Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | TV | June 26, 2026
Forget High Potential, The Rookie, or even fantastic police procedurals like Ludwig, Will Trent, and Blue Lights (which is brilliant) — the best case-of-the-week series on television right now continues to be Patience on PBS. It is smart, brilliantly written, cozy as hell, and occasionally heartfelt. And though it sadly lost Laura Fraser in between the first and second seasons, it actually may have improved upon itself by bringing in Jessica Hynes to replace her.
When I reviewed the first season, I noted that Patience — adapted from the French series Astrid et Raphaëlle — struck a rare, compelling balance. Settled somewhere between a broadcast procedural and a prestige streamer, it offered the narrative sharpness of Sherlock without the bleakness or grisly violence of modern Nordic noir. Its heartbeat was the chemistry between the chaotic, messy DI Bea Metcalf (Fraser) and Patience Evans (Ella Maisy Purvis), a criminal records archivist whose autism allows her to spot hidden patterns but whose sensory overload and rigid adherence to rules make traditional police environments a minefield.
From a narrative tension standpoint, Fraser’s departure could have derailed the show. Instead, it works phenomenally to bring in a new lead detective, DI Frankie Monroe (Hynes), to act in the skeptic role filled in the first season by DS Jake Hunter (Nathan Welsh). Hunter is now firmly on the side of Patience. This shift flips the entire dynamic: both Patience and Jake now have to convince a deeply cynical Monroe that Patience is not only valuable, but profoundly capable and indispensable to the department.
Monroe does not initially buy it. She quickly dismisses Patience, belittling her contributions and referring to her as “Headphones.” It’s a devastating blow to Patience, who had grown accustomed to the hard-won safety and mutual understanding she shared with Bea. But this friction is exactly why season 2 feels so renewed. We are forced to watch Patience re-earn her space, while Monroe is forced to dismantle her own biases.
The growth of this relationship anchors a stellar lineup of season 2 storylines. As the episodes progress, the murder cases remain at the absolute heart of the show, pushing Monroe and Patience into a formidable team. Patience spots the invisible threads — connecting disparate clues across decades of cold files — while Monroe expertly handles the human side: questioning witnesses, interrogating suspects, and occasionally chasing someone down on foot.
Beyond the crime-solving, the season thrives on its character-driven subplots. Patience is trying to navigate a real dating life with Elliot Scott (Tom Lewis), a storyline handled with warmth and honesty. It doesn’t shy away from the frequent miscommunications, misunderstandings, and socially awkward moments that come with neurodivergent dating, but it treats them with dignity rather than making them the punchline. Meanwhile, Jake Hunter mostly acts as a go-between and an occasional romantic confidante to Patience this season, showing just how far his character has evolved since his early skepticism.
For levity, DCI Calvin Baxter (Mark Benton) is being forced—in a mostly amusing, season-long storyline — to work with a PR expert (Rhiannon Clements) to improve the public image of the York police department. Watching Benton’s old-school, gruff detective butt heads with modern public relations spin provides a fun comedic counterweight to the procedural elements.
What makes Patience the best procedural on TV right now, however, is that it understands that the puzzle is only as good as the people solving it. By pairing brilliant, intricate puzzle-box mysteries with a deeply empathetic portrayal of neurodiversity — played beautifully by Purvis, who is herself autistic — the show delivers something unique. It has the comfort of a classic British mystery, the narrative drive of a prestige thriller, and a profound, beating heart that makes you care about every single breakthrough. It is an absolute triumph, and the definitive must-watch crime procedural of the year.
‘Patience’ is airing weekly on PBS, or you can watch the entire season season now with PBS Passport.
