16 Awesome British Mysteries You Can Stream Right Now
By Lacy Baugher
Suranne Jones and Leslie Sharp in “Scott & Bailey”. (Photo: ITV)
Scott & Bailey
This series revolves around the personal and professional lives of Rachel Bailey and Janet Scott, two women in Manchester Metropolitan Police’s Major Incident Team. Rachel is 30, down-to-earth, nosy and argumentative. Rachel is 40, more diplomatic and a wife and mother. The two women are very different, but are real friends and work well together. Each episode finds them dealing with challenging cases and daunting personal problems, such as getting dumped by a married boyfriend, or dreading an anniversary party.
The original idea for Scott & Bailey happened because the female creative team behind the show felt as though there weren’t enough roles for women on TV. And certainly not enough parts for women to play beyond “wife-of, sidekick-to, mother-of, mistress-to”. So it shouldn’t be that surprising that this show is incredibly feminist. (Its first season actually drew some criticism for being too hard on the men in the show!) All the lead characters are women, which is great in and of itself. But their characters are also flawed and selfish and realistic. They’re allowed to make mistakes and screw up. Their friendships and working relationships are layered and interesting. They argue regularly! In short: They’re all real people, and not caricatures of “lady cops”. It’s awesome.
The actual mysteries in Scott & Bailey vary in quality, but the women here alone are enough reason to give it a go.
Number of Seasons: 4
Where to Watch: Hulu