The Period Crime Drama Series You Can Binge On Amazon

Inspector Morse is considered the best British crime drama of all time — at least, according to a survey taken by Radio Times in 2020. The show ran from 1987-2000 and ended with the death of the character after 33 episodes. Actor John Thaw, who died just over a year after the show ended, played the character of Endeavour Morse so convincingly that, in 2014, The Independent revealed that author Dexter — who died in 2017 — had put a clause in his will forbidding anyone else to play the hard-living detective. That didn’t stop the production of spinoff Lewis, which ran from 2006-2015 and was also set in Oxford, following Morse’s sergeant Robbie Lewis (Kevin Whately) as he continued to solve crimes. And it didn’t stop ITV from running Endeavour, which focuses on the detective’s early years in law enforcement.

 The series takes place in the 1960s and ’70s and follows Morse (Shaun Evans) as he begins his journey to becoming the intellectual yet irascible detective in his forties as portrayed by Thaw later in the timeline. His genius allows him to solve multiple murders with aplomb, but as he moves around police stations, he also deals with personal baggage, including his father’s death, the aftermath of being shot in the line of duty, and disillusionment about his job.

In an interview for PBS’ Masterpiece, Evans talked about the challenges of taking on the role of such a character. “What’s unique about this situation is that because we know where this character ends up, we have an ending point that we have to work towards. One of the joys for me and the rest of the team is how we plot that, how we navigate that course from a coming of age story, [and] turn this fresh faced, green, young man into the character that people know and love from the previous series,” he said.