PBS drama brings literary detective to life in ‘Bookish’

Over the course of his career, Mark Gatiss has been known to wear various hats.

For his role in the new PBS drama, “Bookish,” Gatiss donned the hats of creator, writer and lead actor.

Gatiss says the series was much easier to create from scratch rather than having source material to work from.

“Bookish” will take viewers on a ride during its six-episode first season, beginning 9 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11, through Feb. 15, on New Mexico PBS, channel 5.1. After each broadcast, the episode is available to stream on the PBS app.

Gattis worked alongside director Carolina Giammetta in developing the mood and feel of the series.

He says while writing it, he always planned to set the series in post-war 1946 London, as Gabriel Book’s knowledge of literature and history makes him an unconventional avenue for local police.

Over each episode, Book, played by Gattis, helps police unravel London’s mysteries by utilizing the thousands of books inside his bookstore.

Gatiss says the first season features three cases across the six episodes and gives some time to the unconventional marriage between Book and his wife/childhood best friend Trottie, played by Polly Walker, who runs the wallpaper shop next door.

The series also stars Connor Finch as Jack, Elliot Levey as Inspector Bliss, Blake Harrison as Sergeant Morris and Buket Kömür as Nora.

Gatiss says during the first season, he has learned many lessons from Book.

“I’ve learned a lot of things for series two,” he says. “I mean, it’s really interesting. Writing an ongoing series is a very interesting challenge. I’ve done a lot of episodic television, but writing the whole arc and trying to work out where individual modules fit in that so that the backstory doesn’t become more important than the murder of the week, which is of course why people have tuned in, but also that people do then get very interested in the backstory and where that’s going to go. I mean, I’ve done an awful lot over the years and I’ve got a good producer’s head on in terms of what’s achievable. So I suppose what I’ve learned is how to write it without limiting my imagination, but also with one eye to how it’s actually going to be done.”

Gatiss says he had the idea for the series jumping around in his head for many years. He knew he always wanted a character to have the last name Book and own a bookstore.

His inspiration for the series comes from his own love of books.

He says there is a lot of useless information in his head.

Yet, it is Sherlock Holmes that served as part of the foundation for “Bookish.”

“I love history, fascinated by it,” he continues. “I love books, they are the most fantastic thing.”

Gatiss says the series was filmed in Belgium and credits the cast and crew for the brilliance of what’s seen on screen.

As he wore a trio of hats, he says it was a different way of working.

“The only obstacles really are inevitably when you do have to make compromises for budget reasons, and sometimes that can be very frustrating,” he explains. “I’m a big fan of a limited budget. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but it does make you think, and it makes you think cleverly, and it makes you think on your feet, and it makes you make good decisions as opposed to big flabby indulgent ones. But sometimes it would be really nice to have a little bit more time, a little bit more money.”

Gatiss give an example of a scene in episode six where Book interviews an Albanian Benin princess, and as he wrote it, it was set in a sort of British transport cafe, a sort of downhill diner, because he was deliberately trying to bring her down to ground this haughty aristocrat.

“But we couldn’t afford to build that set or go to that location for one scene,” he says. “So it had to take place in the hotel, and it’s on the back of another scene set in the same restaurant of the hotel. And I find that very frustrating because in terms of storytelling, I’m trying to tell a story about doing something different, but we literally just couldn’t afford to do it. So those are the obstacles, really. But I mean, that’s just the mechanics of television, and you have to grin and bear it and also try and find a clever solution really, if you can.”