10 Smartest TV Detectives

The world of Prime Suspect is a deeply unfair one. Jane Tennison is a detective chief inspector working the tough streets of central London. She hurls herself into hard boiled, deadly situations, coming up against some of the most brutal, remorseless criminals of Britain’s capital, and puts baddies behind bars.

Time and again, though, she is disrespected for her gender. Tennison is an inspirational, brilliantly realised character. As portrayed by Helen Mirren, she has the necessary steel to handle some horrific situations (and Prime Suspect gets nasty, groundbreakingly so in its day), but is far more than a tough woman in a man’s world.

We spend 15 years with Tennison over seven seasons, and see her deal with personal issues (alcoholism, bereavement) as well as professional ones (rising through the ranks of the force while dealing with the resentment of colleagues).

Throughout it all, she proves herself to be an exceptional investigator, dealing with some of the grubbiest and most distressing crimes British TV has ever depicted. The city is a grim place, and it needs someone like DCI Tennison to keep its streets, if not safe, then a little less deadly.