DI Ray (2022– ) User Reviews

A moving and powerful series.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 16 May 2022]

DI Ray disarms a man with a knife, recognised for her bravery, the powers that be move her to head up a murder case.

I was very impressed by this four part series, it's complex, it's deep, it's incredibly well paced, don't expect endless meandering, Ray is thrown straight into the action.

Very well made, it looks and sounds great, it's a cut above your regular drama series.

Line of Duty vibes, which isn't really surprising, it's not as complex or heavy, but it has similar tones and vibes, the usual level of corruption.

How utterly refreshing to see a predominantly British Asian fast for a change, about time and great to see, and every player here is excellent.

Parminder Nagra is just so good as the lead, she steals the show, and truly develops with each episode, you witness some of the deliberate, and not so deliberate racism that she, and many others must feel.

Please let there be a second series of this, there deserves to be!

8/10.

Cut short

[communitygold1 · 7/10 · 30 June 2022]

Was really enjoying it then it seemed to speed up and come to an end?

Could have been a couple more episodes between 3 and 4.

Hope it returns for a second season.

Not bad at all

[iainsmith-18061 · 8/10 · 5 May 2022]

A good British police drama which to be fair isn't bad . Really worth the watch and don't be put off by negative reviews and I hope that DI Ray returns for another series.

Line of Duty has set the bar high!

[jchifi7 · 6/10 · 1 July 2022]

I liked D. I. Ray and thought Parminder Nagra and Maanuv Thiara were great in their performances. However the storyline felt disjointed at times and key information about characters was missing. Line of Duty really has set the bar high and I hope they meet it in season 2.

Better than expected

[samthejudgeamos · 7/10 · 18 May 2022]

No hanging about, straight in to the action which engages from the start and piques the interest. It's an ok story, Birmingham is a different choice of venue so made a refreshing change from London. A bit predictable in places, but easy enough to watch.

Loved it

[doalvarez2002 · 8/10 · 23 May 2022]

I really liked it and in fact watched it in just one sitting. I highly recommend it.

However, it is true that the lead character could have been more expressive and likeable, especially in her interactions with her fiancé in which I saw no chemistry at all and found their acting rather contrived as if they had both signed an agreement so as not to kiss each other on the mouth. It was a bit weird. Other than that, the plot is compelling and racism across British police is superbly portrayed.

Enjoyable!

[davyd-02237 · 7/10 · 6 May 2022]

Interesting that some have a negative view of this 4 part series. I cant say the same thing! It IS pretty good with the central character being brought in to solve a crime. It isnt clear until the final episode who Mr Bambers character is, which is helpful. The officer does crack it and it will be interesting to see if they bring her back for a 2nd series.

A top-class police drama series.

[InnerWisdom1000 · 9/10 · 27 January 2023]

I was most impressed with this police drama series. Excellent acting, supplemented by tight and focused writing that aptly contained all the high drama to four episodes and completed by very intelligent directing that succinctly brought all parts together.

Parminder Nagra was superb and carried this drama series in large part. I hope I speak for many in saying we want to see more of her on TV. She simply lives the parts she acts.

I thought both the direct and not so direct leanings on racism were extremely well portrayed and a credit to all in the production of this top-class drama series.

That anyone - male, female, straight, gay, transgender, white, black, Asian, able-bodied or not - should be subjected to the direct and indirect shameful innuendo that DI Ray was subjected to, is something that should outrage all who are decent, honest and have integrity.

I highly recommend this excellent series.

The anti-woke brigade are furious

[gtbarker · 7/10 · 8 May 2022]

The lead character highlights the low and not so low level racism inherent across English society in a measured and realistic way. On the downside the story is a bit thin and leads boss is very annoying (as they always seem to be in British police dramas).

Below par police drama that felt a bit flat

[JRB-NorthernSoul · 5/10 · 2 May 2022]

Great to see an Asian led drama set in Birmingham on ITV prime time, unfortunately it wasn't that great.

Script was the main problem, setup was poor the story wasn't very original, there was little drama and a lot of the dialogue was clunky and expositional chit-chat.

The other big problem was the protagonist, who was plain dull, she seemed to be on auto-pilot all the way through.

