Twenty years ago, London was rocked by multiple suicide bombs, resulting in the Metropolitan Police ramping up its anti-terrorism campaign to bring those involved to justice, while also trying to prevent further attacks.

This new British original series focuses on the events surrounding the tragic killing of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes, after he is mistaken for a terrorist and shot by the police.  The series is told from multiple perspectives, and it examines how memory, both accurate and distorted, can be turned into fact and shape our understanding of the truth.

Over the course of four hour-long episodes, we get to see the events that led up to that tragic shooting, with Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair launching a large-scale counter terrorism operation to prevent further attacks, with Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman leading the investigation into the bombings.   

When another terrorist cell, which was planning further attacks, similar to those that took place on the 7th of July 2005, failed, this results in the UK’s largest-ever manhunts and sparking a covert surveillance operation led by Commander Cressida Dick .  We get to see the response of those attacks build tension on the police force, resulting in a series of extraordinary events that led the Metropolitan Police to make a critical misidentification, which ended with Jean Charles de Menezes, an innocent young Brazilian electrician on his way to work, getting mistaken for a terrorist. 

He was fatally shot at Stockwell station, and this series then follows the aftereffects of these tragic events. Independent Police Complaints Commission secretary Lana Vandenberghe makes a life-changing decision, and Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick, in a police force engulfed by crisis, fights for the truth to prevail. What follows is a family’s fight for justice and answers, and a long-fought struggle to bring clarity to a situation clouded by disinformation.

This is a hard-hitting series that often leads to cliffhanger moments that make me question what is actually going on and how the police made such a terrible mistake in their identification.   It’s easy to see how they were so hyped up, under pressure and extremely stressed following the recent events, which clouded their judgment and made them more jumpy than normal, which led to too many people making mistakes.

To me, one of the key elements of a good drama series is to make me feel something, and this show did that on many different occasions.  This made me question why this happened and, more importantly, why those involved had never truly faced repercussions from their actions.  No doubt, this show is going to stir up some thoughts about the police. With how they covered their tracks after basic mistakes were made, and hopefully, this show will result in the public being more aware of the situation.   For this reason, I do hope that Disney eventually licenses this show out to one of the biggest British broadcasters to reach a larger audience, so some real justice can be found for Jean Charles de Menezes.

The show doesn’t hold back on the brutality of the events that happened; there are even warnings before each episode, highlighting that you will be faced with the harsh realities of the events.   These shocking scenes help bring the story to life in a way I don’t think would work without the gory details.  It forces the viewer to deal with the events with emotion.

As usual with any dramatisation, it’s important to note that things have been changed to make it a more compelling series, and there’s even a warning before the show starts stating that names and events may have been changed.   So I do question some of the representation of the officers involved, especially Sir Ian Blair, since his portrayal sometimes shifts a little too much towards incompetence and lying, so that another show focusing on the story from his side might handle it differently.  No doubt, the police were under a lot of stress and pressure to ensure nobody else was hurt or killed during that summer, but this series will make you question the police’s ability to question themselves and own up to their mistakes.  

Overall: “Suspect: The Shooting Of Jean Charles de Menezes” is a fantastic limited series.  Disney+ is on a role with some of its recent British drama series and this is a must watch for an British subscriber, plus it’s a great insight into a terrible incident and why the response by the police to major incidents can easily become out of control, which unfortunately can lead to innocent people being hurt.    I really enjoyed watching this drama series and it’s been an easy recommendation for anyone with Disney+, I’ve already told my parents and in-laws to watch it when it comes out, as I know it’ll be something they’ll enjoy too.   It’s a credit to Disney+ that it’s making these hard-hitting drama series about important events in British history and I hope we see more of these high quality dramas in the future, with top-notch acting and excellent scripts.

Rating: 4.5 Out Of 5

All four episodes of “Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes” are coming to Disney+ on April 30th 2025.

Are you looking forward to watching “Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes”?  Let me know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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