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The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency

Mirage Productions & Weinstein
BBC One (2008)/HBO (2009)

Precious Ramotswe is a young motswana* woman from a small village in Botswana. After her father's death, she decides to open her own business as a private detective. Selling her late father's cattle, Precious Ramotswe (played by Grammy Award winner Jill Scott) moves to the big city, Gaborone, to pursue her dreams. With the help of new friends and lots of red bush tea, she solves cases of crime, sorcery, and cheating spouses.

Originally, The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency is a series of successful books of the same name. Its author, Alexander McCall Smith, was born in Zimbabwe and educated there and in Scotland. He also worked in southern Africa for years, something he used as inspiration for his books, and now the TV show, which he is closely associated with producing.

The series is so groundbreaking for Botswana (a small country bordering South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia), its Office of Tourism participated in the launching buzz for the series.

The Cast

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency features an impressive, international cast. Aside from Jill Scott, Aneka Noni Rose, from Dreamgirls, is Grace Makutsi or "97%", Precious’ meticulous assistant who graduated with no less than 97% from the Secretarial College. Other characters include Mr. JLB Matekoni (Lucian Masumi), a mechanic head over heels in love with Precious, and BK (South Africa’s Desmond Dube), her neighbor and, it's no secret, gay hairdresser at the "Last Chance Salon". Britain’s Colin Salmon (Note Mokoti) and Idris Elba (the dark and handsome Charlie Gotso), as well as South African John Kani (the "dubious daddy") also make notable appearances. The absence of a major motswana actor is regrettable, but according to the production crew, this is due to the lack of a strong acting establishment in Botswana.

According to Alexander McCall Smith, finding the lead actress was challenging. It was only two weeks before production that they settled on Jill Scott. I dare say, the shoe fits!

Action!

The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency was Anthony Minghella's (Academy Award winner for The English Patient) final project before his death in 2008. Having filmed The English Patient and other projects in Africa, he was certainly fit to film in Botswana.

After watching the pilot (105 minutes), I was uncertain. I thought that they had pictured Africa, and more precisely, Botswana, as being too idyllic. The characters seemed innocent and one-dimensional. But at the same time, the long scenes dedicated to the wildlife were absolutely breathtaking. 

As the show goes on - so far, 5 hour-long episodes - we get deeper into Botswana's harsh reality: the ravages of HIV/AIDS, complex man/woman social relationships. Precious Ramotswe deals so much with suspecting spouses, that marriage and relationships soon become characters of their own. And as she solves other's family crises, she struggles with her own past as a battered and abused woman.

The question remains: will The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency draw as many fans as other HBO success stories (Sex and The City, Entourage, True Blood)? In other words, will the challenges of an African woman working as a detective interest as much as vampires, actors or hotshot journalists? We certainly hope so. As for me, it's a done deal.

*(singular for "batswana", citizens of Botswana)