# Lovejoy (1986)

> A likeable but roguish East Anglian antiques dealer uses his almost supernatural gift for spotting genuine treasures and fakes to get by in a shady trade.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/4336

## Facts

- Seasons: 6
- Episodes: 73
- Episode runtime: 50 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, drama, mystery
- Created by: Ian La Frenais, Jonathan Gash
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: Ian McShane, Dudley Sutton, Chris Jury, Malcolm Tierney, Caroline Langrishe, Diane Parish, Phyllis Logan, James Ellis
- TMDB rating: 7.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090477/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: mild
- Tone: breezy, wry, charming, warm

## What critics say

Viewers broadly rate the series positively, with its charming lead and light, witty take on the antiques trade holding up across its run.

## Synopsis

Lovejoy (1986-1994) is a British national-television comedy drama series created by Ian La Frenais and Jonathan Gash for BBC One. Ian McShane plays the title character, a likeable but roguish antiques dealer based in East Anglia, whose reputation as a divvie gives him an almost supernatural eye for exceptional items and for telling genuine antiques from clever forgeries. Each episode follows his hustle through auctions, country houses and back-room deals, as he chases a profitable find while dodging rivals and scheming dealers. Dudley Sutton plays his sidekick Tinker Dill, and the recurring cast includes Chris Jury as Eric Catchpole, Caroline Langrishe as Charlotte Cavendish and Phyllis Logan as Lady Jane Felsham. The series runs six seasons and seventy-three episodes, and its structure is largely case-of-the-week, with each story built around a single object and its tangled ownership. The mood is breezy and wry, with a warm, comic sensibility undercut by the sharp dealing of a trade where nothing is quite what it seems. Fans of Magnum, P.I., Columbo and Only Fools and Horses will find a similar blend of charm, cunning and light caper energy in a sun-washed, unpretentious British setting.

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