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Ben Sherlock is a Tomatometer-approved film and TV critic who runs the massively underrated YouTube channel I Got Touched at the Cinema. Before working at Screen Rant, Ben wrote for Game Rant, Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop. He's also an indie filmmaker, a standup comedian, and an alumnus of the School of Rock.
Whitechapel is a must-see British detective drama that every murder mystery fan needs to check out. British TV is a treasure trove of classic crime shows. Sherlock modernized Arthur Conan Doyle’s seminal mysteries, Line of Duty gave the UK its own answer to The Wire, and Britain has a long history of case-of-the-week detective shows, from Inspector Morse to Midsomer Murders.
From Vera to Luther to Broadchurch, there are so many great crime dramas coming out of British TV that some of them are bound to fall by the wayside and go unappreciated. Whitechapel is a police procedural with the unique premise of detectives chasing copycats emulating the work of notorious serial killers, and it’s an underrated gem.
Whitechapel Is A British Police Procedural About Copycat Killers
Whitechapel follows a group of detectives in the titular London district, who solve a string of murders based on historical crimes. Much like Sherlock, it takes the gruesome murders of yesteryear and brings them into a familiar contemporary setting. The first season premiered in 2009 with the story of the ultimate copycat killer: a modern-day Jack the Ripper.
But that was just the start; in subsequent seasons, the team had to deal with other copycats. In season 2, the crimes emulate the murders committed by the Kray twins. In season 3, the killers copied the Ratcliff Highway murders, the Thames torso murders, and the Lon Chaney film London After Midnight. In the fourth and final season, the detectives dealt with 16th-century torture tactics.
It’s such a juicy premise for a procedural that I’m surprised it hasn’t been snapped up for an American remake. But the simple explanation there is that Whitechapel didn’t get the love it deserved in the UK, so it didn’t become a crossover hit in the United States.
Whitechapel Was Overshadowed By A Different Jack The Ripper Drama
Unfortunately for Whitechapel, a different detective show based on the Jack the Ripper murders premiered on the BBC just a couple of years later and totally stole its thunder. Ripper Street picks up five months after the last Ripper killing. The men who tried and failed to catch the Ripper are put to the test once again when the killer seemingly resumes his grisly business.
The series revolves around Detective Inspector Edmund Reid, played by Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen, and Detective Sergeant Bennet Drake, played by Game of Thrones’ Jerome Flynn. Ripper Street is another great British cop show about Britain’s most notorious serial killer; it’s just a shame it had to overshadow Whitechapel.
English (US) ·