Professor T. (British TV series)

Professor T. is a British crime drama television series starring Ben Miller as Professor Jasper Tempest, a genius University of Cambridge criminologist with obsessive compulsive disorder,[1] Emma Naomi, Barney White, and Frances de la Tour.[2] It is an adaptation from the Belgian TV series of the same name. It began broadcasting on Britbox on 3 June 2021,[3] ITV on 18 July 2021,[4] and PBS in the United States on 11 July 2021.[5][6]

Professor T.
GenreCrime drama
Created byMatt Baker
Malin-Sarah Gozin
Based onProfessor T. by Paul Piedfort
Directed byDries Vos
Starring
ComposerHannes De Maeyer
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes12 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
ProducerDimitri Verbeeck
Production locationsBelgium and Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
Release
Original networkITV
Original release18 July 2021 (2021-07-18) –
present
Related
Professor T. (Belgian TV series)
Professor T. (German TV series)
Professor T. (Czech TV series)
Prof T. (French TV series)

On 6 October 2021, it was announced it had been renewed for a second series,[7] which premiered on 16 September 2022.[8] In 2023, it was renewed for a third series.[9]

Premise

Professor Jasper Tempest, a genius criminologist at Cambridge University, who has OCD and an overbearing mother, assists the police in solving crimes. Miller has stated in an interview that Jasper is also autistic.[10]

Cast
  • Ben Miller as Professor Jasper Tempest
  • Emma Naomi as DS Lisa Donckers
  • Barney White as DS Dan Winters
  • Andy Gathergood as DI Paul Rabbit
  • Sarah Woodward as Ingrid Snares
  • Juliet Aubrey as DCI Christina Brand
  • Frances de la Tour as Adelaide Tempest
  • Lucy Anna Richardson as Young Adelaide Tempest

Recurring

Episodes

Series overview
SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1618 July 2021 (2021-07-18)22 August 2021 (2021-08-22)
2616 September 2022 (2022-09-16)28 October 2022 (2022-10-28)

Series 1 (2021)
No.
overall		No. in
series		Title [11]Directed byWritten byOriginal air dateU.K. viewers
(millions)
11"Anatomy of a Memory"Dries VosMatt Baker & Malin-Sarah Gozin11 July 2021 (2021-07-11) (U.S)
18 July 2021 (2021-07-18) (UK)		5.41
Diana Tyson was violently attacked on the university campus. DI Lisa Donckers suspects that the assault is very similar to one that occurred years beforehand, having been a previous student of Professor T's, she thinks he can help.
22"A Fish Called Walter"Dries VosMatt Baker & Malin-Sarah Gozin18 July 2021 (2021-07-18) (U.S)
25 July 2021 (2021-07-25) (UK)		4.72
The university's chief librarian dies from a glass of poisoned wine at a party attended by 115. Was he the intended target? The police asks professor T for help.
33"Tiger Tiger"Dries VosMatt Baker & Malin-Sarah Gozin25 July 2021 (2021-07-25) (U.S)
1 August 2021 (2021-08-01) (UK)		4.48
A jeweller is run down in the street when he crosses in a hurry. In his bag he has a collection of very valuable diamonds. The police suspect there is more to it and visit his family.
44"Mother Love"Dries VosMatt Baker & Malin-Sarah Gozin1 August 2021 (2021-08-01) (U.S)
8 August 2021 (2021-08-08) (UK)		4.26
An au pair comes home after an evening off to find her employer unconscious in the living room. His daughter has vanished. The investigation leads the police to his business partner.
55"Sophie Knows"Dries VosMatt Baker & Malin-Sarah Gozin8 August 2021 (2021-08-08) (U.S)
15 August 2021 (2021-08-15) (UK)		4.13
A girl with Downs Syndrome claims she knows who murdered her mother, but she doesn't want to say who it is. She only trusts the professor. Lisa is worried about her father and Dan has a surprise when he turns up for their date.
66"The Dutiful Child"Dries VosMatt Baker & Malin-Sarah Gozin15 August 2021 (2021-08-15) (U.S)
22 August 2021 (2021-08-22) (UK)		3.88
There is a hit on prominent businessman during an official function. The shooter fails but the intended victim is found dead a few days later. A family feud reminds Jasper of his past.

