--- title: "Dempsey and Makepeace" year: 1985 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/dempsey-and-makepeace" fi1m_score: 76 critics_reviews: 2 published: "2026-09-16T20:49:43.272429+00:00" updated: "2026-09-16T20:49:43.677817+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Dempsey and Makepeace (1985) Created by Tony Wharmby · 50m · Action & Adventure, Drama **Fi1m score: 76** · Critics: 2 of 6 reviews so far *In a sentence:* The police work would go faster if these two stopped enjoying the arguments > Michael Brandon and Glynis Barber make this police partnership worth watching. The friction is predictable and the crime-solving seldom surprises, but their comic timing gives the familiar setup enough life for an agreeable evening. ## Synopsis In 1980s London, American detective James Dempsey (Michael Brandon) works with Harriet Makepeace (Glynis Barber), a posh English police officer. Det. Sgt. Chas Jarvis (Tony Osoba) is among their police colleagues. Dempsey wants to get on with solving crimes, but his rough manner and wisecracking meet resistance from his English partner. The pair argue as they work, with their differences in class and temperament adding to the friction. An unresolved sexual attraction complicates their attempts to function as a professional partnership, while the investigations still need their attention. ## Review *Dempsey and Makepeace* is a good-natured police series with a reliable attraction: Michael Brandon and Glynis Barber are enjoyable company, particularly when their characters disagree. Created by Tony Wharmby, it puts a rough American detective beside a posh English partner and lets their differences complicate the crime-solving. We recommend it as undemanding entertainment, with a warning that its investigations can feel perfunctory. It is comfortable using a familiar formula, and much of the pleasure comes from watching the actors make it work. Michael Brandon gives James Dempsey the confidence of a man who regards tact as someone else’s responsibility. His wisecracks could become wearing, but the delivery has enough warmth to keep him from being merely objectionable. Glynis Barber, as Harriet Makepeace, meets that roughness with a composure that prevents him from taking charge of every exchange. We laughed at their sparring; her composure makes his wisecracking seem all the more eager to provoke her. As a mismatched-detective series, it understands how much depends on wanting to spend time with the same people. Unresolved attraction can become a tiresome way of postponing a story, but here the quarrelling has enough enjoyment in it to make the delay agreeable. Both actors suggest that their characters find something interesting in the person who annoys them. That gives the flirtation a little more substance than simply putting two attractive people together and waiting. Geoff Harrison, Mike Humphreys and Tony Mander give the action straightforward, readable photography. That clarity matters in a programme whose pleasures include physical action as well as talk; we are seldom distracted from what the detectives are doing. Editors Paul Hudson, Ray Weedon, Ray Helm, Frank Webb, Derek Bain and Tony Webb keep the pace brisk without making the verbal exchanges feel like delays. It is practical television craft, and it suits the material. The theme music has the right sort of confidence for this material: it promises pleasure without asking us to take the detectives too solemnly. It is one of the programme’s uncomplicated strengths. Tony Osoba, as Det. Sgt. Chas Jarvis, and Ray Smith, as Spikings, give the central partnership some useful supporting company. Even so, our attention remains firmly on Michael Brandon and Glynis Barber, and the series does little to discourage that preference. The writing is most vulnerable when it assumes that an American accent and English breeding constitute a joke on their own. Jeffrey Caine, Murray Smith and Dave Humphries are among the credited writers, and the scripts do sometimes rely too heavily on that basic contrast. The actors rescue much of it, but some disagreements feel compulsory, included because another argument is due. Some investigations also need a less predictable route through the case. The 50-minute episodes are a comfortable fit for this degree of light entertainment. We would not recommend it to anyone principally interested in ingenious cases or a persuasive account of police procedure. Try an episode if two attractive detectives enjoying an argument sound like good company. *Fi1m score 76, published 16 September 2026.* ### Reviews we read (2) - **The Times**, Tim Teeman (80/100, inferred): The critic finds the DVD re-release holds up surprisingly well, praising the chemistry, sparring, action, acting and theme music between the rough American cop and his English partner. He notes it explains the show's original massive popularity and the leads' real-life romance. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/cops-who-found-love-at-first-sight-vzqzgmhpb3b) - **The Guardian** (75/100, inferred): The critic highlights the show's signature unresolved sexual tension between the wisecracking American cop and his posh English partner as they solve crimes in 1980s London. She notes their real-life marriage as a charming real-world payoff from the series. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2008/may/20/cablegirldempseymakepeace) ## Details - **Created by:** Tony Wharmby - **Creator:** Tony Wharmby - **Director:** Tony Wharmby, Baz Taylor, William Brayne, Graham Theakston, Roger Tucker, Gerry Mill, Robert Tronson, Francis Megahy, Viktors Ritelis, Christopher King, Christian Marnham, Michael Brandon, John Hough - **Writer:** Ranald Graham, Jesse Carr Martindale, Dave Humphries, Murray Smith, Jeffrey Caine, Jonathan Hales, David Wilks, John Field, Guy Meredith, William Marlowe, Paul Wheeler, Roger Marshall, David Crane - **Cinematography:** Mike Humphreys, Geoff Harrison, Tony Mander - **Editor:** Ray Weedon, Paul Hudson, Ray Helm, Frank Webb, Derek Bain, Tony Webb - **Cast:** Michael Brandon as James Dempsey; Glynis Barber as Harriet Makepeace; Tony Osoba as Det. Sgt. Chas Jarvis; Ray Smith as Spikings; Lee Montague as Det. Chief. Inspector Lacey; Frederik de Groot as Olaf Schram; Terence Plummer as Club Bounce; Peter Sproule as George Henshaw - **Runtime:** 50m - **Release (the US):** 11 January 1985 - **Genres:** Action & Adventure, Drama ## Where to watch in the US Not streaming, renting or buying in the US at the last check. Also available in: GB. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The Avengers* (1961): For another British partnership whose verbal sparring is worth the investigation. - *Moonlighting* (1985), Fi1m 82: More detective work interrupted by two people who enjoy arguing together. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/moonlighting.md) - *Police Story* (1985): For the physical comedy and action, with rather less professional restraint. - *Charade* (1963): For romantic sparring within a crime plot that keeps changing direction. - *The Nice Guys* (2016): Another argumentative detective partnership, with more bruises and a sharper comic temper. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/dempsey-and-makepeace