UKTV has shared a first look at its upcoming detective drama, Bookish, from Emmy Award-winning writer Mark Gatiss (Sherlock), who also stars in the drama alongside Bridgerton’s Polly Walker and Line of Duty actor Daniel Mays.
The six-part series, which airs on Alibi in 2025, follows “erudite and unconventional” antiquarian bookshop owner Gabriel Book as he helps the police solve a variety of mysterious crimes. The stylish detective drama features three main cases, with each storyline spanning two episodes.
Some major guest stars also appear in the drama, including Joely Richardson (The Gentlemen) as Sandra Dare, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (Bodies, The Great) as Stewart Howard, Paul McGann (Annika) as Mr Kind, Michael Workéyè (This is Going to Hurt) as Billy Fox, Luke Norris (Poldark) as Jesse MacKendrick, and Jonas Nay (Concordia) as Felix.
Set in the “dynamic, dangerous and chaotic setting” of 1940s London, the show focuses on the “whip-smart and debonair” Gabriel Book, a maverick consultant detective to the local police.
The synopsis continues: “The thousands of books that line the shelves of his shop provide him with all the knowledge he needs to solve even the most puzzling of crimes.
“Book has gathered around him a host of lovable, damaged misfits whom he informally protects, cajoles, and mentors. His wife Trottie (Walker) runs the wallpaper shop next door. She’s a charismatic adventuress whom Book loves deeply but not physically, for they are in a ‘lavender’ marriage to help conceal Book’s sexual orientation in a time when it was illegal to be gay.”
