Brenda Blethyn returns as Detective Chief in award-winning crime drama Vera as it gears up for season 9
British crime drama 'Vera' has officially been confirmed for an all-new ninth season on ITV which means Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope will be back with her detective skills to catch some bad guys.
'Vera' follows a middle-aged Stanhope as she breaks stereotypes of who a typical lady detective is and sniffs out criminals donning her infamous mac and hat to play the unorthodox and perceptive Detective Chief. The upcoming season has been ordered in feature-length episodes and will be set against the backdrop of the North East.
The show stars award-winning actress Brenda Blethyn as Vera, the protagonist, along with actors David Leon, Kenny Doughty, Jon Morrison, Cush Jumbo, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Wunmi Mosaku and Paul Ritter. It is created by Ann Cleeves. The filming for the upcoming season is already underway. The first episode called 'Blind Spot' is written by Paul Logue.
In this episode, co-starring with Brenda are Peter Davison of 'Doctor Who' fame, James Atherton from 'Coronation Street', Jodie McNee from 'Little Boy Blue', Adrian Lukis from 'The Crown' and Paul Kaye from 'Game of Thrones'.
Blind Spot's plot follows a bright and ambitious forensic psychologist Joanne Caswell. Things turn murky when her body turns up in a landfill far away from her home in Newcastle. Vera takes the case and sets out to find who killed this poor girl. She finds out that Joanne had been looking into the crime of a former patient who had recently committed suicide. In a wild goose chase, Vera must follow the trail that Joanne has left behind to uncover who might have had a motive to kill her.
This season, Kenny Doughty returns as Detective Sergeant Aiden Healy, a trusty partner to Vera. Jon Morrison who plays DC Kenny Lockhart will also return along with Riley Jones who plays DC Mark Edwards and television newcomer Ibinabo Jack who is Vera's newest recruit, DC Jacqueline Williams.
Series nine will be produced by Will Nicholson and directed by Paul Gay, Lawrence Gough, Carolina Giammetta and Declan O’Dwyer. Regular series writers Paul Matthew Thompson and Martha Hillier will also return to the production.
"It's always a thrill to be back in production on 'Vera' after months of developing the stories and scripts. It's fantastic seeing 'the Vera family' reunited on Tyneside, led by the amazing Brenda Blethyn. The love there is for Vera continues to inspire and fuel the enthusiasm of everyone involved in the making of the show. Filming in the region is a joy and the wonderful thing is that there is still so much more to explore!"
The reviews for the show, however, are quite mixed — some hate it so much that they like it, while others just think it's plain ugly. The character of Vera seems to be problematic as she comes across as quite unhinged. While the show tries to break the image of what a female detective looks like, they seem to be propagating the idea that middle-aged women are quite crazy. The star of the show Brenda, however, makes the show worth the watch, even at the age of 72.