Patience (TV series)


Patience is a British–Belgian detective drama television series starring Laura Fraser as Detective Inspector Bea Metcalf and Ella Maisy Purvis as autistic police archivist Patience Evans. The series is set in York, England, but most of the filming took place in Belgium. It is adapted from the Franco-Belgian television series Astrid et Raphaëlle. The series premiered in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 on 8 January 2025. Filming on a second series, with eight episodes, took place in May 2025 ahead of broadcast from 7 January 2026.

Premise

A detective inspector forms an alliance with a brilliant, self-taught, autistic criminologist who has been working in the criminal records department of the City of York police.

Cast

Main

Recurring

Production

The project was announced in February 2024 from Eagle Eye Drama, PBS Distribution, and Beta Film. The series is produced in association with Belgium's Happy Duck Films and has support from the Belgian Tax Shelter. Maarten Moerkerke is directing the series, which is adapted from the original Franco-Belgian series Astrid and Raphaelle. Jo McGrath and Walter Iuzzolino are executive producers for Eagle Eye. The writing team on the series was led by Matt Baker and included Stephen Brady, Sarah Freethy, and Daniella DeVinter.
Filming of series one took place in York from 23 to 29 April 2024. Locations included Precentor's Court, opposite York Minster, as well as Monkgate, The Shambles, Gillygate and Micklegate. However, other than some exterior sequences to place the stories in York, most of the scenes were filmed in Belgium in 2024.
The series features an autistic character, played by Ella Maisy Purvis.
The series was renewed for a second series, with filming taking place in May 2025, and Jessica Hynes added to the cast as a new DI replacing Laura Fraser's DI Bea Metcalf.

Broadcast

The first episode was broadcast at 9:00 pm on 8 January 2025, in the United Kingdom on Channel 4. All episodes were immediately made available on Channel 4's digital streaming platform. The second series consisting of eight episodes premiered on 7 January 2026.

Reception

Critical response

Critics' reviews have been mixed. In a three-star review for The Telegraph, Chris Bennion summarised it as "a worthwhile addition to the crime drama ranks, but one that fits into, rather than breaking the mould." In a two-star review for The Guardian, Lucy Mangan described the plot as "preposterous", the dialogue as "terrible", and the drama overall as "deeply uninspired" and "embarrassingly clunky". Carol Midgely in The Times said that Purvis does not "overact" the character's condition, "showing it in overt and subtle ways".