Created by Emilia di Girolamo based on the Inspector Gamache mystery novel series by Louise Penny, this Canadian TV show follows Chief Inspector Armand Gamache (Alfred Molina) and his colleagues Sgt. Jean-Guy Beauvoir (Rossif Sutherland), Sgt. Isabelle Lacoste (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers), and rookie cop Yvette Nichol (Sarah Booth) as they solve a series of crimes in the cloistered village of Three Pines in Quebec. They’re regarded with suspicion by the townsfolk, but slowly they develop deepening relationships.
The first season is broken into four two-part episodes revolving around the Indigenous, French-, and English-speaking cultures and involves the small town’s many eccentric characters, such as gallery owner and Indigenous Peoples advocate Bea (Tantoo Cardinal), the irascible poet Ruth (Clare Coulter), and the Two Rivers family whose family member has gone missing and who police believe has simply run off to the city. The season ends in a cliffhanger!
The various storylines are compelling, and the always-reliable Molina brings great depth and empathy to Gamache, who’s often at odds with his higher-ups. We discover more about his character in flashbacks to a young Gamache (Gryffin Hanvelt) and his mother (Marie-Josée Bélanger), and his frequent dreams, suggesting preternatural insights. (eight 54-min. episodes)
—Glen Starkey
This article appears in Jan 5-12, 2023.