Average production values, looked very low budget with few outside locations. For me it just never got going, needed a lot more oomph to grab the viewers.

Nod to subtle racism

[Asper12 · 9/10 · 9 May 2022]

You can see some twists coming but I loved the portrayal of subtle racism that POCs face in everyday life, the scene at the restaurant where the waitress just assumes which two people are part of the couple was wonderful. Bring on season 2!

Racism that is shown up throughout this story

[fgerryts · 7/10 · 20 May 2022]

I liked this series because of the way it showed up everyday racism and prejudice in society and the police force. I'm not Asian so the fact that I sympathized with DI Ray's struggles as a British Asian woman says a lot for the acting and writing. Parminder Nagra brought her character to life with an understated performance that showed how she dealt with everyday prejudice starting in the grocery store and onto her work colleagues.

Missed opportunity.

[BAnione · 4/10 · 3 May 2022]

It was high time we saw a South Asian artist in the lead, instead of in a supporting role, considering UK's ethnic diversity. However, just doing it for the sake of it and not packaging and presenting it right, is the problem with this British series. It doesn't help that the lead is uncharismatic, dull, and lacking personality. She seemed one dimensional, using the same set of expressions for every emotion. The intimate scenes with the fiancé were awkward to watch, seemed they were all shot at the same time, same angle, same blanket pulled up to cover up her modesty, kiss on the cheek! Nagra may have had 'minimum skin show' 'no explicit sex scenes' written into her contract, but there were a million ways to achieve this more naturally. Very sloppy work indeed! Also, there was absolutely no chemistry between DI Rachita Ray and PS Tony Khatri, except as colleagues. Totally did not see that coming. Very poor scripting and direction there. I am in total agreement with the 4 poor reviews before mine. Alas, a missed opportunity to make history with a hit British crime drama with a South Asian lead.

Hoping for Series 2

[tm-sheehan · 7/10 · 2 July 2022]

My Review D. I. Ray no on SBS on Demand

My Rating 7:10

D. I. Ray is a very interesting story about important the disturbing issues of Police Corruption and ethic typecasting that often assumes that because a suspect is of a certain racial background that they must automatically be a prime suspect in a crime.

The stories main character is newly promoted DI Rachita Ray played so well by Parminder Nagra.

D. I. Ray takes on a case that forces her to face a lifelong personal conflict between her British identity and her South Asian heritage.

It's obvious from the first episode that D. I. Ray is not welcome in her new role at Birmingham Police Headquarters especially by her superior DCI Kerry Henderson (Gemma Whelan) or her Superintendent Inspector.

DI Ray is assigned to a high profile case that draws her into the world of organised crime involving drug trafficking prostitution and illegal migrant smuggling.

I enjoyed the performances and the story but when it left us hanging in mid air with so many questions still unanswered after 4 episodes I felt robbed .

The storyline in the script is good but needs completion by writers Maya Sondhi and Executive Producer Jed Mercurio. They previously worked together on Line of Duty (2012). Mercurio wrote the show and Sondhi played PC Maneet Bindra.

So the show has a good pedigree I just hope we do get a second series .

Wooden performances

[redfin2010 · 6/10 · 2 July 2022]

Could've been so much better, but wooden performances and a wildly improbable plot (esp last 2 episodes) let's this series down. I expected more but they've just gone with stereotypes and the acting of the two main characters is boring!

I Found This Enjoyable, Interesting and a Good Watch, Recommend !!!

[pitabread-332-717370 · 8/10 · 6 May 2022]

I found the first episode a little slow as we got to no the characters but gave the second episode a watch and am glad I did, the show grew during the second episode and carried on getting better.

Really enjoyed it and the last episode was really good with a great twist at the end (which my wife guessed).

Just give it a go, I hope they make season 2.

Middle of the road

[dvo10 · 6/10 · 6 May 2022]

Reasonable crime drama, can see what's coming a mile away but worth a watch.

On a side note, I've never heard anybody intelligent use the word "woke" in the context used far too often here.

