Inside Man Season 1 review: David Tennant and Stanley Tucci’s thriller series is just as interesting as it is messy

The narrative builds on the line 'Everyone's a murderer; you just have to meet the right person'.

A still from the show

Inside Man

Story: Jefferson Grieff (Stanley Tucci) is a prisoner on death row, convicted in the murder of his wife. He is also a professor in criminal psychology, with a particular knack for solving seemingly unsolvable mysteries, something that interests crime reporter Beth Davenport (Lydia West), even though she’s not particularly fond of him or his crime. She presents him a case that he doesn’t want to take up, but the investigation into another leads them to Vicar Harry (David Tennant), who, in trying to help a troubled verger at his church, lands himself and his family in a lot of trouble.

Review: A series with Stanley Tucci and David Tennant has got to be a must-watch, no matter what, just for the sheer pleasure of seeing these two gentlemen onscreen. Well, at least for me that was the clincher in watching Steven Moffat, of Sherlock and Dr Who fame, is the man behind Inside Man, the BBC One series that is now available to stream on Netflix. As with most UK productions, this one too has a limited set of episodes – only four here, but four that cram in quite a bit into the narrative that it can seem a bit disjointed, confusing and incredulous at times.

The series follows two unrelated trajectories – one in an American death row prison, where Jefferson Grieff is awaiting his execution for murdering his wife and the other in a quaint village in the UK with vicar Harry, whose decision to keep a thumb drive with questionable content for safekeeping, literally destroys his family. No prizes for guessing that these two storylines will intersect at some point.

Let’s start with Jefferson – besides counting down to his execution date, he has a little side hustle. He’s like the American version of Sherlock Holmes and has a steady clientele seeking counsel in cases that seem unsolvable, which he runs with the blessings of the warden of the prison. I couldn’t figure out how he came to be such an important figure in the facility that pretty much everyone is at his beck and call. So, yeah, Jefferson has a lot of clout and the means to even fly someone out of the country as part of his sleuthing expedition. If you are scratching your head about this, then the UK bit can be just as frustrating.

When vicar Harry took the thumb drive, he was aware of what its contents are likely to be. And yet, once home, he decides to take it out of his pocket and leave it along with his keys and other belongings where anyone could find it. Mind you, this is a household with a teenager, whose rebellious streak has him surfing the internet for ‘inappropriate stuff’.

When the son’s Math tutor stumbles upon the drive and is, appalled at the content, which she thinks needs to be taken to the cops, Harry must stop her because she thinks it belongs to her student. The sequence of events that follow thereafter are rather incredulous because Harry is not guarding a confession secret that he’s got to take to his grave. He could have just taken the thumb drive to the cops and straightened matters out. But no! That won’t serve our purpose here.

What makes all this forgivable are the two leading men, Tennant and Tucci, both of who ensure that their respective scenes are captivating. Sadly, though, despite the great performances, the series itself struggles to find a solid footing. It is gripping in parts, but then loses focus and never really comes together coherently.

Verdict: It is frustrating that when a good showrunner has a great cast onboard and can still not deliver an engaging watch. Inside Man is intriguing, but it’s also quite the mess. Catch it only if you like the lead actors or British thriller series. Also, don’t ask too many questions. Just go with the flow and you may just enjoy it far more than I did.

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