# Inspector Lewis
**Inspector Lewis** is a British television detective drama that aired on ITV from 2006 to 2015, following Detective Inspector Robert "Robbie" Lewis ([Kevin Whately](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-whately)) and Detective Sergeant James Hathaway ([Laurence Fox](https://www.edgepedia.org/laurence-fox)) as they solve murder cases in Oxford for the fictional Thames Valley Police CID[1](https://acupofcrime.com/tv/lewis/). It is a spin-off of *Inspector Morse*, the series in which Whately played Lewis as Morse's sergeant, and it continues the Morse franchise that also includes the later prequel *Endeavour*[2](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/mar/23/colin-dexter-inspector-morse-television-novel) • [3](https://oxfordvisit.com/articles/inspector-morse-lewis-endeavour/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original run | 2006–2015, nine series on ITV[1](https://acupofcrime.com/tv/lewis/) |
| Episodes | 42 peak-time episodes on ITV[2](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/mar/23/colin-dexter-inspector-morse-television-novel) |
| Lead actors | Kevin Whately as Detective Inspector Robert Lewis; Laurence Fox as Detective Sergeant James Hathaway[3](https://oxfordvisit.com/articles/inspector-morse-lewis-endeavour/) |
| Setting | Oxford, with the fictional Thames Valley Police CID[1](https://acupofcrime.com/tv/lewis/) |
| Origin | Spin-off of *Inspector Morse* (33 episodes, 1987–2000), based on Colin Dexter's novels[2](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/mar/23/colin-dexter-inspector-morse-television-novel) |
| Peak audience | Eight million viewers at its height, about half that by the final ninth series[4](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/lewis-itv-tv-review-dated-safe-and-predictable-and-will-be-sorely-missed-a6729116.html) |
| Final episode | "What Lies Tangled", ending with Lewis's resignation and a trip to New Zealand[4](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/lewis-itv-tv-review-dated-safe-and-predictable-and-will-be-sorely-missed-a6729116.html) |
## Origins in the Morse franchise
The character of Robbie Lewis was created by the novelist [Colin Dexter](https://www.edgepedia.org/colin-dexter) (1930–2017), whose thirteen Morse novels also produced the television series *[Inspector Morse](https://www.edgepedia.org/inspector-morse-tv-series)*, starring John Thaw as the opera-loving Oxford detective and Whately as his working-class, Geordie-accented sergeant[2](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/mar/23/colin-dexter-inspector-morse-television-novel) • [5](https://inspectormorse.fandom.com/wiki/Robbie_Lewis). That series ran for 33 episodes on ITV between 1987 and 2000, ending with the character's death[2](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/mar/23/colin-dexter-inspector-morse-television-novel) • [6](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334571538_Becoming_Morse_in_Endeavour_the_prequel_as_locus_of_reconstruction_of_the_past). John Thaw died in 2002, and Dexter stipulated in his will that no other actor should reprise the role of Morse[6](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334571538_Becoming_Morse_in_Endeavour_the_prequel_as_locus_of_reconstruction_of_the_past).
That limitation did not prevent the spin-off. With Lewis now promoted from sergeant to detective inspector, the same rank as his old boss, the series reversed the original pairing: the former sidekick leads, with a sidekick of his own[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jul-28-et-lewis28-story.html). Notably, although credits say the stories are "based on the novels of Colin Dexter", Dexter wrote no *Inspector Lewis* novels; the plots were devised for television[8](https://www.kpbs.org/news/arts-culture/2009/10/01/loneliness-inspector-lewis).
## Premise and characters
In the pilot, "Reputation", a grieving Lewis returns to Oxford after his wife's death and a period working abroad, and is teamed with Hathaway, an intellectual, dryly sarcastic sergeant whose educated manner complements his grounded, common-sensical superior[1](https://acupofcrime.com/tv/lewis/) • [8](https://www.kpbs.org/news/arts-culture/2009/10/01/loneliness-inspector-lewis) • [9](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/inspector-lewis/). Their superior in the early series is Chief Superintendent Jean Innocent, whose name the Los Angeles Times called "amusing"[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jun-21-et-lewis21-story.html).
Each episode is a self-contained murder mystery of roughly feature length, rich with intellectual puzzles, literary allusions, and red herrings[1](https://acupofcrime.com/tv/lewis/). Reviewers placed the show in a tradition of clue-based detection rather than forensic spectacle, "somewhere between 'Columbo' and 'CSI'"[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jun-21-et-lewis21-story.html). Subjects across the run included sleep research, higher mathematics, a cult of Dionysus, the perils of the Internet, and suburban swinging[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jul-28-et-lewis28-story.html) • [10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jun-21-et-lewis21-story.html).
Oxford itself functions as more than a backdrop. The university's grandeur contrasts with the pragmatic, sometimes grubby reality of police work, and the series' picturesque colleges, pubs, and academic ceremonies were widely regarded as central to its appeal[1](https://acupofcrime.com/tv/lewis/) • [4](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/lewis-itv-tv-review-dated-safe-and-predictable-and-will-be-sorely-missed-a6729116.html). The show inherited Barrington Pheloung, the composer of *Inspector Morse*'s music[4](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/lewis-itv-tv-review-dated-safe-and-predictable-and-will-be-sorely-missed-a6729116.html).
