Brighton based Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is a hard-working police officer who has given his life to the job, but his career is currently at rock bottom. He’s fixated by the disappearance of his beloved wife, Sandy, and running enquiries into long forgotten cold cases with little prospect of success. Following another reprimand for his unorthodox police methods, Grace is walking a career tightrope and risks being moved from the job he loves most.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.1/10
IMDb: 7.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 70%
Metacritic: 63
TMDB: 6.7/10
Production
Second Act Productions, Tall Story Pictures, Vaudeville Productions
Cast
John Simm, Richie Campbell, Brad Morrison, Laura Elphinstone
Where to watch
BritBox
Curator Review
Verdict
A solid, watchable British detective drama with a dependable lead, coastal atmosphere, and a strong procedural engine, but it rarely rises above familiar territory. It works best as an easy, case-driven binge for viewers who like emotionally burdened investigators and steady mysteries more than bold reinvention.
Best for
fans of British police procedurals
viewers who like brooding, damaged detectives
crime-drama binge watchers
people who enjoy Brighton-set atmosphere and cold-case storytelling
Skip if
you want a highly original or formally ambitious crime series
you prefer lighter, more character-comedy-forward procedurals
you need every season to feel essential and sharply escalating
you are tired of grim, methodical detective shows with familiar beats
Overview
Grace is a dependable ITV crime drama that leans into the strengths of the format: a troubled investigator, a personal mystery that shadows the cases, and a steady stream of murders, disappearances, and cold-case threads. John Simm gives Roy Grace enough weariness and intensity to keep the show grounded, and the Brighton setting adds a pleasant coastal texture to the usual police-procedural machinery.
Worth noting
The series is easy to settle into and generally well paced, especially if you like case-of-the-week storytelling with an ongoing emotional spine. It does not radically reinvent the genre, though, and some episodes feel more functional than memorable. The appeal is consistency rather than surprise.
Bottom line
If you enjoy British detective shows that balance personal trauma with methodical investigations, this is a worthwhile watch. If you are looking for a sharper, more distinctive crime series, Grace may feel like a competent version of familiar ideas rather than a standout.
2012 · Curator 9.3/10 (80.8K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Peacock Premium, Acorn TV, BritBox, Spectrum On Demand, Acorn TV Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus, Pluto TV, Plex, Amazon Prime Video Free with Ads, Tubi TV
Sharper, more propulsive British police drama with institutional tension, interrogation-heavy storytelling, and a strong binge factor.
1997 · Curator 8.2/10 (44.8K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Acorn TV, Spectrum On Demand, Acorn TV Apple TV, Pluto TV, Plex, Amazon Prime Video Free with Ads, Xumo Play, Tubi TV
A long-running, comfort-watch detective series for viewers who want case-driven mysteries with an easy episodic flow.