Rebus, the gritty Scottish crime drama from last year, is now available on Netflix UK and Ireland.
The series is the second adaptation of Sir Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus novels, which began in 1987 and is still going strong with the 25th (!) main entry released last year.
In this TV version, Outlander star Richard Rankin (no relation) plays the titular detective as he tries to take down a criminal gang in Edinburgh while dealing with his divorce.
The show was well-received by critics, with a 100% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 12 reviews.
Critics praised Rankin’s performance, both as a successor to John Hannah and Ken Stott (who played the detective in the 2000s ITV series) and as an anchor for the adaptation as a whole.
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“Richard Rankin is so perfectly believable in the role that you never tire of watching him and keep rooting for him even when he’s being a complete and utter idiot,” wrote The Spectator.
The Wall Street Journal said “Mr Rankin is one of those unorthodox casting choices that works.”
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“Part of what makes this Rebus so alluring is down to the beautifully concise manner in which the actor who plays him conveys his haphazard competence, his stoicism and feral endurance. He is so believable,” added The New Statesman.
Before the show premiered last year, lead actor Rankin sat down with Digital Spy and delved in deep about his take on the character, and why he felt it was important to delve into the mental health and vulnerability aspects of the detective.
Rebus is available to stream now for Netflix UK and Ireland subscribers. It is also still available on BBC iPlayer.
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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he’s covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small.
A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe’s main interest is in video gaming. Although particularly a PlayStation gamer, he plays across Xbox, Nintendo and PC/Steam Deck, and likes to keep tabs on many games he’s not got the time to play.
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