by Lorie Lewis Ham
The second season of The Chelsea Detective just premiered on Acorn TV on August 28. I got an early screening of the season and was excited to watch, as this has become one of my favorites. I had forgotten just how much I enjoyed this show until I began watching this new season!
The Chelsea Detective takes place in London’s richest borough, Chelsea, and features DI Max Arnold (Adrian Scarborough from Killing Eve, The King’s Speech, 1917). Max is a bit like someone’s favorite uncle—just the tiniest bit grumpy but still very sweet under the surface. Some of his grumpiness can likely be attributed to his impending divorce from gallery owner Astrid (Annamaria Marinca) whom he is obviously still in love with—this season he has to come to terms with the fact that it really is over. Thanks to the divorce, he now lives on a houseboat, which in the second season he seems to be a bit more at home in, despite dealing with some electrical issues. Max plays the piano, rides to work on his bike, and suffers from dyslexia. Likely due to his dyslexia, he seems to deal more with pictures in solving his cases. He has a new partner this season, DS Layla Walsh (Vanessa Emme from Bloodlands, A Discovery of Witches), and they seem to make a really good team.
There are four new episodes in season 2, with the last of the four going up on September 18. Blue Room involves an art theft; Golden Years takes place at a fancy retirement home called Greyfriars West where residents seem to be dying before their time; The Reliable Witness involves a psychotherapist and a tree trimmer; and Crime of Passion involves a dating app.
The mysteries are well-plotted and interesting, but it is the characters that make this show one of my favorites! I absolutely love DI Arnold and I like the partnership that is developing between him and DS Walsh—they make a good team and have nice chemistry. It was also nice to see Max starting to move on with his life a bit.
While this may be a bit more on the lighter side than some, to me it kind of feels somewhere in the middle. Not quite as light as a show like Shakespeare and Hathaway, but not as dark as something like Endeavour. It is the perfect blend. If you are looking for another great mystery to watch on Acorn don’t miss The Chelsea Detective, and if you have already seen season 1, season 2 is every bit as delightful!
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A favorite of mine, too. Adrian Scarborough Is quite recognizable as a guest star on many other favorite shows like Midsomer Murders, Gavin & Stacey, Death in Paradise, and the movie Gosford Park. Fingers crossed for a third season!