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Bookish: Mark Gatiss Discusses New Period Detective Drama (TRAILER)

Doctor Who and Sherlock veteran Mark Gatiss creates, writes, and stars in Bookish, a new mystery series set in a lawless 1946 London.

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Article Summary

  • Mark Gatiss stars in Bookish, a new 1946-set detective drama about a gay antique bookseller solving crimes.
  • The series explores post-war London’s lawlessness and hidden prejudices, blending mystery with social themes.
  • Bookish features a “murder as a parlor game” tone, prioritizing clever puzzles over violence or serial killer drama.
  • Premiering July 16 on U&Alibi and coming to PBS, Bookish is already renewed for a second season.

Doctor Who uberfan and Sherlock co-creator Mark Gatiss is creator, writer and, for the first time in his career, lead actor in new murder mystery Bookish, where he plays gay antique book store owner Gabriel Book, who solves crimes while living in a 'lavender' marriage with a woman, Trottie (Polly Walker). Set in the post-World War II era that has fascinated Gatiss for years, it sees Book solve mysteries in the chaotic, lawless world of London after the Second World War with the help of a young Inspector Bliss (Elliot Levey). Under its light tone, the show also addresses the darker parts of 1946 Britain, such as attitudes to homosexuality and post-war lawlessness. The thousands of books that line the shelves of his shop provide Book with all the knowledge he needs to solve even the most puzzling of crimes.

Bookish: Trailer for Mark Gatiss' New Period Detective Drama
Image: UKTV

Gatiss talked about Bookish at the IGSF, starting with how he began reading murder mystery books in his childhood – "I had German measles, and I got a Sherlock Holmes as a cheering-up gift, and I never looked back."

The series comes from ITV Studios-owned Eagle Eye Drama, which produces alongside its subsidiary, Belgium-based Happy Duck Films, for UKTV in the UK and PBS in the U.S. It is being shopped internationally by Germany's Beta Film.

"I wanted to make it about the post-war world and how dangerous and exciting it was," Gatiss said. He described the tone of Bookish as "murder as a parlor game" that would act as "a great escape for people from the new world," but added Bookish still has an edge.

"It's the puzzle people like, not about having something drenched in blood," added Gatiss. "People have moved away from those serial killer stories, because they're so unpleasant, to a more genteel world, but I don't like the term cosy crime as that suggests there is no teeth to it, and there definitely is teeth to it."

Bookish premieres on UK crime drama channel U&Alibi on Wednesday, July 16th, at 8 p.m. with a double episode and will be coming to PBS in the US. It has already been renewed for a second season ahead of its premiere.

"I'm thrilled that the team at U&Alibi are allowing me to dive back into the world of Bookish and create more fiendish crimes for Gabriel Book and the team to solve," said Gatiss. "I can't wait for viewers to immerse themselves in the world we've created when the first series airs in a few months' time."

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Adi TantimedhAbout Adi Tantimedh

Adi Tantimedh is a filmmaker, screenwriter and novelist. He wrote radio plays for the BBC Radio, “JLA: Age of Wonder” for DC Comics, “Blackshirt” for Moonstone Books, and “La Muse” for Big Head Press. Most recently, he wrote “Her Nightly Embrace”, “Her Beautiful Monster” and “Her Fugitive Heart”, a trilogy of novels featuring a British-Indian private eye published by Atria Books, a division Simon & Schuster.
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