PBS Introduces an Altogether Different Sort of 'Maigret'

Jules Maigret has been a fixture on screens large and small since writer Georges Simenon introduced him to the world in 1931's Pietr-le-Letton (The Strange Case of Peter the Lett). Moreover, actors who have played the role tended to keep to Simenon's description of the Parisian policeman: "a large, powerfully built gentleman...a pipe, a bowler hat, a thick overcoat." From original French actor Pierre Renoir to the first English actor to play him, Charles Laughton, to more recent versions starring Michael Gambon, Gerard Depardieu, and Rowan Atkinson, all were on the far side of middle-aged, pudgy, and distinctly unattractive.

This is not your Mama's Maigret, is what I'm saying.

Since the last TV adaptation of Maigret to make it across the pond was over 30 years ago, in 1992 (the aforementioned Michael Gambon version), it stands to reason that the character would be updated for the 21st century in his first PBS outing. However, Simenon's description no longer applies to the current man playing the titular role, Benjamin Wainwright (Belgravia). The first image from the series hinted at it, but the trailer has now confirmed: the pipe, the overcoat, and the bowler hat have all fallen to the wayside, likely packed up neatly on a shelf next to the bonnets that Jane Austen costumers no longer use.