{"id":629632,"date":"2026-09-19T14:12:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T14:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/629632\/"},"modified":"2026-09-19T14:12:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T14:12:11","slug":"better-than-line-of-duty-di-ray-is-the-crime-drama-to-watch-on-repeat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/629632\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cBetter than Line of Duty\u201d: DI Ray is the crime drama to watch on repeat"},"content":{"rendered":"

So, you long ago raced through all six series of Line Of Duty. You’ve finished series two of Ludwig<\/a>. You’ve even reached the end of all the Stephen Graham crime dramas you could find on streaming services. Now what? <\/p>\n

Enter: DI Ray, the highly acclaimed police procedural drama you should watch this weekend. Fans of the ITV show, which stars the iconic Parminder Nagra of Bend It Like Beckham fame as DI Rachita Ray, say it’s even better than Line Of Duty \u2013 so it should more than tide us over until the seventh series drops<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The Jed Mercurio-produced show is all about DI Rachita Ray’s new assignment to the homicide unit, to investigate a suspected ‘honour killing’ of a young Muslim man. Ray suspects she’s been selected for the task based on her own ethnicity, and has to battle against racism and bias while searching for the truth. <\/p>\n

With the complete series available to stream on ITV tonight (or right now, if you like), here’s what you need to know about DI Ray before you check it out, including the plot, cast and how to watch it. <\/p>\n

What is DI Ray about?\"woman<\/p>\n

ITV<\/p>\n

Series one of DI Ray, which originally aired in 2022, covers the moment DI Rachita Ray (Parminder Nagra) finally achieves the promotion she’s been waiting for when she’s asked to join a homicide investigation. However, on her first day, she’s told the murder that she’s been assigned has been labelled a ‘culturally specific homicide’ \u2013 which makes DI Ray suspect she’s been chosen for the case based on her ethnicity. While navigating the personal identity crisis this prompts, the detective has to convince her colleagues that the victim, Imran, is not actually the victim of an honour killing as they had assumed. Instead, he’s just one part of a much bigger web of organised crime and violence. <\/p>\n

In the four episodes of the first series, more dead bodies land, adding to DI Ray’s suspicion that the deaths are far more than just a family clash. Alongside this, the detective faces racist microaggressions at work and in her personal life, and undergoes therapy to explore the emotions this brings up for her. Betrayals happen, revelations are uncovered and corruption is exposed. Expect lots of twists packed into just four episodes. <\/p>\n

In the second and final series, DI Ray is right back in the midst of the action, investigating homicides, chasing down kidnappers and digging deeper into dodgy goings-on within the Police in Birmingham. <\/p>\n

As a whole, the show is so much more than your usual formulaic crime investigation. It digs into heavy issues such as the racism Asian women in the police force can face, cultural biases shaping the way crimes are investigated and the harsh reality of trafficking taking place in the UK. <\/p>\n

The creator and screenwriter Maya Sondhi said of DI Ray: ‘This is a project which is deeply personal for me as a British Asian Brummie woman. It\u2019s only in the past 10 years or so I\u2019ve really been able to truly embrace my heritage. So much of this show is my story and in telling it honestly, I hope others from all different backgrounds will relate.’
<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s in the cast of DI Ray?\"person<\/p>\n

ITV<\/p>\n

The cast of DI Ray is made up of: <\/p>\n

Parminder Nagra (ER, Alcatraz, The Blacklist) as DI Rachita RayGemma Whelan (Game Of Thrones) as DCI Kerry HendersonSteve Oram (Sightseers) as DS Clive BottomleySam Baker Jones (Trigger Point) as DC Liam Payne Peter Bankol\u00e9 (Peaky Blinders) as DS Kwesi Edmund Ian Puleston-Davies (After The Flood) as Supt Ross Beardsmore Witney White (Playing Nice) as DC Charlene Ellis Michael Socha (The Cage) as Dave ChapmanLauren Drummond (Holby City) as Suzie ChapmanJamie Bamber (Marcella) as DCI Martyn HunterIs DI Ray any good?\"person<\/p>\n

ITV<\/p>\n

Absolutely. With Line Of Duty’s Maya Sondhi writing and Jed Mercurio producing, it’s compulsive viewing, with plenty of action and dramatic twists. DI Ray is dark and gritty, but heavy themes are dealt with in an engaging, absorbing way. Parminder Nagra is superb as a smart and savvy detective up against racism and her own struggles with how she identifies. <\/p>\n

How can I watch DI Ray?<\/p>\n

DI Ray is available to watch now on ITVX<\/a>. <\/p>\n

What other detective dramas can I watch now?<\/p>\n

If you’re keen to do a marathon of detective-themed dramas, we’d recommend The Doctor Blake Mysteries<\/a>, a real hidden gem on U<\/a>. Craig McLachlan plays Dr Blake, a medical officer during World War II who returns home to Australia to take over his late father’s medical practice… only to end up using his forensic skills to solve murders. It’s a small-town drama with lots of intrigue. If you’re a fan of Silent Witness, Signora Volpe<\/a> is another show to add to your watch list. It follows Sylvia \u2018Signora Volpe\u2019 Fox (Emilia Fox), who moves to Italy after feeling disillusioned with her job. But it\u2019s not long before she taps back into her sleuthing skills. The first two series are available to watch on U&Drama<\/a>, with the third premiering on 5 October.
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"So, you long ago raced through all six series of Line Of Duty. You’ve finished series two of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":629633,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[1105,267292,1107,93,61,60,184510,1135,267291,223989,282],"class_list":["post-629632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-c261645d-1c8f-423e-905e-35fbe8b92009","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-di-ray-is-the-crime-drama-to-watch-this-weekend","tag-sponsored-false","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=629632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/629633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=629632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=629632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=629632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}