Prime Suspect is a British police procedural television series devised by Lynda La Plante.

The series follows her constant battles to prove herself within a male-dominated profession in which many of her colleagues are determined to see her fail, though she has the support of her boss, Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Kernan (John Benfield), and the loyalty of Detective Sergeant Richard Haskons (Richard Hawley).

Sequels have tended to downplay this theme, relying on straight procedure or on other subplots, such as institutional racism in Prime Suspect 2 or child sexual abuse and prostitution in Prime Suspect 3, but they continue to demonstrate the determination of some of Tennison's male peers and those in upper echelons to see her fail.

The first five series were produced annually from 1991 to 1996, until Mirren left the role, supposedly to avoid typecasting (according to a PBS interview).

[3] BAFTA Chairman Richard Price stated that the ballot papers passed on to him by Shubik had shown four votes for Prime Suspect and three for G.B.H.

[5] She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie twice, with four additional nominations.

[7][8] Writer/creator Lynda La Plante received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for series one in the category of Best TV Feature or Miniseries.

[20] Reviewers in U.S. papers, including the Christian Science Monitor, have noted that The Closer, while not a direct remake of the British series, "owes" much to it,[21] or that it "echoes many of the elements" of it.

[22] One The New York Times article refers to The Closer as a "direct descendant" of Prime Suspect, although less hard-hitting than the original: There is one show, however, that is a direct descendant, however different its tone might be: The Closer, on which Kyra Sedgwick’s Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson obsesses over her cases, tramples feelings and battles the old-boy network.

[26] In 1997 a short spoof episode Prime Cracker was produced for the BBC's biennial Red Nose Day charity telethon in aid of Comic Relief.

A six-part prequel, Prime Suspect 1973, was announced in 2015 by ITV, based on the book Tennison by Lynda La Plante, adapted by Glen Laker.

It tells the story of a 22-year-old Jane Tennison as a probationary WPC in Hackney, London, investigating her first murder case.

Each disc contains the individual programme, upscaled to 1080p HD and converted to 16:9 Widescreen (apart from season 4 episode 1 which remains in 4:3 aspect ratio).