McLevy in the New World (S1 & 2) Review

By Ben Wright (@iamzavagno | www.xgeeks.co.uk)

This review is spoiler-free.

Synopsis:

San Francisco is as cold and foggy as Leith, and home to just as many criminals. With the Gold Rush at its height, the city is a madhouse, its inhabitants driven by greed. Everyone is dying to get rich quick, and McLevy and Jean are caught in the middle.

Unimpressed by San Francisco’s bawdy houses, Jean shifts from brothel-keeping to playing poker, and is soon making a killing. McLevy, however, is having a harder time adjusting.

His time as a policeman may be over, but in this wild, lawless West, there’s a desperate need for a good private investigator…

In 2016, we thought we had said farewell to Lieth’s favourite duo, Inspector James McLevy and Madame Jean Brash. Then, in 2022, the pair returned for two more adventures, this time, in “The New World”. Sadly, I missed this at the time of broadcast, but thanks to Audible, those episodes, plus two brand new ones, released this year (2024), have now been put into one collection – McLevy In The New World. Two series of four episodes continue the adventures of McLevy and Jean as they try to forge a new life in San Francisco.

Brian Cox and Siobhan Redmond return as James McLevy and Jean Brash, and this was always going to be the key ingredient to the success of this new series. These two have phenomenal chemistry with each other and were always a constant highlight of the audio drama. Whether in the same scene or individually, their level of performance never waivers, and always leaves the audience captivated and engaged. 

As for the story, the episodes, while isolated, also have a connective tissue that encapsulates an overall arc – the transition to a new life and purpose for James and Jean. As individual stories, they have the same “feel” as classic McLevy episodes, just with a new location and world to set them in. This continuation of the narrative quality is a testament to the writing and storytelling of David Ashton. The final episode, of this collection, hints at a new future, one with more adventures to come, which I am more than in favour of, especially if we get more stories with these wonderful characters.

In terms of the production quality, the editing and sound mixing is flawless and as salient as the cast and writer are, having Bruce Young return as director is just as important. Young is a seasoned director and his influence has always been a key factor in the success of McLevy.

With flawless production quality, stunning performances and drama that will have you on the edge of your seat, McLevy In The New World sees the return of Brian Cox and Siobhan Redmond in this stunning collection of new and thrilling stories from series creator David Ashton.

What did you think of McLevy in the New World? Let us know in the comments.