Patience is a British–Belgian detective drama television series starring Ella Maisy Purvis as autistic police archivist Patience Evans, with Laura Fraser (series 1) and Jessica Hynes (series 2) as police detective inspectors. The series is set in York, England, and is adapted from the Franco-Belgian television series Astrid et Raphaëlle (a.k.a Bright Minds).
The series premiered in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 on 8 January 2025. A second series, with eight episodes, premiered on 7 January 2026. A third series is in production.
Contents
Premise
A detective inspector (DI) forms an alliance with a brilliant, self-taught, autistic archivist who has been working in the criminal records department of the City of York police.
Cast
Main
Ella Maisy Purvis as Patience Evans
Ava-Grace Cook as 11-year-old Patience
Oona Van Harneveldt as 6-year-old Patience
Laura Fraser as DI Bea Metcalf (series 1)
Jessica Hynes as DI Frankie Monroe (series 2)
Tom Lewis as Elliot Scott
Nathan Welsh as DS Jake Hunter
Mark Benton as DCI Calvin Baxter
Ali Ariaie as DC Will Akbari
Adrian Rawlins as Douglas Gilmour
Recurring
Liza Sadovy as Dr Loretta Parsons
Jamie Maclachlan as George Evans
Lotte Lauren as Mathilde Evans
Connor Curren as Billy Thompson
Maxwell Whitelock as Alfie Metcalf-Haynes
Eddie Elks as David Haynes
Hannah Tointon as Joy
Production
The series is an adaptation of the Franco-Belgian series Astrid and Raphaelle and was announced in February 2024 by Eagle Eye Drama, PBS Distribution and Beta Film, in association with Belgium's Happy Duck Films and with support from the Belgian Tax Shelter. Jo McGrath and Walter Iuzzolino were executive producers for Eagle Eye and Maarten Moerkerke was to direct. The writing team was led by Matt Baker and included Stephen Brady, Sarah Freethy, and Daniella DeVinter.
Location filming for series one took place in York from 23 to 29 April 2024 at Precentor's Court, opposite York Minster, Monkgate, The Shambles, Gillygate and Micklegate. However, other than these exterior sequences which place the stories in York, most of the show was filmed in Belgium.
Patience was renewed for a second series, with a new writing team led by Amy Shindler and Beth Chalmers. Filming took place in Belgium and York in May 2025, with Jessica Hynes added to the cast as a new DI replacing Laura Fraser's character as Fraser was unavailable. A third series was commissioned with filming continuing in York and Belgium in 2026.
Episodes
Broadcast
The first episode was broadcast at 9:00 pm on 8 January 2025, in the United Kingdom on Channel 4. All episodes were immediately made available on Channel 4's digital streaming platform. The second series, consisting of eight episodes, premiered on 7 January 2026.
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 85% of 13 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Distinguished by Ella Maisy Purvis' terrific performance, Patience brings a fresh angle to the detective genre through character rather than plotting." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 66 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Critics' reviews of series one were mixed. In a three-star review for The Telegraph, Chris Bennion summarised it as "a worthwhile addition to the crime drama ranks, but one that fits into, rather than breaking the mould." In a two-star review for The Guardian, Lucy Mangan described the plot as "preposterous", the dialogue as "terrible", and the drama overall as "deeply uninspired" and "embarrassingly clunky". Carol Midgely in The Times said that Purvis does not "overact" the character's condition, "showing it in overt and subtle ways".