Take one grumpy/clumsy/bumbling Brit. Place him out of his comfort zone on a made up Caribbean island. Partner him with an intelligent, beautiful, single and independent islander. Surround them with unusual characters and then start writing a series of confusing, clever murders that all happen in a small area and that leave the police baffled. Still, the murders are solved miraculously by the detective, despite his incompetent appearance (even the briljant Sherlock Holmes couldn't do that every time!). Sound predictable? Perhaps it is. But that has not stopped "Death In Paradise" from airing seven seasons with eight episodes each.
And I can watch them more than once.
Why it works:
You must be thinking: "seven seasons, how do they keep coming up with more murders?" And the truth is that to a certain extent they don't. I mean yes, each episode is a different story, but there are some key similarities. There is a true whodunit recipe. They generally fall into one of these categories:
1. The locked-door mystery
2. Everybody has an alibi
3. Nobody has a motive
4. They know who the killer is, but it does not make sense why or how.
The crime doesn't matter very much
But the fact of the matter is that the crime does not matter very much. It really is more about the characters. Whether you loved Ben Miller, Kris Marshal or Ardal O'Hanlan most as lead detective, they all have a certain charm.
And when they leave, viewers get upset, but they don't stop watching. The show is too addictive. And the team somehow remains the same even as every member except Dwayne comes and goes, but they keep solving crimes. There is a lovely natural feeling to the acting, although at times the accents can make the acting seem a bit dramatic.
And yes, the episodes have a clear pattern. They find the victim. It seems straightforward, but something doesn't make sense. So they dig a little deeper and they find there is more to the case than initially meets the eye. At some point during the episode the suspicion falls on basically each possible suspect. They keep coming back to the thing that does not make sense.
They get very frustrated! And then there is a light bulb moment and a big reveal with all the suspects present. And in between solving these gruesome crimes (they really do have a terribly high murder rate), the team manage to fit in family disagreements, romance, gossip and a regular drink at Catherine's bar. Now that is a Murder Mystery to make you feel happy!
