Pierre review: David Harewood's cultural milestone

David Harewood brings his historic theatrical legacy to Channel 4's new crime drama Pierre, creating a cultural milestone for Black British storytelling. The series, which premiered in 2024, stars Harewood as a securely middle-class Black duty solicitor whose nuanced experience within the Metropolitan Police moves beyond traditional police hero narratives.

Harewood first made history in 1997 as the first Black actor to play Shakespeare's Black lead, Othello, at London's National Theatre. Pierre is not exactly Othello, but it represents another significant cultural moment. The character can banter over a full English breakfast with his best friend, DS Ronnie Miller, played by Jason Flemyng, and can be received at a private member's club, the Turningham.

Pierre's Role and Narrative Focus

Pierre is a duty solicitor for a police station, not a police officer. The plot centers on a young Black man found dead after accusing an officer of police harassment. As a Black professional who remains rooted in his community, Pierre navigates this case and the systemic racial injustices it exposes.

The character sometimes buckles under the burden of attempting to condense complex race and policing politics into dialogue. He wryly replies when told that the first Lord Turningham made his money in sugar, highlighting the show's engagement with historical legacies.

Critical Reception and Industry Context

Reviewers have praised Harewood's performance for its confident concision, noting his soft Birmingham burr has been filed to a sharper edge by years of gritty London living. The show itself is described as a twisty noir that blows the roof off due to Harewood's star power. Its title graphic features building-height yellow letters for a silhouetted solicitor.

Pierre is positioned as a milestone beyond previous Black police dramas. Idris Elba's Luther, which ran from 2010 to 2019, featured Black actors as police heroes but avoided exploring the lived experience of being Black within an institutionally racist force. The 2020 BBC drama Red, White and Blue, starring John Boyega as real-life Met police superintendent Leroy Logan, shifted focus to the personal impact of racism in policing.

Creative Team and Supporting Cast

The Channel 4 drama is co-written by acclaimed playwright Roy Williams and John Donnelly. Williams is known for his interest in how Black men fare in the country. The supporting cast includes several notable actors.

The show arrives in a year that also saw the Channel 4 series Get Millie Black, written by Marlon James, which traces British racism to its roots in the transatlantic slave trade. For Pierre, reviewers suggest a season two commission is the only agreeable solution for the character's overburdened responsibility, closing the first chapter on a note of anticipated continuation.