Death Valley comedy pairs Timothy Spall with a real detective

Timothy Spall plays John Chapel. Chapel once starred in the long-running detective show Caesar but now lives as a recluse.

Welsh police Detective Sergeant Janie Mallowan arrives to investigate a death in the village and recognises Chapel. Mallowan asks him to help solve the crime.

Rather than play the genre straight, Death Valley mines comedy from the premise itself. The show jokes about the tired trope of amateurs solving murder cases week after week.

It treats this as absurd rather than dramatic. By leaning into the laughs throughout, including when suspects face proof of guilt, it offers a fresh take on the detective comedy formula.