DI Ray explained

DI Ray (titled D.I. Ray in the United States and Canada) is a 2022 British police procedural television series. It was created and written by Maya Sondhi and produced by Jed Mercurio. DI Ray stars Parminder Nagra as detective inspector Rachita Ray in a fictitious Birmingham-based police force. The cast also includes Gemma Whelan and Jamie Bamber. The first series of four episodes aired on ITV beginning 2 May 2022. The second series aired from 16 June 2024 in the United States and 20 October 2024 in the UK and in other territories.

Cast

Recurring

• Parminder Nagra as DI Rachita Ray
• Gemma Whelan as DCI Kerry Henderson
• Jamie Bamber as DCI Martyn Hunter
• Sam Baker-Jones as DC Liam Payne
• Peter Bankolé as DS Kwesi Edmund
• Maanuv Thiara as PS Tony Khatri
• Jessica Temple as DC Carly Lake
• Steve Oram as DS Clive Bottomly
• Ian Puleston-Davies as Supt. Ross Beardsmore

Series 2

• Witney White as DC Charlene Ellis
• Lauren Drummond as Suzie Chapman
• Michael Socha as Dave Chapman
• Patrick Baladi as DI Patrick Holden
• Naomi Yang as Hiroka McGregor
• Taha Rahim as Ravinder Mochani
• Dinita Gohil as Amara Dhawan
• Jamie Bell as Stevo Miller

Production

Lead actress Parminder Nagra described DI Ray's character as being "like a female Columbo in a green coat".^[1]

The first series was filmed during October and November 2021 in locations including Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter and outside Lloyd House police headquarters.^[2]

Series 2 was also filmed in Birmingham, with locations including the Jewellery Quarter and Hockley Flyover.

Episodes

Series 2 (2024)

Broadcast

The first series of four episodes aired on ITV beginning 2 May 2022.^[3]

In November 2022, the series was renewed for a six-episode second series, which began filming in 2023.^{[4] [5]} The second series aired from 16 June 2024 in the US,^{[6] [7]} 24 July on SBS Television in Australia,^[8] and 20 October 2024 on ITV in the UK.^{[9] [10]}

Critical response

Lucy Mangan, writing for The Guardian, gave series 1 three out of a possible five stars. She praised Sondhi's use of "tangled motivations that hold the viewers' interest" to create a "police procedural with a fresh perspective" but felt that the story "at times moves a bit too slowly" and "feels a bit too by-numbers".^[11] Sean O'Grady for The Independent gave the series four stars out of five, describing the lead character as "a smart, sassy, tough telly detective" and summarising "low key in tone and atmosphere, DI Ray, cop and show, that is, deserves to be a success. Mercurio ticks another box."^[12]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Meet the cast of ITV thriller DI Ray. Radio Times. Flora. Carr. 27 April 2022. 4 May 2022.
2. Web site: Where was DI Ray filmed? Birmingham filming locations for Line of Duty creator's new ITV drama. Birmingham Mail. Talya. Honebeek. 2 May 2022. 4 May 2022.
3. Web site: Elliott . Dave . DI Ray TV Show, UK Air Date, UK TV Premiere Date, US TV Premiere Date, US TV Air Date . Geektown . 12 October 2024 . 17 October 2024.
4. Web site: DI Ray on ITV1: Will there be a season 2 of the Parminder Nagra police drama?. Fear. Helen. 5 May 2022. ED! Entertainment Daily . Digitalbox Publishing Ltd. 7 May 2022.
5. Web site: Cooper. Brenna. ITV confirms future of DI Ray with Parminder Nagra. Digital Spy. 25 November 2022. 27 November 2022.
6. Web site: Kumar . Praveen . DI Ray Season 2: Release date, cast, plot, and everything we know so far . Sportskeeda . 2 June 2024 . 24 July 2024.
7. Web site: Jacobs . Meredith . 'D.I. Ray' Finale Explained: Will There Be a Season 3? . TV Insider . 21 July 2024 . 24 July 2024.
8. Web site: Woods . Cat . On the right side of truth: Parminder Nagra discusses the return of ‘D.I. Ray’ . SBS What's On . 23 July 2024 . 17 October 2024.
9. Web site: Molina-Whyte . Lidia . DI Ray season 2 ITV start date confirmed as Parminder Nagra returns . Radio Times . 9 October 2024 . 17 October 2024.
10. Web site: Rowan . Iona . ITV's long-anticipated returning crime drama finally confirms release date . Digital Spy . 11 October 2024 . 17 October 2024.
11. Web site: DI Ray review – like Line of Duty, but with racism at every turn. The Guardian. Lucy. Mangan. 2 May 2022. 4 May 2022.
12. Web site: DI Ray, review: Low key in tone and atmosphere, Jed Mercurio's latest cop drama deserves to be a success. The Independent. Sean. O'Grady. 3 May 2022. 4 May 2022.