Grace: Dead Simple: What the Must Watch reviewers think

Every week, the Must Watch podcasters review the biggest TV and streaming shows.

This week Scott Bryan and Hayley Campbell share their thoughts on ITV's first adaptation of the Roy Grace detective novels by Peter James. 

John Simm stars as Brighton-based Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. The first instalment titled 'Dead Simple' focuses on a missing person case after a groom-to-be vanishes during his stag-night. 

Have you been watching it? What did you think? Leave your comments below...

Hayley says: "This one won't hold your attention"

“No it's not a must watch. It's fine but it's nothing special. It's that basic ITV detective drama thing with all the usual clichés, which is not inherently a bad thing. I usually love all that exhausted detective stuff (I could watch Nicola Walker being exhausted in The Unforgotten forever) but this one won’t hold your attention, or at least it didn't hold mine. It’s an OK watch if you're just sitting around, eating a pizza and playing with your phone, but I don't think it deserves much more of your attention than that.

There was nothing I found particularly exciting, except for a moment in a coffin – which is horrible and brilliantly done, and even more stressful than the first episode of Your Honor.”

Scott says: "Every single detective cliché we've seen before"

"This police drama feels like a right fit for ITV. These feature length dramas, essentially a whodunnit, have been a mainstay on the channel for years. Think Midsomer Murders and Inspector Morse.

“The best thing about it is John Simm, he's very well cast in it. Yet, the drama also felt like box ticking exercise of every single detective cliché we've seen in dramas before - from the exhausted police detective who is incapable at finding a new relationship, to drone shots of cliffs accompanied with sad music.

"It also contained one of the most intense scenes I have seen before the watershed in a long while. A character buried alive in a coffin, underground as a prank during a stag do. I can only feel for the actor who had to experience that. It must have been quite a long day at work for him."

Grace: Dead Simple is available now the ITV Hub. 

Must Watch is released as a podcast every Monday evening from BBC Sounds and all other good podcast providers.

This week, the team speak to Mike Wozniak about Taskmaster on Channel 4. They also review The Flight Attendant on Sky One and The One on Netflix.

Click here to listen to the latest episode.