Encore Sundays, Aug. 14 - Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV + Tuesdays, Aug. 16 - Sept. 20 on KPBS 2 / On demand now with KPBS Passport! Season 2 Premieres Sunday, October 16 at 8/7C!
Before Marple and Tennison, there was Scarlet — Miss Eliza Scarlet, private detective. Kate Phillips (WOLF HALL) stars as Victorian London’s brilliant, beautiful, and first-ever female sleuth, with Stuart Martin (JAMESTOWN) as her friend and associate, Detective Inspector William “The Duke” Wellington. Lighthearted yet gripping, the series features Kevin Doyle (DOWNTON ABBEY) as Eliza’s father, Henry Scarlet, who is also her mentor in crime-solving. Danny Midwinter (CASUALTY) plays the Duke’s profane but proficient sergeant, Frank Jenkins. And Ansu Kabia (WORLD ON FIRE) is the shadowy underworld figure, Moses, whose motives keep the police guessing.
Also appearing are Andrew Gower (POLDARK) as the companionable aristocrat Rupert Parker, who is living a double life; Cathy Belton ("Philomena") as Eliza’s devoted housekeeper and former nursemaid, Ivy; and Nick Dunning (THE TUDORS) as the Duke’s insufferable boss, Superintendent Stirling.
MISS SCARLET & THE DUKE is set in London at the start of the Sherlock Holmes era, circa 1880. Eliza’s father, Henry, is a widowed retired police officer, currently a private detective running up bills and drinking through his occasional earnings. Nonetheless, he is a talented investigator, and he has taught his only child, Eliza, the trade since she was a girl. She is now determined to break into this male-only profession.
Fortunately, Eliza’s childhood friend happens to be a detective inspector at Scotland Yard: William “The Duke” Wellington. He gets his nickname from the most famous Englishman of the 19th century: the Duke of Wellington, victor over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. Like that other Wellington, the Duke is cool and decisive in a scrape. And he is also a ladies’ man, which leads to interesting complications with Eliza.
Sometimes working together — but often at odds — Eliza and the Duke tackle a series of fascinating cases. On launching her business, Eliza’s initial challenge is not criminals or clients so much as getting society to take a female detective seriously, even one who has mastered wounds, poisons, motives, and red herrings.
But she forges ahead and sees her first commission — a simple search for an older gentleman’s lost niece — turn into something very sinister, which she resolves with the Duke’s help. And with that her career, if not her income, is off and running. Eliza’s exploits range from an open-and-shut murder case that only she realizes is not so clear-cut, to a dastardly plot that will make history if it succeeds, to a client being harassed from beyond the grave.
In her final investigation of the season, spanning Episodes 5 and 6, Eliza is pursuing the mystery of her father’s demise when she unwittingly lures the Duke into a deathtrap. Naturally, the ordeal is a bonding experience for the two quarrelsome but secretly affectionate crime-solvers.
Everything You Need to Know:
Here’s the lowdown on the new mystery series that injects Victorian London with a delicious detective-duo twist. Find out how to watch, who’s in the cast, and much more.
MISS SCARLET AND THE DUKE: Season 2 and Season 3 Airdates and More
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EPISODE GUIDE:
Episode 1: “Inheritance” - Thrown onto her own, Eliza goes to work as a private detective to get out of debt. Luckily, a family friend known as the Duke is a cop willing to help.
Episode 2: “The Woman In Red” - A man is caught with a bloodied knife at a murder scene. Eliza is hired to prove his innocence, even though he has confessed. Also, she is about to be evicted.
Episode 3: “Deeds Not Words” - The Duke hires Eliza to spy on suffragettes. Going beyond her instructions, she gets involved in Britain's biggest plot since Guy Fawkes.
Episode 4: “Memento Mori” - A photographer specializing in post-mortem portraits gets menacing messages from beyond the grave. Eliza's investigation takes her into the spirit world. A photographer specializing in post-mortem portraits gets menacing messages from beyond the grave. Eliza's investigation takes her into the spirit world.
Episode 5: “Cell 99” - Searching for the secret to her father's fate, Eliza goes to an abandoned prison. When the Duke joins her, they stumble on a nefarious criminal enterprise.
Episode 6: “The Case Of Henry Scarlet“ - Forgery, murder and false accusation strain Eliza's forensic skills as she gets to the bottom of her father's death, aided by the Duke and her underworld friend Moses.
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Credits:
An A+E NETWORKS INTERNATIONAL and ELEMENT 8 ENTERTAINMENT production co-produced with MASTERPIECE in association with Eighty Seven Films and Bandidos Yanquis.
