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Jules Maigret (Benjamin Wainwright)
Credit: Photograper Csaba Aknay; Courtesy Playground Entertainment and MASTERPIECE.
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The Plot Thickens On MASTERPIECE With Two New Dramas
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Besides apple picking, Halloween, Thanksgiving and everything pumpkin, one of my favorite things to do during the fall season is delve into new shows on MASTERPIECE. Whether it’s watching the series and episode premieres on Sundays or catching up with episodes I’ve missed throughout the week on GPB Passport, MASTERPIECE is synonymous with the season for me, best enjoyed with a hot cup of tea.
This year, GPB is excited to share that two new series are joining the MASTERPIECE library: Maigret, a contemporary take on the classic Georges Simenon book series, and The Gold, a dramatic retelling of the 1983 Brink’s-Mat robbery that changed financial crime forever. Read on for a sneak peek of both series, including spotting some familiar faces and what to expect from MASTERPIECE’s latest additions.
With a new promotion within Paris’ Police Judiciaire’s Brigade Criminelle to head the elite police unit La Crim, Jules Maigret (address him as "Maigret," please!) has something to prove. He’s relentless in his quest for justice and with an uncanny ability to get under the skin of criminals alongside a keen knowledge of Paris, Belgian writer Georges Simenon’s famous chief inspector is a force to be reckoned with. This new adaptation positions Maigret in his early 30s and with a modern makeover (think Sherlock and how it compared to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective), grappling with the formative experiences of his past that have shaped his ability to connect with people from all walks of life in Maigret’s diverse urban landscape of Paris. Fans of Van der Valk and Endeavour might find some similarities between Maigret and other MASTERPIECE detectives, but while both Piet Van der Valk and Endeavour Morse tend to have tumultuous personal lives, Maigret finds support, stability and love with his wife, Madame Maigret, as they spend Season 1 trying to start a family in the midst of Maigret’s promotion.
Starring Benjamin Wainwright (Belgravia: The Next Chapter, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim) in the titular role, familiar MASTERPIECE faces Blake Harrison (World on Fire) and Stefanie Martini (The Gold) help round out the cast. Unlike Simenon’s original works, focusing on the Paris he knew during the 1930s, this new adaptation highlights the Paris of today and shows a new, younger Maigret, just starting out as Chief Inspector. Like the many actors who have played Maigret before, Wainwright both honors the legacy of Maigret while bringing a fresh perspective to the world’s first true police detective.
Season 1 of Maigret premieres Sunday, Oct. 5 at 9 p.m. and will be available to stream on GPB Passport.
Taking down criminals is a running theme in the latest MASTERPIECE offerings, though in The Gold, viewers travel back in time from modern Paris to 1980s London for a dramatized version of one of the biggest financial heists in history. The crime thriller hits the ground running early in Episode 1 as an unassuming set of burglars break into the Brink’s-Mat warehouse near Heathrow Airport, expecting to find only a million pounds in foreign currency. Instead, they stumble upon nearly 26 million pounds of pure gold bricks (worth around $137 million today) and are faced with a dilemma: how do they get rid of millions of pounds of gold bullion, get paid and most importantly, not get caught?
It involves a vast international money laundering operation, uniting blue and white collar criminals alike from a variety of professions and backgrounds — gold sellers, lawyers and freemasons, to name a few. That’s where DCI Brian Boyce comes in. Played by Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey, W1A), Boyce operates by the book and will stop at nothing to catch the criminals involved. Supported by determined detectives Nikki Jennings, played by Charlotte Spencer (Sanditon), and Tony Brightwell, played by Emun Elliott (Guilt), they must unravel the complicated web of theft, loose morals and murder spun by career criminal Kenneth Noye, played by Jack Lowden (Wolf Hall, The Long Song) and lawyer Edwyn Cooper, played by Dominic Cooper (Captain America: The First Avenger), whose dirty money helped fuel the London Docklands property boom. There’s many players involved, and while it can be puzzling to follow at first (there’s a great explanation of how the criminals pulled the scheme off in Episode 2), it’s exciting to see Boyce and his team close in on the thieves while showing how the stolen gold left a legacy across the world, all within a backdrop of 1980s fashion, gadgets and trends that truly feels authentic.
For MASTERPIECE fans, The Gold is a treat for spotting familiar faces. From our favorite dramas to pop culture hits, it’s a joy to connect the dots and find out where you’ve seen that actor before. When gold dealer John Palmer, played by Downton Abbey’s Tom Cullen, finally crosses paths with Brian Boyce, it’s hard not to think back to Downton’s Tony Gillingham and Lord Grantham. Likewise, Charlotte Spencer’s Nikki Jennings is just as determined to succeed in life as her Sanditon character Esther Denham, but both characters have vastly different morals.
The Gold is a fantastic show to binge-watch, both to craft your MASTERPIECE playlist of what to watch (or rewatch) after (I suggest Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office for another dramatic depiction of a famous crime in Britain) and to prepare for Season 2. With only half the story covered in Season 1, MASTERPIECE has announced that the second and final season of The Gold is on the way.
The Gold premieres Sunday, Oct. 5 at 10 p.m. and will be available for streaming on GPB Passport.
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