HBO's Unlikely New Series Offers No Sex, Violence

HBO's newest series one has nothing to do with single New Yorkers or mobsters in New Jersey. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, based on the novels by Alexander McCall Smith, is more like a younger, Botswanan version of Miss Marple—in a good way. R&B singer Jill Scott stars as Precious, a mild, tea-sipping detective who owns a herd of cattle and uses deduction rather than forensics to solve her cases. 

"If I put myself in the viewer's place it would take me a moment to calm down," Scott tells the Wall Street Journal. An 8pm series aimed at a family audience may seem strange fare for HBO, but those involved with the show are bullish about its chances. "Of everything I've ever done in this industry, nothing makes me prouder than this television show, of all things," says veteran producer Harvey Weinstein, who partnered with filmmakers Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack on the project.
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