Series 2 (2022)
No.
overall		No. in
series		Title [11]Directed byWritten byOriginal air date [11]U.K. viewers
(millions)
71"Ring of Fire"Dries VosMatt Baker16 September 2022 (2022-09-16) (UK)3.40
When a university student is left badly burnt and in a coma after a house fire, detectives reluctantly call in the professor when it emerges that the victim was drugged and the fire deliberate.
82"The Mask Murders"Dries VosMatt Baker23 September 2022 (2022-09-23) (UK)2.92
A prominent barrister and his wife are found shot dead in a crime that has uncanny similarities to a double murder that the barrister successfully prosecuted 15 years earlier.
93"The Family"Dries VosMatt Baker30 September 2022 (2022-09-30) (UK)3.16
The Professor is asked to decipher a macabre puzzle when a doctor and her family are found dead in a grisly tableau on their living room sofa, each having died by different means. But in which order and by whom?
104"DNA of a Murderer[12]"Dries VosMatt Baker14 October 2022 (2022-10-14) (UK)2.98
When an artisan baker is found dead after receiving death threats, the police appear to have an open and shut case against the son of a convicted murderer who was sent to prison thanks to the baker's testimony.
115"The Trial[13]"Dries VosMatt Baker21 October 2022 (2022-10-21) (UK)3.01
The professor delivers a series of lectures detailing a high-profile court case of a caretaker accused of murdering his employer. The professor is convinced the man is innocent, bringing him into conflict with the CID team.
126"Swansong[14]"Dries VosMatt Baker28 October 2022 (2022-10-28) (UK)N/A
After discovering the body of an undercover police officer, the CID team blunder into a Drugs Squad operation against a major trafficker that appears to implicate one of their closest colleagues.

Reception

Carol Midgley of The Times gave it two stars out of five, praising Miller but lambasting the plot and tonal shifts.[15] Ed Cumming of The Independent also commended Miller's performance as well as Naomi's and de la Tour's, but suggested that the show "isn't quite there yet".[16]

Anita Singh of The Daily Telegraph criticised the use of rape in the show's first episode, as well as the scenes depicting the attacks, stating: "There is promise in Tempest’s story, but, please, can this be the last time that rape is used as cheap entertainment?".[17]

Controversy

Professor T. received strong criticism from national OCD organisations, arguing the show promoted stereotypes (akin to Channel 4's Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners). The British charity OCD-UK stated:

The start of the series is no better than the opening sequence… a pair of hands being scrubbed hospital theatre style, rather than OCD style, and just like that ITV’s failure to accurately portray OCD begins." "As that first scene ends, not a word spoken and this crime series already feels like a crime against the accurate portrayal of mental health problems." "The reality is that OCD doesn’t really appear integral to the show and is not adding anything but creating a quirkiness about the character, and that could so easily have been done without giving the character Compulsive Disorder…. I won’t say Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, because there doesn't appear to be any reference to the obsessions that cause the behaviours across any of the six episodes. Whilst I know that Professor T is not a documentary, ITV have a responsibility not to create programming that is stigmatic and perpetuates stereotypes.[18]

References
  1. Professor T - Watch episodes, retrieved 25 October 2022
  2. "Professor T release date: Cast, plot and latest news about new ITV series". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  3. "New stylish crime drama Professor T launches exclusively on BritBox UK". Press Centre. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  4. "Back to school for Ben: Actor returns to Cambridge in new crime thriller". ITV News. 15 July 2021. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  5. "Professor T". PBS. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  6. Robinson, Jennifer (13 August 2021). "PROFESSOR T: Season 1 (Season Finale Sunday!)". KPBS. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  7. Carr, Flora (6 October 2021). "Professor T season 2 release date rumours: Cast, trailer and latest news". Radio Times. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  8. "Professor T season 2 release date". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  9. "Will there be a Professor T season 3?".
  10. Reilly, Elaine (5 August 2021). "'Professor T' star Ben Miller: 'I was born to play this part'". WhatToWatch. Retrieved 12 April 2023. I guess his ASD (Autism spectrum disorder) enables him to be open about his OCD. He doesn't really care what other people think, certainly a lot less than I do.
  11. "Professor T (2020) Season 2 - Episodes Guide and Summaries". Next Episode. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  12. "Professor T". itv.com/presscentre. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  13. "Professor T". itv.com/presscentre. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  14. "Professor T". itv.com/presscentre. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  15. Midgley, Carol (19 July 2021). "Professor T review — horrific plot, but Ben Miller has sleuth down to a T". The Times. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  16. Cumming, Ed (20 July 2021). "Professor T, review: Ben Miller's promising crime remake isn't quite there yet". The Independent. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  17. Singh, Anita (18 July 2021). "Professor T, review: ITV should be ashamed of using rape as cheap entertainment". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  18. "Professor T – New ITV crime drama | OCD-UK". Retrieved 25 October 2022.
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