Helen Mirren, Oscar winner and star of stage and screen, has a stacked CV of shows and movies to her name, but her highest-rated TV drama throws back to the early '90s, and is a total classic for fans of crime drama.
Prime Suspect takes the number one spot on Rotten Tomatoes, based on critics' reviews, with the drama also sitting with a perfect 100% score on the platform. The classic ITV series, which first aired in 1991 and ran until 2006, centres on Mirren's DI Jane Tennison, described in the show's description as a "skilled top-class detective" who is battling to prove herself in a male-dominated world as one of the force's first female DCIs.
Mirren's role as DI Tennison saw her take home a number of awards, across the BAFTAs and the Emmys, with the drama itself also getting recognised with accolades. Prime Suspect ran for seven seasons, and later inspired a prequel series which centred on Tennison's earlier years (that time played by Stefanie Martini) as she worked her first case.
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In reviews for the premiere season of Prime Suspect (via Rotten Tomatoes), People Magazine praised: "With her original script, writer Lynda La Plante has planted many a twist in this canny, well acted and cohesive miniseries."
"Bleak, brutal and beautifully rendered, this was British crime drama at its absolute best," said Guardian in 2010, as part of its round-up of the top 50 TV dramas of all time (which placed Prime Suspect at number 19).
Fans on IMDb seem just as full of praise, with one viewer branding it "as perfect as they come", going on to add that Prime Suspect is "far above the average cop series" as well as offering praise for Mirren's "outstanding" performance.
"Simply the best crime series ever," another viewer said, meanwhile a different user added that Prime Suspect is "one of the best mystery dramas out there".