A Sister in Law Enforcement

[vkammerer-34719 · 9/10 · 26 March 2023]

Lovely to watch a South Asian woman shun the out-dated traditional behavior. I was totally annoyed how her white peers and supervisors viewed DI Ray and the minority community using all the usual brainwashed theories. Thus, it was obvious why DI Ray was frustrated with her co-workers and superiors lack of knowledge or understanding of South Asians and Arabs. I truly want to believe that law enforcement has learned through diversity training the falsehoods I witnessed in this series. As for DI Ray's fiance, he was overbearing, pushy, and quite typical of a white male police officer. Her parents were well educated but there was still the hint of old tradition thinking towards their daughter that needs to disappear entirely in today's world. What I witnessed was a serious detective with the type of skills it takes to solve crime who had very little support from her co-workers in the beginning and no support from her superior officers. This series was particularly frustrating since I entered law enforcement when there were few women and absolutely no women of color. Male co-workers were more problematic than criminals. Sad but true.

Wasted opportunity

[peter-gaunt2 · 3 May 2022]

This had potential for a good drama on the challenges faced by British Asian women in the Police. It falls really flat. I've admired the cast in other series, and the script is OK, it's just so drawn out and boring. Maybe it needs editing to a 90 minute pne-off.

Brilliant

[moxi-26748 · 6/10 · 3 May 2022]

Don't listen to the negatives on here, watch for yourself. Gripping drama and lovely to hear real Birmingham accents. Acting is superb and storyline keeps you watching.

Could have been good

[neilsharp-03115 · 5/10 · 5 May 2022]

A missed opportunity, we could've had an interesting police drama highlighting racism within the police and an intriguing case, but unfortunately neither really materialise, the racism is superficial and the case predictable, the script is poorly written and at times embarrassing, if a police officer witnesses a colleague murdered on their doorstep, she wouldn't be expecting to turn up for work the next day, and as the 'hit' is suspected to be on the surviving office, she wouldn't be walking the streets alone, it beggars belief that we are supposed accept this as realistic.

Really good and different from the norm

[dannyod-90131 · 8/10 · 5 May 2022]

I love this. I think it does start off slow but you have to keep going. Really enjoying it. Lead actress is amazing. Hope there is more series to come.

Mind your ABC in CSH

[bosporan · 6/10 · 3 May 2022]

Run-of-the-mill cop show about a self-righteous DI with a chip on her shoulder heading up a homicide team. The story revolves around a 'Culturally Specific Homicide' which has the potential to quickly turn to political/cultural polemic, but to the credit of the writers it is handled reasonably.

The lead character played by Parminder Nagra is naïve, stiff and lacking in charisma, but doggedly determined to find the truth. Her apparent, somewhat arrogant, belief is that others are untrustworthy and more concerned to favour speed over accuracy of conviction.

After one episode it gives sufficient confidence to watch further.

It had potential, but as always it's the poor script.

[Avidviewer-02847 · 4/10 · 7 May 2022]

In the era of 50 minute police procedurals, spending 4 hours/4 episodes on one case is asking too much of viewers. And as usual, the script is a big problem. Writers obsess with creating conflict and this is full of needless conflicts like that between Ray and her boss. And Ray's partner also being a cop and her relationships...the script goes down too many rabbit holes it's not focused.

I have no major problems with the cast, it was nice to see Jamie Bamber and Helen George. Ray doesn't have to be involved in every interview. It would be nice to see the rest of the cast independently doing interviews and collecting evidence.

Recipe for a modern police show

[AlexxAmadeo · 3 January 2023]

1. Have an idea about a character of South Asian descent living in the UK who finds herself in the middle of police politics (could be quite interesting).

2. Find a bunch of pretty talented actors to star in your series (I hope we all can agree on this point).

3. Make half of the characters stupid, the other half of them racist, also make the main character the object of constant racist remarks, but let her suffer in silent dignity.

4. I think we forgot something. What could it be? Ah yes, writing. But it's such a hard work writing interesting and realistic dialogues, isn't? So maybe let's omit this part. Who even cares, am I right? We have racist characters - what else do you need?

5. Done. Ladies and gentlemen, we have another brilliant ITV series.

6. If someone offers some critique, call them names and pretend like they simply do not understand the plight of people of color.