## Reception and run
*Inspector Lewis* was a hit in Britain when the first episodes aired in 2006, and further episodes followed[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jul-28-et-lewis28-story.html). In the United States it aired on PBS's *Masterpiece Mystery* strand[8](https://www.kpbs.org/news/arts-culture/2009/10/01/loneliness-inspector-lewis). At its peak, eight years into the run, it attracted eight million viewers; by the ninth and final series that number had halved[4](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/lewis-itv-tv-review-dated-safe-and-predictable-and-will-be-sorely-missed-a6729116.html).
Critical opinion varied over the run. The Independent's review of the finale described the series as dated, safe, and predictable compared with Scandi-noir-influenced dramas such as *Broadchurch* and *[The Missing](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-missing-british-tv-series)*, yet "first-class curl-under-the-blanket comfort viewing" that would be "sorely missed"[4](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/lewis-itv-tv-review-dated-safe-and-predictable-and-will-be-sorely-missed-a6729116.html). A retrospective assessment credited the show's chief strength as its literate, puzzle-box mysteries and the evolving partnership between Whately's grounded inspector and Fox's cerebral, morally uneasy sergeant, while noting a deferential posture toward *Inspector Morse* that risked nostalgic stasis[1](https://acupofcrime.com/tv/lewis/). A KPBS reviewer disagreed with the plotting more sharply, arguing that the two lead characters deserved better than what she considered convoluted stories[8](https://www.kpbs.org/news/arts-culture/2009/10/01/loneliness-inspector-lewis).
Kevin Whately, who had played the character on and off for about 30 years, said late in the run that Lewis "has gone on long enough"[4](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/lewis-itv-tv-review-dated-safe-and-predictable-and-will-be-sorely-missed-a6729116.html). The series ended on 10 November 2015 with the second part of "What Lies Tangled": Lewis was persuaded to hand in his resignation and left for a six-month trip to New Zealand wearing a Hawaiian shirt, while Hathaway steeled himself to hold his dying father's hand[4](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/lewis-itv-tv-review-dated-safe-and-predictable-and-will-be-sorely-missed-a6729116.html).
## Place in the Dexter television universe
The Morse franchise is measured in volume: Dexter's books about his Oxford detective resulted in 93 peak-time ITV dramas, comprising the 33 episodes of *Inspector Morse*, the 42 episodes of *Lewis*, and 17 episodes to that date of the prequel *Endeavour*, which first aired as a single film on 2 January 2012[2](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/mar/23/colin-dexter-inspector-morse-television-novel) • [11](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/media-packs/endeavour-s9). Russell Lewis, who wrote for *Morse* and devised *Lewis*, also wrote the *Endeavour* pilot[11](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/media-packs/endeavour-s9). The franchise as a whole is credited with a large role in making detective fiction the centerpiece of mainstream British television schedules from 1987 onward[2](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/mar/23/colin-dexter-inspector-morse-television-novel).
Within that trilogy, scholars of the franchise have examined how the sidekick role changes across the three series; the character of Lewis himself moves from loyal assistant, to lead detective with his own assistant, to a figure whose working relationship with Hathaway is the series' central dynamic[12](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353434439_%27World%27s_Long_on_Academics_Morse_but_Woeful_Short_of_Good_Detectives%27_Lewis_Hathaway_and_Endeavour_the_Changing_Roles_of_Colin_Dexter%27s_Sidekicks).
## References
1. [Lewis (2006–2015) | Review — A Cup of Crime](https://acupofcrime.com/tv/lewis/)
2. [Colin Dexter: the writer who brought novel ideas to television, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/mar/23/colin-dexter-inspector-morse-television-novel)
3. [All About Inspector Morse, Lewis & Endeavour's Oxford](https://oxfordvisit.com/articles/inspector-morse-lewis-endeavour/)
4. [Lewis, ITV – TV review: Dated, safe and predictable, it will be sorely missed, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/lewis-itv-tv-review-dated-safe-and-predictable-and-will-be-sorely-missed-a6729116.html)
5. [Robbie Lewis | Inspector Morse Wiki](https://inspectormorse.fandom.com/wiki/Robbie_Lewis)
6. [Becoming Morse in Endeavour: the prequel as locus of reconstruction of the past? (Armelle Parey, TV/Series)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334571538_Becoming_Morse_in_Endeavour_the_prequel_as_locus_of_reconstruction_of_the_past)
7. [Sidekick no longer, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jul-28-et-lewis28-story.html)
8. [The Loneliness of Inspector Lewis, KPBS Public Media](https://www.kpbs.org/news/arts-culture/2009/10/01/loneliness-inspector-lewis)
9. [Inspector Lewis Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/inspector-lewis/)
10. [An intellectual mystery, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jun-21-et-lewis21-story.html)
11. [Endeavour S9 | ITV Press Centre](https://www.itv.com/presscentre/media-packs/endeavour-s9)
12. [Bishop, David (2021). 'World's Long on Academics, Morse, but Woeful Short of Good Detectives': Lewis, Hathaway, and Endeavour; the Changing Roles of Colin Dexter's Sidekicks, in The Detective's Companion in Crime Fiction](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353434439_%27World%27s_Long_on_Academics_Morse_but_Woeful_Short_of_Good_Detectives%27_Lewis_Hathaway_and_Endeavour_the_Changing_Roles_of_Colin_Dexter%27s_Sidekicks)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Literature and written works › Creative written works and worlds › Adaptations, tie-ins, and fictional worlds › Fictional universes, characters, and places › Recurring series and franchise characters › Detective and crime series characters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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