The liveliest detective series has been set in the Caribbean for over twelve years: Death in Paradise. The detective, on display since 2011, starts with a cheerful instrumental version of the ska classic ‘You’re wondering now’, and has the fictional island of Saint Marie as its setting. The British inspector lives in a wooden house on the beach with his lizard Harry, and his team of local employees find him endearingly clumsy, but always admire his sharp eye. Except that the series is now in its fourth British inspector, the structure has remained the same all these years: a murder takes place of which it is unclear how it could have taken place, everyone has an alibi, but almost everyone does have a motive. When everything seems to be stuck, the British inspector – who invariably suffers from the heat and prefers to eat British meals instead of local delicacies – looks at the whiteboard where the photos are pasted. And then he has an epiphany and calls all the suspects to the crime scene. His team is ready to make the arrest(s) while he explains to the suspects and viewers how an ‘impossible murder’ could happen. The killer is usually a spoiled Brit.
In addition to the twelve seasons – in which one of the previous British inspectors was murdered, one returned to England for love, one was homesick and another is still looking for love in the Caribbean – the series has also had the good habit of to make a Christmas episode. There is little difference with a regular episode – only the Christmas special lasts twice as long. Another difference: there are Christmas decorations in the Caribbean, and despite the temperature, the British inspector is wearing a Santa hat once the murder is solved.
There’s something funny about it Death in Paradise. On the one hand, the series is extremely accessible, there are many white beaches and the series offers escapism at its finest. On the other hand, it is striking how absent the spirit of the times is. Not only have the plots been pretty much the same for twelve years, but from the beginning it also made sense for some reason that there would be a white British cop leading a team of black cops. All three inspectors were flown in – because the rest of the team apparently did not have the level to solve these murders. Hardly anyone seems to work on the island itself: Caribbean life is drinking rum and eating fish.
Sir
That combination of cheerfulness and unproblematized colonialism – the team is on an equal footing, only the British inspector is invariably called ‘Sir’ despite all his clumsiness, allergies and sunstroke – is astonishing. While American police series always emphatically move with the times by denouncing institutional racism, sexism or excessive police violence, Death in Paradise quietly retains its post-colonial touch. The series is extremely popular, was even praised in 2015 for the diversity of the team, and in this Christmas episode, viewers were particularly upset that the British inspector has not yet had an affair with his black subordinate.
There is also something for lovers of escapism and unbelievable plots Beyond Paradise. That series follows a former inspector Death in Paradise who, thanks to love, now works in an English coastal town, is still just as clumsy and is now saddled with a dominant mother-in-law. What is reminiscent of the Caribbean is the duck that lives with the inspector on the boat (the lizard remained in Saint Lucia) and that bears the name of a black chief police officer in the Caribbean. Here too a Christmas special full of cops and inspector wearing a Santa hat and punch instead of rum. And even more escapist: a thief who returns his stolen goods after fifty years. We are already looking forward to Christmas 2024.