In new TV series, comedian Russell Peters plays Toronto cop in Mumbai
TORONTO: Indo-canadian comic Russell Peters is among the world’s most popular stand-up acts but as he makes his debut as the lead in a scripted TV series, he appears to have made the transition to the small screen smoothly.
The show actually has India as the backdrop and is about a Toronto policeman suspended for messing up a case and finds himself doing some sleuthing while visiting India.
Called simply The Indian Detective, the four-part series has already premiered in Canada, where it attracted 1.6 million viewers for the first episode — the biggest bow for a Canadian show in two years. On December 19, it will be available to a larger audience, including viewers in India, when it is released by Netflix.
In an interview with HT, Peters expressed satisfaction with the reception so far: “I’m very happy with the show, and the people that tuned in to watch it seem to be very happy with it as well.”
Peters plays Constable Doug D’mello, who finds himself elevated to the status of detective by his father, Stanley (Anupam Kher), while in India and gets involved with a murder investigation.
His character is one that takes the thriller genre and puts the sitcom sensibility into it, as Peters said, “I think they based it around me being a wisecracking guy from Toronto, which kind of made sense.”
While Mumbai is the setting, much of the show was filmed in South Africa, with desi-origin actors from that country playing Mumbaikars.
Peters now divides his time between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, and the show’s success does not mean he will shift showbiz priorities. He will start his next stand-up world tour in early 2018, which is also likely to include an India stop in the fall.