Eliza Scarlet (Miss Scarlet and The Duke)

Created by Rachael New

Lord knows there were several “lady detectives” bouncing around in the late 1800s that would make for a great film or television adaptation, but the Irish/Anglo producers of Miss Scarletand The Duke decided to scratch build their own, no doubt eying the success of such period mysteries as Miss Fisher (Thumbs up!) and Frankie Drake (meh).

Like many of his Victorian predecessors, ELIZA SCARLET (Kate Phillips) didn’t chose to be a detective, but she really had no choice. When her beloved father died, leaving her nothing but a struggling detective agency, what was the poor girl to do, except become London’s “first-ever female detective”?

But of course, no woman could ever run such an endeavour, and so, in a twist as fresh as a Remington Steele rerun, she enlists the aid of her father’s old friend, Detective Inspector WILLIAM “THE DUKE” WELLINGTON of Scotland Yard (played by Stuart Martin) to front for her. The only problem is that Duke is a bit of an oinker, a drinker and a gambler — a Victorian-era David Addison. Even worse, though, is that he’s a bit of a hunk, and Eliza, no slouch herself in the looks department, is (surprise, surprise) attracted to him.

And hence… Banter! Sexual tension! Lovely dresses! A vaguely “feminist” message!

The series was quickly snapped up by PBS, and premiered in the States in January 2021, under their Masterpiece Mystery umbrella. And so, Miss Scarlet and the Duke argued and flirted for four series.

Then, in the fifth (and apparently final season, the Duke was gone, dispatched to New York City for a new job with the American Police Force, and the show was retitled simply Miss Scarlet.

Apparently, the decision to leave was made by Stuart Martin, ostensibly to allow the series to “explore new creative directions and for Eliza’s character to evolve independently, and to pursue new challenges and storylines.”

Uh-huh. 

TELEVISION

• MISS SCARLET AND THE DUKE
  (2021-24, PBS)
  Five series
  30 episodes
  TV series
  6 episodes
  Filmed in Dublin, Ireland
  Created by Rachael New
  Writer: Rachael New
  Director: Declan O’Dwyer
  Starring Kate Phillips as ELIZA SCARLET
  and Stuart Martin as William “The Duke” Wellington
  with Danny Midwinter as Frank Jenkins
  Ansu Kabia as Moses
  Andrew Gower as Rupert Parker
  Matthew Malone as PC Honeychurch
  and Cathy Belton as Ivy
  • SERIES ONE
  • “Inheritance” (March 31, 2020)
  • “The Woman in Red” (April 7, 2020)
  • “Deeds Not Words” (April 14, 2020)
  • “Memento Mori” (April 21, 2020)
  • “Cell 99” (April 7, 2020)
  • “The Case of Henry Scarlet” (May 5, 2020)
  • SERIES TWO
  • “Pandora’s Box” (June 14, 2022)
  • “The Black Witch Moth” (June 21, 2022)
  • “A Pauper’s Grave” (June 26, 2022)
  • “Angel of Inferno” (July 5, 2022)
  • “Quarter to Midnight” (July 12, 2022)
  • ” The Proposal” (July 19, 2022)
  • SERIES THREE
  • “The Vanishing” (November 24, 2022)
  • “Arabella” (November 24, 2022)
  • “Hotel St Marc” (November 24, 2022)
  • “Bloodline” (November 24, 2022)
  • “The Heir” (November 24, 2022)
  • “The Jewel of the North” (November 24, 2022)
  • SERIES FOUR
  • “Elysium” (January 7, 2024)
  • “Six Feet Under” (January 7, 2024)
  • “Origins” (January 7, 2024)
  • “The Diamond Feather” (January 7, 2024)
  • “The Calling” (January 7, 2024)
  • “The Fugitive” (January 7, 2024)
  • SERIES FIVE (MISS SCARLET)
  • “The Rival” (December 8, 2024)
  • “The Guild” (December 8, 2024)
  • ” The Thames Reaper” (December 8, 2024)
  • “The Deal” (December 8, 2024)
  • “The Enchanted Mirror” (December 8, 2024)
  • “Dangerous Liaisons” (December 8, 2024)

Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.