watchseries; Adapted from a novel by Val McDermid is always reassuring to see and as you'd expect from the Scottish queen of crime the story was well worked out and intriguing.

With any new detective series you need to give it a fair chance to establish itself and Pirie did enough to hook me in. The premise is very similar to ITV's excellent 'Unforgotten' - a covered up crime from the far past gets a rude awakening.

It looked good and the script was decent, direction was patchy with a few static nodding dog interviews and some of the dialogue was inaudible. I did find her voiceovers a wee bit clunky.

Her character seemed a little dull if I'm being honest but it's early days and the plot really picked up at the end. I'm happy to stick with it and see how it unfolds and develops as a series and she grows into the lead role.

Adapted from a novel by Val McDermid is always reassuring to see and as you'd expect from the Scottish queen of crime the story was well worked out and intriguing.

With any new detective series you need to give it a fair chance to establish itself and Pirie did enough to hook me in. The premise is very similar to ITV's excellent 'Unforgotten' - a covered up crime from the far past gets a rude awakening.

It looked good and the script was decent, direction was patchy with a few static nodding dog interviews and some of the dialogue was inaudible. I did find her voiceovers a wee bit clunky.

Her character seemed a little dull if I'm being honest but it's early days and the plot really picked up at the end. I'm happy to stick with it and see how it unfolds and develops as a series and she grows into the lead role.

Karen Pirie watchseries. Who knows what qualities this series might have if the sound were 75% clearer.

I'm not talking about the accent....seen lots of Scottish series and never had a problem but if the actors have a mouthful of buttons, it's surely gonna be hard to understand.

The choice of the lead actress is obviously ticking the correct box.../.tin6y7, youthful and female. The only problem is she is just WRONG for the part.

Maybe....just maybe as the second fiddle but lead....c'mon.

All in all not entertaining as it is both predictable and lacking excitement.

Add to that a dreary Scottish landscape and you have one of the least inspiring dramas of late.

Move on.

It's nice to see a slow paced police drama that doesn't feel slow or boring. Thoroughly enjoyed it and hope there will be more.

All the cast were excellent and there was good character development between the leads.

It definitely feels like this could go further, and make a nice change from the tired shows like Vera.

I know there had been complaints about the sound quality on episode one, but we watched it on the ITV Hub and had no issues at all.

Not sure about this extended review format that IMDB are now insisting on. It's rather unnecessary and just means people who want to praise a show end up going on like this.

The stream of crime dramas is never ending but this one stands out. If you only watch one this is it.

Of course we have seen it all before but a good script and good acting convinces us that we haven't.

The only disappointment in the first episode was that there was a second killing (this isn't a spoiler for reasons I give in the following sentences). Writers assume that to keep the viewer interested there have to be constant follow-on killings, however this isn't new even 'Morse' fell into this trap. Why can't crime dramas start with the police investigating a murder and end with them getting the perpetrator without a bloodbath in between?

Despite it's flaws which are coverd in other reviews on here this is a very good thriller with enough twists and turns to maintain more than an interest.

I kind of worked it out early on (not bragging as this is a rarity for me) but I still thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

Pirie reminded me of a young Jane Tennison from Prime Suspect who, despite appearing to be, a token appointment proves herself to be more than capable in her role and fans of Prime Suspect and the likes will really enjoy this.

Lauren Lyle is excellent as is Chris Jenks as "Mint" and I genuinely look forward to a second series which I am sure will surface in time!

I was concerned, as other reviewers say, that the sound production was poor but had assumed it was my TV. But after the first episode I then settled down to watch the following two. The plot may appear a bit obvious (in hindsight). Unlike others I really liked Lauren Lyle in the lead role - in fact a welcome change from middle aged obese men. The characters were all believable and I liked the switching from current time to mid 1990s. One puzzle -- Loch Leven ? It was not the one in Fife and looked more like Loch Lomond, but could have been Loch Leven, close to Glencoe? I hope ITV will film and broadcast more of Karen Pirie stories.