Beyond Paradise’s Humphrey delves into peculiar case in first look
Strange things are happening in the town of Shipton Abbott.
Crime drama fans can look forward to a double helping tonight, as Beyond Paradise makes its much-anticipated debut on the same night as Death in Paradise season 12's high-stakes finale.
The spin-off series follows former Saint Marie detective Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall) following his relocation to Devon, UK, where he's busy taking on fresh cases with the support of a brand new team.
The first one is particularly perplexing as a local woman believes she was attacked by a 17th century witch, although Humphrey's colleague Esther Williams (Zahra Ahmadi) is reluctant to take the claim seriously.
On the other hand, Humphrey is keeping an open mind, as seen in the clip below where he advises Esther not to take CCTV footage – which seems to disprove the victim's account – at face value. Watch below:
It's hard to believe it took so long for a Death in Paradise spin-off to arrive on our screens, given the enormous popularity of the original show, which currently has fans fretting about the fate of DI Neville Parker (played by Ralf Little).
Beyond Paradise looks to be a slightly more light-hearted watch, with Humphrey having an air of mischief about him as he drags his partner along on what could be a wild goose chase.
In an interview for RadioTimes.com with Jo Berry, Marshall explained: "It's based on the quirkiness of the southwest, its ruggedness, its windswept folklore. Our crimes are different.
"So our first one is a lady who has been seriously injured and she's convinced she was pushed by a witch. So very sort of Celtic, pagan. And then our second one is a kidnapping. A family have just literally disappeared. Nobody knows where they've gone.
"Our third one is an art theft, so it’s a proper caper, very Banksy meets Raiders of the Lost Ark. Our fourth one is about farming and crop circles."
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Marshall continued: "They’re all different. Some are more fun, some downright sad actually. Thought-provoking is a better way of saying it.
"We had to change the show but it remains the same for the audience who loved where Humphrey came from. It's still there, there's lots of comedy... It’s got that tongue-in-cheek tone still because that's what people want.
"We're not going to turn Humphrey from quirky cop in the Caribbean to gritty back street cop in downtown Plymouth.”
Read more:
- Beyond Paradise review: How does it compare to Death in Paradise?
- Beyond Paradise boss teases guest stars for spin-off
- Beyond Paradise’s Kris Marshall teases spin-off's “new Harry the lizard"
Though the two shows will remain separate for now – and their respective settings are geographically distant – Marshall has teased that they could cross over at some point in the future.
His new series also chronicles the relationship between Humphrey and fiancé Martha Lloyd (Sally Bretton), who is looking to achieve a life-long dream of running her own restaurant.
Beyond Paradise premieres tonight at 8pm on BBC One. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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Authors
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
