I just happened to have watched the first two series of the original UK Prime Suspect around the same time I watched the first two episodes of this series. It may not be fair to compare the two, as one reviewer said, but for the benefit of those looking for a good mystery....1 - This is a police procedural, and not a mystery. The difference is that in a mystery, as in the UK Prime Suspect, we're introduced to several characters, one of whom is the killer, and we ride along trying to figure out who dun it. With a police procedural, we essentially watch the cops do their job, narrowing in on the killer, who is not anyone we've seen before.2 - The UK Prime Suspect took 3 hours to tell a story. This one tries to do it in 42 minutes, so the depth of the story is considerably less.3 - The original show's idea of a female detective coming on board into a group of guys, who think she slept her way to her job, was done better on The Closer than it's done here. Actually, in many respects, the Closer, which borrows some elements from the UK Prime Suspect, is a better written, better acted program. 4 - The idea of a strong female crime-solver is no longer new. We have In Plain Sight, Castle, Bones, Body of Proof.... tSo, this Prime Suspect is an OK show -- and Maria Bello is interesting to watch, though not as tough as Kyra Sedgwick, as sarcastic as Mary McCormack, as hot as Stana Katic, as weird as Emily Deschanel or as bitchy as Dana Delaney.... In fairness, I've only seen two episodes, so maybe the writers can still come up with something to make the show different, other than the thick-headedness of its characters.

With all sorts of shows coming out this year featuring a strong female lead, this one by far has the strongest. She's head-strong, unrelenting, ambitious, driven, willful and carries a duffle bag full of vices which brings a depth to her character rarely seen in cop shows, but makes her very likable as well as human. The show is gritty and feels a bit more realistic than most of the high-tech, ultra-forensic one- man cop shows that seem to come and go every season. It takes a team to catch the bad guys and suspects don't always willingly confess to murder (who would really?) There's tension and rivals among the police and detectives, as well as sexism you'd expect to see in a male dominate New York police force. All in all, this show is very well done with a great cast and believable plot lines. I hope it can find its audience to gather momentum and keep going.

I watched the British version with Helen Mirren which was a fantastic series. This new series with Maria Bello is a bit lighter and she is of course, younger -- although not young. Actually, I appreciate that someone 23 wasn't cast in the role with perfect hair, clothes and nails. Jane sometimes looks like an unmade bed. She is a tough character and I like the way she can both take and dish it out. She lives in the real world where life is harsh and she just accepts it. She's in her stride at her job and does it well, if not aways by the book. Well written, well directed, and fun to watch. Maria Bello is excellent in the role. Part of what makes it good is her restraint. The men detectives can be jerks, but is it just culture? They are becoming aware of Jane's strengths. That realization is fun to watch as they are hit in the face with Jane's abilities that they assumed couldn't possibly be there.

I rarely review TV series as they are so changeable from one episode to the next. However, sometimes I can see some promise that bears mentioning. This series is derived from a successful series in the UK of the same name, starring no less than Helen Mirren. This US version is set within the NYPD and stars Maria Bello as tough-as-nails NYPD homicide Detective Jane Timoney, an outsider who has just transferred into a new squad where her prospective colleagues have prejudged her and decided to not like her before even meeting her.Now, unlike some, I have spent a bit of time wearing a badge on the streets so I know what it's like, to be one and to convince others that you belong wearing a badge. To me, women playing cops, regardless of whether it's in the movies or on television, begin with a serious handicap. That handicap is that most of them are never convincing as cops. Almost every actress I've seen try on such a role fails because she doesn't have the necessary "edge" to her mannerisms or manner of speaking to make them convincing in the role.The speech aspect isn't about getting the jargon right either, although that helps, it's literally about the manner of speech they learn to adopt. Women in our society have a characteristic way of speaking. Female cops, real female cops, no longer speak that way and that is the part almost no actresses get. That convincing part is the depth of self-assurance and self-confidence that it takes for a woman to succeed in such a man's world and also survive. A female LEO learns to have that fairly early in her career. The result is that they are cops to the bone and it shows in how they handle themselves and how they talk. Any cop, even a girl, has to convince people that they own the piece of ground they are standing on or they will fail. If they can't do that well you may as well put them in a cape and high heels because that won't sell either.Now, the people making this series have actually tried to get together a group of actors that can come across with a degree of accuracy. They aren't perfect, but they're working on it. The star, Ms. Bello, has done some great work in motion pictures. She appears to have been trying to get into this role as she doesn't come across as a lame actress trying to do it. She has been believable to a degree that almost no women ever have. We'll see how it goes, but I think her efforts can be torpedoed by the people making the show, writers, directors, etc.I also like the choices for the other actors; Bello's boss is played by Aidan Quinn as Lt. Kevin Sweeney (find a way to use him more); Kirk Acevedo plays Det. Luisito Calderon; Brian O'Byrne as Det. Reg Duffy (he's been especially great thus far) and Peter Gerety as Desmond Timoney, Jane's father.So, the bones of a great beast are there. I'll have to watch longer to see if the makers can truly breathe some life into the creature so that it can reach it's full potential. So-far, so-good. The most immediate disappointment is that it's airing on network TV, which is all but dead creatively in the US now. I hardly know anyone who watches much network TV any more. The cable shows have such greater chance at approaching realism now days that it's a shame the makers of this show will be denied a great many of the newer tools; especially for this kind of show. Good luck. Sincerely.