What Is PBS’ ‘Patience’ Based On?

Kelli Boyle June 16, 2025, 2:58 pm

Ella Maisy Purvis as Patience Evans in 'Patience' on PBS — Eagle Eye Drama/Toon Aerts

PBS‘ latest British-import crime drama, Patience, debuted on Sunday, June 15, ahead of the Season 10 premiere of Grantchester. It’s about the life of a young autistic woman whose work in the York Criminal Records Office changes when a detective recognizes her unique powers of deduction and asks her to join her team. Ella Maisy Purvis plays the titular role of Patience Evans, and her costar is Breaking Bad‘s Laura Fraser as DI Bea Metcalf.

As lead writer Matt Baker told TV Insider, Patience and Bea will discover a strong “yin and yang” dynamic throughout the six-episode season, with each of them having much to learn from the other. Their bond will break open their lives in ways they never expected as they solve crimes together. Newcomers to this series might not know that Patience is an adaptation of a previous work. Here, we break down what Patience is based on, what it changed from the source material, and what it kept the same.

What is PBS’ Patience based on?

Patience is a British adaptation of the French series Astrid et Raphaëlle. The five-season series, also known as Astrid: Murder in Paris, debuted on the France 2 network in 2020 and is still ongoing. It stars Sara Mortensen as Astrid Nielsen and Lola Dewaere as Raphaëlle Coste.

Here’s the series description for Astrid: “Astrid Nielsen works in the library of the judicial police. She has Asperger’s syndrome. With an incredible memory she excels at analyzing files of ongoing investigations. The district commander decides to use it to the fullest, entrusting her with very complex investigations which have remained unsolved to date.”

Asperger’s is no longer used as a diagnostic label. The correct term is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The American Psychiatric Association (APA) updated the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in 2013. Asperger’s Syndrome was removed as a separate diagnosis in that update and was changed to be included in the category of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

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Like Astrid, Patience centers on two women helping each other solve mysteries. The Patience series premiere included details from Astrid, such as a flow chart Patience uses to help her complete anxiety-inducing phone calls and Patience’s participation in an adults with autism support group. The head of that group in Astrid is named William. His name is Billy in Patience.

Baker told TV Insider that they wanted to steer away from autism stereotypes in Patience, stereotypes that are somewhat prevalent in Astrid. William, for example, is more “nerdy,” as Baker described, and is into model trains and computers. These are interests that people with autism are typically shown as having in media. But Patience aimed to make their autistic characters less “other,” Baker said. So, their Billy and their Patience are dressed in more on-trend fashion and have interests that are considered mainstream, such as mountain biking.

Another difference between Patience and Astrid is that Purvis actually has autism, whereas Mortensen does not.