'Death Valley' to March in at the End of May 2025

Fictional detectives always have odd names, from Arthur Conan Doyle's famous Sherlock Holmes to Agatha Christie's funny little Belgian, Poirot, who was given the first name "Hercule." Fictional TV detectives also have unusual names, such as Columbo and Matlock. The latter is what Only Murders in the Building was poking fun at when they named Steve Martin's former TV detective character Brazzos; the former is what Death Valley is parodying with star Timothy Spall (The Sixth Commandment) who plays retired actor John Chapel, in naming the former Detective Inspector he played on TV "Charles Caesar."

That's just one of the delightful little details in BritBox's next comedic crime series that follows in the wake of Ludwig Season 1's success. A Welsh production, Death Valley should be categorized under the "amateur & professional odd couple cozy crime series," the likes of which are exemplified by Grantchester. The "amateur" half of the cozy crime-detecting duo is the aforementioned Chapel, a world-renowned actor and "national treasure" after starring for years as the lead in Caesar, apparently a big hit on both sides of the pond. (We will assume it ran on Masterpiece at 9 p.m. on Sundays on local PBS stations back in the day, until told otherwise.)

Playing a detective on TV does not exactly make Chapel a natural at solving crimes in his Welsh community. But his crime-solving partner, DS Janie Mallowan, played by Gwyneth Keyworth (Lost Boys & Fairies), isn't in a position to be choosy.