Silver Spring, MD — Trial & Retribution, Set 2, offering four riveting crime dramas, will debut on DVD from Acorn Media on March 3, 2009. With all the mesmerizing realism and emotional depth that characterized Prime Suspect, Lynda La Plante created, produced, and wrote this long-running, smash hit British crime drama still in production. These four thrillers examine crimes from investigation through verdict, fully exploring the toll taken on everyone involved.

Lynda La Plante—creator of the award-winning Prime Suspect, widely regarded as the ultimate intelligent crime drama—scores again with Trial & Retribution. From the scene of the crime to the tactics in the courtroom, these British thrillers explore the bitter internal rivalries among police investigators, the political pressures of high-profile cases, and the legal maneuverings of defense attorneys and prosecutors. As always, La Plante plumbs the emotional depths of her characters with dark and often disturbing results.

In these riveting, feature-length mysteries, police probe an abandoned house concealing multiple murders, a dysfunctional family with a deeply troubled musical prodigy, the mysterious disappearance of a well-connected woman, and a shadowy sex club for London’s elite.

David Hayman (Sid & Nancy, Hope and Glory) returns as irascible DCI Mike Walker, with Kate Buffery (Wish Me Luck) as his fellow investigator and lover. In this set, Victoria Smurfit (Ballykissangel, About a Boy) joins the cast as ambitious, abrasive DCI Roisin Connor. Guest stars include Charles Dance, Simon Callow (Shakespeare in Love, Four Weddings and a Funeral), Gemma Jones (The Duchess of Duke Street), Ben Cross (Chariots of Fire), and Tim McInnerny (Blackadder).

Trial & Retribution, Set 2 includes four two-part episodes (Volume V – VIII; 2001-2004), which are approximately 180 minutes each. Debuting in the U.K. in 1997, the series consistently wins its prime-time slot and new episodes are still in production.

To hear, NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday interview with Lynda La Plante about Trial & Retribution, please visit www.NPR.org.

Special Features: Interviews with actors David Hayman, Victoria Smurfit, and Colin Salmon; text description of the Criminal Investigation Department; and Lynda La Plante biography.

Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., Acorn Media distributes distinctive home video releases to the North American market with a special focus on the best of British television. Acorn’s DVD sets are available from select retailers, catalog companies, and direct from Acorn Media at (888) 870-8047 or www.acornonline.com.