DEBORAH CROMBIE: British mystery aficionados will be thrilled to know that Ann Cleeves' beloved detective, VERA, returned for the 11th season yesterday on Britbox! I was so happy to see Brenda Blethyn and Kenny Doughty, who plays Vera's sergeant Aiden Healy, and all the other cast regulars who have come to seem like old friends.
As have the hat and the Land Rover! Take a peek!
And then there is the beautiful Northumberland scenery, which made me miss England even more. In Episode 1, Vera and the team must unravel the mystery when well-respected local builder and family man Jim Tullman is found beaten to death on the steps of the Collingwood Monument the day before he was due to testify in court as the key witness in a violent assault case. In episode 2, Vera is called to the scene of a murdered support worker who is found hidden among the bleak woodlands of Northumberland National Park.
Brenda has embodied Ann's character so well that I can't imagine anyone else in that role. As a writer, I'm always curious about how writers feel seeing their characters brought to life on the screen, so I asked Ann if she sees Brenda when she's writing Vera.
Ann: I think Silverprint, the production company which makes Vera and Shetland (and the adaptation of The Long Call) is brilliant at capturing the essence of the books. They can translate the place and the characters to the screen, even though they might not completely follow the plot and that's much more important to me. Brenda has become Vera now. I'm so fortunate to have such a brilliant actor playing her. I don't see her, but I do hear her voice when I'm writing dialogue. The whole team has done magnificent work filming through all the restrictions of Covid. I haven't seen the episodes - and they're original stories so they'll be new to me when they screen. I can't wait!
I've seen Episode 1 & 2 and I agree they've done a terrific job, especially with the limitations of filming with Covid restrictions. Brenda and Kenny had to be in a Covid bubble because of all the scenes filmed in the Land Rover--they even had apartments next door to each other! Green screens were used in the scenes in the interview room, but it's amazingly seamless and I wouldn't have known if I hadn't read up on it. Harder work for the actors, though!
There are six episodes in Season 11, but unfortunately we will only get to see two this fall. Filming had to be extended--again, due to Covid restrictions--so the final four episodes won't air until sometime in 2022. I'm certain, however, that they'll be worth the wait. In the meantime, we'll enjoy the first two!
REDS and readers, are you looking forward to the new season of VERA. And what are some of your favorite TV adaptations of crime novels?
