Stream Season 1 now with KPBS Passport (currently airing Saturdays at 9 p.m. on KPBS 2). Season 2 Premieres Sundays, Sept. 3 - Oct. 8, 2023 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV / PBS App
Every aspect of Professor Jasper Tempest’s life is precisely calibrated and rigidly structured. Impeccably dressed and meticulously punctual, he lectures daily at the Cambridge Institute of Criminology, teaching students imaginatively, if pedantically, about the science of crime.
Each evening, he returns home to his apartment which is as sterile and systematically ordered as a science lab. Thanks to this strictly regimented approach, his OCD and germaphobia are under control. But Professor T’s buttoned-down world is slowly undone when he is persuaded by one of his former students, Detective Sergeant Lisa Donckers, to assist her in investigating a serial rapist who has started attacking young women again after a 10-year hiatus.
The Professor’s encyclopedic knowledge of criminal psychology and his brilliant mind prove invaluable to the under-resourced CID team, but the cracks in his carefully constructed emotionless carapace also begin to show. Working with the police — and the fiery, instinctive, and occasionally chaotic Lisa, in particular — drags Professor T far from his comfort zone and forces him to confront his painfully suppressed feelings for an old flame, Detective Chief Inspector Christina Brand.
After deciding in an uncharacteristically irrational moment to move into his dusty and derelict family home, he also finds it increasingly difficult to escape the influence of his imperious mother, Adelaide, with whom he shares a harrowing family secret that casts a long shadow over both their lives.
PROFESSOR T is a classic crime procedural, featuring a brilliant criminologist and amateur sleuth who solves a succession of quirky and baffling cases. At the same time, it explores the complex private lives of a diverse and engaging cast of characters, not least Professor T himself and the troubling effect that childhood trauma invariably has on adult psychology.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Episode 1: “Anatomy Of A Memory” - Professor T is persuaded by a former student now a police detective, to help her investigate a serial rapist. When he discovers his mother is trying to sell his long-abandoned family home, T makes a momentous decision.
Episode 2: “A Fish Called Walter” - When a blameless librarian is poisoned at a reception at the Museum, Professor T is called upon to help narrow down the list of possible suspects, but not everyone on the police team is happy with Professor T’s involvement in the investigation.
Episode 3: “Tiger Tiger” - Professor T becomes embroiled in a hostage situation, but his unconventional negotiating tactics do not go down well with the police. Old flame Christina reveals all is not well with her marriage.
Episode 4: “Mother Love” - Professor T is called upon to help investigate the disappearance of a 6-year-old girl. Tensions rise between DI Paul Rabbit and Professor T until they finally come to blows.
Episode 5: “Sophie Knows” - Professor T befriends a vulnerable girl and is convinced she is the key witness to a murder. Dan and Lisa agree to go on a date, but when her boss confronts her about their inappropriate relationship, Lisa makes a bold decision.
Episode 6: “The Dutiful Child” - When an attempt is made on a billionaire businessman's life, Professor T suspects the culprit may be much closer to home than the police suspect. It's Professor T's birthday and with it comes a haunting childhood memory.
Watch On Your Schedule:
Episodes from Season 1 are available to stream with KPBS Passport, a benefit for members supporting KPBS at $60 or more yearly, using your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire or Chromecast. Learn how to activate your benefit now.
