Patience

On its own this is a reasonable television series but unfortunately it has to bear comparison with the original Franco Belgian series from which it is derived. At the time of writing (March 2025) Astrid et Raphaelle is available on ITVx and is the superior watch.

Maybe Patience will develop the supporting characters if it gets a second series, in A&R the support group have a far greater part to play, the backstory of the lead character is far more fleshed out and she is more socially awkward and remains so for most of the five series so far shown.

The parent version seems to have better pacing despite taking far more time to show the lives of the characters away from the investigations, maybe having to follow the story via subtitles makes me more invested in A&R than in Patience.

For those who haven't seen Astrid et Raphaelle the made for UK version, Patience, is a perfectly adequate "police procedural with a twist" and has the bonus of being set in York, a location not often appearing in crime dramas.

For those of us who have seen A&R there is a sense of disappointment with this version, none of the first six episodes differ in plot from the first six of the original and the characters don't seem to have the same chemistry between them.

Let's hope that a second series, if made, addresses some of the shortcomings.

I am told by a friend that the French/Belgian series on which this is based is a superior watch. However, as I have yet to see that original I cannot compare, and can only judge Patience on it's own merits. So, I enjoyed it. It was a little different from the run of the mill detective series, and the better for it in my humble opinion. I thought the two leads were very good indeed, and were backed by a decent supporting cast. I thought that Patience's autism was handled with sensitivity although one or two elements of her condition seemed to be magically resolved by single incidents. That didn't, for me, take anything away from my overall enjoyment. I'll watch Astrid soon so I can make the comparison.

Whilst investigating a case, DI Metcalf encounters Patience, a young employee who works at records, an autistic young woman, with a razor sharp brain and a skill for spotting patterns, Metcalf persuades Patience to join her team.

I haven't seen the original series, so I can't compare, so my words are based purely on Channel 4's series.

I was honestly blown away by the quality of this series, I genuinely wasn't expecting it to be as good as this, what a tremendous first run, my only hope is that more follow.

The best thing Channel Four have done for quite some time, it truly is a cut above.

Every single episode is beautifully crafted, clever and intriguing, what a totally refreshing series, unlike anything else on the box right now.

I've always been a fan of Laura Fraser, and she is excellent, but this series is stolen by the sublime performance of Ella Maisy Purvis, who is genuinely sensational as Patience, acting of the highest order.

I love seeing Patience developing, and seeing an increase in her confidence as the series develops, if you have anyone close to you, who is autistic, you'll see some indicators, I certainly do.

Please Channel four, we need more.

9/10.

This English version lacked poignant moments that could have been developed with the lead character, Patience.

The French / Belgian version; Astrid et Raphaëlle (Astrid on C4 UK) the lead character Astrid was played with more depth, and where you could feel her struggles.

All in all this is watchable and it was good to see the relationship develop between Patience and Detective Bea. This also showed how the main characters learned how to be understanding of Patience and tolerant towards Patience's difficulties, but also becoming more respectful of the skills that Patience could bring to the team.

Some really good casting in this version and I hope to see a second series, to see how all these characters evolve.

It's was great to see a location that was filmed outside of London.

While Patience is pretty good in itself I have given it just six stars as it really doesn't hold a light to the french version, Astrid: Murder In Paris.

The acting is fine but Astrid (played by Sara Mortensen) takes it to awhole new level with the idiosyncrasies and details.

The stories are the same as those from the first series of the french version but just felt a little flat with the interaction between the main characters with the Astrid cast being more connected and their humour adding a bit of fun to the whole thing.

If you haven't seen the french series I implore you to give it a try (if you can stand reading subtitles) as Sara Mortensen is an absolute joy to behold.