Ripper Street: An Introduction

Ripper Street is the new BBC show that tells the story of Whitechapel in London's East End during 1889 after the Jack the Ripper murders. It follows Inspector Edmund Reid who in the series was one of the lead detectives on the Jack the Ripper case. Constantly reminded of his failure after the Ripper was never found Reid hopes to use science and technology to help him when a new Ripper appears on the streets. Reid is played by Mathew Macfayden known for his role as Mr. Darcy in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice and most recently in Anna Karenina.
Helping Reid with the new Ripper that has appeared is Sergeant Bennet Drake who is Reid's partner, ex-army, and is pretty good at cracking skulls together when the occasion calls for it. Drake struggles to escape his memories of the violence he saw in war and hopes to do so by helping Reid. Drake is played by Jerome Flynn known for playing Bronn on HBO's Game of Thrones.
The third member of the team is Captain Homer Jackson an American who was once a U.S. Army Surgeon and an ex Pinkerton. But despite his resume Jackson is a little untrustworthy, a boozer, gambler, and ladies man. With secrets of his own Jackson came to America with Long Susan a brothel keeper. Together the two of them are hiding out in East End running from some kind of trouble back home. Jackson works with Reid to keep him on his good side.
Drake mistrusts "The American" as he is called on the show and the two frequently butt heads. As the men dig deeper into the case of the new "Ripper" it tests all of them. Because London's East End is anything but Posh and the new Ripper might just be Reids undoing as his past comes back to haunt him.
This incredibly well acted, though grisly BBC drama takes away the romance of the costume dramas and shows the darker side of London's past. Having been intrigued by the Ripper case for a long time I was immediately curious about this show and given that it had Mr. Darcy in it how could I not watch? The season one DVD was recently released in the U.S. and is definitely worth picking up.