Usually when something's set in the Caribbean, it's the landscape that takes centre stage. And why wouldn't it? If you've forked out for a tropical location, you need to go big on the white beaches and blistering blue skies.
But you don't get any of that with Channel 4's new cop drama Get Millie Black, despite its setting in Kingston, Jamaica. Written by Man Booker prize-winning author Marlon James, the novelist has shifted his literary love of Jamaica-based crime onto the screen.
The premise is this: former Met detective Millie Black (Tamara Lawrence) returns to her birthplace to right some personal wrongs, while resuming her police career. Crime is crime wherever you find it, but the move exposes her, and us, to a side of Jamaica that operates in the margins, in places we don't normally get to see.
With the case of a missing schoolgirl, it takes less than an hour to find ourselves in the most unlikely places, mingling with an eclectic mix of characters. A go-go (lap dancing) club, rogue white Jamaicans, and a cast of trans women.
Death in Paradise could never. But then why would it? The only things Death in Paradise and Get Millie Black have in common are a vague shared location, and the improbable notion that places like these need Brit-trained police officers to help them out. That aside, the two shows couldn't be more different – and yet the comparisons have been coming in thick and fast.
Death in Paradise is so fictional that even Saint Marie, the island it's set on, is made up. But judging by its stellar viewing figures over the past 14 years, that's not been a problem. This lightweight crime caper version of a TUI advert is one of the BBC's biggest success stories. To date, it's been sold to 240 territories across the world.
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If, like me, you find its Agatha Christie-theme night at an all-inclusive vibe a bit much, Get Millie Black offers you a way out of the resort. Of course, it's grim out there, the sun shines less and it might not be somewhere you want to venture alone, but it's instantly something you want to see through to the end.
Hot on the heels of a missing girl, Millie becomes our tour guide through the back streets and front lawns of uptown and downtown Kingston. It's not a straight path, and as she side-steps into storylines that offer deeper insight, it sheds light on the things we thought we knew.
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Jamaica's reputation for attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community and its crime rates aren't exactly new, but it's rare to see anything go beyond the words to imagine how that manifests in people's experiences.
In this drama, Millie's work buddy Curtis is possibly the first time I've ever seen a gay Jamaican portrayed on TV, and Millie's sister, Hibiscus, takes such insight even further.
Living in a trans community beneath the storm drains of the city, Hibiscus and her adopted family have been shunned by society. Until they're un-shunned, either for sex or brutal murder.
None of this would amount to much, though, if the characters weren't up to it. Chyna McQueen is brilliant as the confident yet fragile Hibiscus. And even minor roles, like club owner Hit Girl (played by real-life '90s dancehall artist, Patra) add an air of authenticity.
But the glue really holding it all together is Tamara Lawrence as our protagonist Millie. On the one hand, you could argue that she inhabits familiar territory: the single-minded cop driven by some silent sadness that we can't quite grasp. But the added layers give us something more.
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Through well-placed voiceovers, Black tells us how she's feeling. She doubts herself out loud, questions how she could've done better and shows a vulnerable side. It's not the know-it-all approach we've come to expect from most detectives. But perhaps the best thing about Get Millie Black is that it doesn't feel like it's pandering to anyone.
The storyline revolves around a predominantly Black cast, and the accents are pretty authentic, regardless of whether the viewers can understand them or not.
In short, it's miles away from Death in Paradise and actually does a lot to bring something fresh and exciting to the crime drama genre. One person's light, charming murder mystery is another's nightmare – so thank goodness for Millie Black.
Get Millie Black is available now on Channel 4.
