Sundays, Jan. 17–Feb. 14 & Feb. 28, at 8 p.m. on WKAR-HD 23.1 & STREAMING | Before Marple and Tennison, there was Scarlet: Miss Eliza Scarlet, private detective.
Miss Scarlet and the Duke is set in London at the start of the Sherlock Holmes era, circa 1880. Eliza’s father, Henry, is a widowed retired police officer, currently a private detective running up bills and drinking through his occasional earnings. Nonetheless, he is a talented investigator, and he has taught his only child, Eliza, the trade since she was a girl. She is now determined to break into this male-only profession.
Fortunately, Eliza’s childhood friend happens to be a detective inspector at Scotland Yard: William, “The Duke,” Wellington. He gets his nickname from the most famous Englishman of the 19th century: the Duke of Wellington, victor over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. Like that other Wellington, the Duke is cool and decisive in a scrape. He is also a ladies’ man, which leads to interesting complications with Eliza.
Inheritance | Sun. Jan. 17
Aided by a family friend, Eliza goes to work as a private detective to get out of debt.
The Woman in Red | Sun. Jan. 24
Eliza is hired to prove the innocence of a man caught with a bloodied knife at a murder scene.
Deeds Not Word | Sun. Jan. 31
When the Duke hires Eliza to spy on suffragettes, she goes beyond her instructions.
Watch each episode at video.wkar.org during or after the premiere date.