''DI Ray'' is a 2022 British

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

, known in Canada as ''D. I. Ray''. The series was created and written by Maya Sondhi and produced by Jed Mercurio. DI Ray stars

Parminder Nagra Parminder Kaur Nagra (born 5 October 1975) is a British actress of Indian Punjabi descent and Sikh heritage. She is known for portraying Jess Bhamra in the film ''Bend It Like Beckham'' (2002) and Dr. Neela Rasgotra in the NBC medical drama s ...

in the title role as a

detective inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

in a fictitious

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

-based police force. The cast also includes

Gemma Whelan Gemma Elizabeth Whelan (born 23 April 1981) is an English actress and comedian known for portraying Yara Greyjoy in the HBO fantasy-drama series ''Game of Thrones''. She also plays Kate in all seasons of the comedy ''Upstart Crow'', Detective Eu ...

and Jamie Bamber. The first series of four episodes aired on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

beginning 2 May 2022. The second series aired from 16 June 2024.

Cast

as DI Rachita Ray *

as DCI Kerry Henderson * Jamie Bamber as DCI Martyn Hunter * Sam Baker-Jones as DC Liam Payne * Peter Bankole as DS Kwesi Edmund * Maanuv Thiara as PS Tony Khatri * Jessica Temple as DC Carly Lake * Steve Oram as DS Clive Bottomlyy

Production

The series was filmed during October and November 2021 in locations including Birmingham's

Jewellery Quarter The Jewellery Quarter is an area of central Birmingham, UK, in the north-western area of Birmingham City Centre, with a population of around 19,000 people in a area. The Jewellery Quarter is Europe's largest concentration of businesses invol ...

and outside Lloyd House police station.

Episodes

Series 1 (2022)

Broadcast

The first series of four episodes aired on ITV beginning 2 May 2022. In November 2022, it was announced that the series was renewed for a six-episode second series, which was due to begin filming in 2023. The second series aired from 16 June 2024.

Critical response

Lucy Mangan, writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', gave the series three out of a possible five stars. She praised Sondhi's use of "tangled motivations that hold the viewers' interest" to create a "police procedural with a fresh perspective" but felt that the story "at times moves a bit too slowly" and "feels a bit too by-numbers". Sean O'Grady for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' gave the series four stars out of five, describing the lead character as "a smart, sassy, tough telly detective" and summarising "low key in tone and atmosphere, DI Ray, cop and show, that is, deserves to be a success. Mercurio ticks another box."

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 15536118 2022 British television series debuts 2020s British crime drama television series 2020s British mystery television series 2020s British police procedural television series 2020s British workplace drama television series British English-language television shows Television shows set in Birmingham, West Midlands