The Sydney Morning Herald
· collected 2026-09-16 · by Craig Mathieson
Death Valley ★★★
This sly British murder mystery has a lovely duplicity.
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mystery → have → duplicity
With an eccentric pair of investigators and a tea-and-biscuits level of comfort that starts with the rural Welsh setting, Death Valley can absolutely be enjoyed as a cosy crime series.
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Valley → start → series
There’s zero malevolence and plentiful enjoyment as police detective Jane “Janie” Mallowan (Gwyneth Keyworth) and retired actor John Chapel (Timothy Spall) crack one tidy case after another.
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Mallowan → ’ → another
But it’s also not difficult to find the delicious satire and knowing emotional nuance in the duo’s haywire investigations.
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it → ’ → investigations
“I’ve watched you for hours,” Janie declares, with great delight, when she knocks on John’s door as part of doing the rounds following the suspicious death of a neighbour.
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she → watch → neighbour
It’s not as bad as it sounds, which is a common reaction to Janie’s errant remarks.
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which → ’ → remarks
John, a reclusive former actor, once starred in her favourite series, the long-running murder-mystery Caesar.
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John → star → series
Playing 1950s detective Charles Caesar, John was a proper TV star.
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John → play → Caesar
Everyone knows his earnest catchphrase: “Crime waits for no man.”
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Crime → know → man
Nans love him.
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Nans → love → him
But then so, too, is Grantchester, which ran for 11 seasons.
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which → run → seasons
But the ludicrousness, with Janie not so subtly shoehorning the very helpful John, who fancies himself an expert on psychology and a keen sleuth after headlining countless Caesar episodes, into her ever so regular homicide case, is a delivery vehicle.
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himself → shoehorn → case
When the duo gets to explain a case to the assembled suspects they can’t help but talk over each other.
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they → get → other
At its core, Death Valley is about two lonely people, both of whom have experienced a tremendous loss, finding an unlikely friendship and the means to encourage each other to slowly step back into the wider world.
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both → experience → world
“Loneliness is a killer,” Janie professionally observes at one point.
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Janie → observe → point
They both know that might also privately apply to them.
uncertain
that → know → them
That they respond to each other in such different ways – she’s a fan, he’s aghast – only adds to the reassurance of their fledgling bond.
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he → respond → bond
Creator Paul Doolan, who previously helped deliver the long-running 2010s supermarket sitcom Trollied, doesn’t exactly weave complex cases for his idiosyncratic but nonetheless diligent detectives.
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who → help → detectives
There’s an opening death followed by a quick succession of suspects, most of whom are hiding something suspicious.
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most → ’ → something
Death in Paradise probably has more complex plots, but Death Valley has Janie delighting at a murder in a seaside town because she gets to order fish and chips.
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she → have → fish
There’s a lovely supporting cast, including Gavin and Stacey’s Steffan Rhodri as Janie’s gruff teddy bear boss Barry Clarke, but it’s the performances of the two leads that truly elevates the show.
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that → ’ → show
Keyworth gives Janie an endearing awkwardness – she’s trying so hard not to mess up simply straightforward situations – that not even John, who has a haughty smidge of the misanthropic at first glance, can brush her off.
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who → give → her
For Spall, one of those do-it-all British actors who’s equally mastered Mike Leigh and Harry Potter, there’s the chance to send up the actor’s ego while surreptitiously finessing technical challenges.
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who → master → challenges
When Spall plays John, who in turn plays Caesar in a clip from his show, you have a gifted actor playing a very good actor who through repetition and success became a predictable actor.
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who → play → repetition
There are numerous layers to that, which can be appreciated in different ways by the audience.
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which → be → audience
It’s the kind of subterfuge Death Valley is enjoyably good at.
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Valley → ’ → subterfuge
Death Valley airs at 8.20pm Fridays on the ABC and ABC iview.
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Valley → air → iview
We’ve got you.
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We → get → you
Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.
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Watchlist → get → ?
Yes, Brendan Cowell is playing another “bad guy” in this divisive Australian thriller, but it’s more complicated than it seems.
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it → play → thriller
The former Australian Survivor host has one word for people boycotting the show: “good”.
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host → have → show
Australia’s favourite (and only?) TV rom com has come to an end.
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com → come → end
Here’s why the world fell in love with it.
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world → ’ → it
Meet the man who inspired the show.
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who → meet → show
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