History Series / ShakespeareAndHathawayPrivateInvestigators

* YouKilledMyFather: A recurring motive, notably in [[spoiler:'This Rough Magic' (though the killer accidentally kills the intended target's wife)]], and gender-flipped in [[spoiler:'The Chimes at Midnight'.]]

* BallCannon: In "The Envious Court", Frank and Lu chase the villain across a tennis court. The villain grabs a tennis ball launcher and fires it at them: firing balls at 90 mph.

* In one ColdOpen that flashed back to Frank's time as a cop, he lets himself be taken hostage in an ambulance by an armed robber, and when his captor's head is turned, he discreetly opens a tank of nitrous oxide, flooding the ambulance enough that it gives Frank an opening to grab the robber's gun. He and the robber then exit the ambulance, both doubling over in laughter.

--->'''Frank''': "And the moral of this story is [[spoiler: Billy]] ? Don't nick a mob boss's dead mother!"

* NumberOneDime: In "This Cursed Hand", [[spoiler:the paintings turn out to be this. They are in fact drawings done by the Russian oligarch's now-deceased five-year-old son.]]

* NumberOneDime: In "This Cursed Hand", [[spoiler:the paintings turn out to be this. They are in fact drawings done by the mobster's now-deceased five-year-old son.]]

* BackupTwin: In "This Cursed Hand", [[spoiler:the Russian mobster has one, and as a result was AliveAllAlong.]]

* WorthlessTreasureTwist: In "This Cursed Hand", everyone is looking for a locked vault with what are believed to be very valuable paintings owned by a Russian oligarch. [[spoiler:Turns out these are in fact paintings done by his son, who died as a child twenty years ago.]]

* NumberOneDime: In "This Cursed Hand", [[spoiler:the paintings turn out to be this. They are in fact drawings done by the mobster's now-deceased five-year-old son.]]

* YouKilledMyFather: A recurring motive, notably in [[spoiler:'This Rough Magic' (though the killer accidentally kills the intended target's wife)]], and GenderFlipped in [[spoiler:'The Chimes at Midnight'.]]
* YourSonAllAlong: A GenderFlipped example in "Ill Met by Moonlight", [[spoiler: Lady Bede had an ArrangedMarriage that became a SexlessMarriage to escape her tyrannical parents. She was impregnated with her daughter by the gardener, who remained unsuspecting and worked with her family for years.]]

Ex-Detective Inspector Francis "Frank" Hathaway, now a debt-laden private investigator, meets Luella Shakespeare when she employs him to investigate the fiancé she met online. Hathaway and his assistant, RADA-trained struggling actor Sebastian Brudenell, discover that her fiancé is a con-man, and report back to Luella, but she is reassured by her fiancé and the wedding goes ahead. When her new husband is killed at the reception, Luella is suspected of murder by local Detective Inspector Christina Marlowe who had been Frank's junior. Luella is thrown together with Frank and Sebastian to crack the mystery of what has happened, and after her name is cleared she uses her recovered savings to buy into Frank’s business.

* ClearMyName: In "O Brave New World", Luella Shakespeare is framed for the murder of her new husband. She teams up with private investigator Frank Hathaway to clear her name, and ends up becoming his new partner.

* IntoxicationEnsues: In "The Chameleon's Dish", Lu drinks a cup of tea intended for her client. The tea has been spiked with magic mushrooms and Lu winds up tripping: commenting on the beautiful blues and greens of Frank's face and his cute nose, and is talking to a fairy she thinks is perched on her hand.

* NotSoFakePropWeapon: In "Exit, Pursued by a Bear", someone laces the poison chalice in a production of ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' with actual poison in an attempt to kill the actress playing Juliet.

* GrumpyBear: Frank.

--->'''Frank''': "And the moral of this story is [[Billy]] ? Don't nick a mob boss's dead mother!"

Frank: "And the moral of this story is [[Billy ]]? Don't nick a mob boss's dead mother!

Frank: "And the moral of this story is [[Billy]]? Don't nick a mob boss's dead mother!

* CelebrityParadox: An unusual example. Shakespeare and his plays clearly exist in the show's universe, yet nobody comments on the coincidence of a pair of detectives named Shakespeare and Hathaway, or that they have an often contentious relationship with another detective named Christina Marlowe. Not to mention the fact that many of the cases they deal with bear notable similarities to the Bard's plots and characters. However it's justified as Shakespeare, Marlowe and Hathaway aren't outright uncommon surnames and the show never milks it for laughs either.

* CelebrityParadox: An unusual example. Shakespeare and his plays clearly exist in the show's universe, yet nobody comments on the coincidence of a pair of detectives named Shakespeare and Hathaway, or that they have an often contentious relationship with another detective named Chris Marlowe. Not to mention the fact that many of the cases they deal with bear notable similarities to the Bard's plots and characters.

* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: Frank and Lu are this in spades, they act more like a couple than business partners. When even acting as a divorcing couple in one episode their bickering is so believable that it's clear they are very close to make it natural as an act.

Ex-Detective Inspect
or Frank Hathaway, now a debt-laden private investigator, meets Luella Shakespeare when she employs him to investigate the fiancé she met online. Hathaway and his assistant, RADA-trained struggling actor Sebastian Brudenell, discover that her fiancé is a con-man, and report back to Luella, but she is reassured by her fiancé and the wedding goes ahead. When her new husband is killed at the reception, Luella is suspected of murder by local Detective Inspector Christina Marlowe who had been Frank's junior. Luella is thrown together with Frank and Sebastian to crack the mystery of what has happened, and after her name is cleared she uses her recovered savings to buy into Frank’s business.

* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: Frank and Lu are this in spades, they act more like a couple than business partners. When even acting as a divorcing couple in one episode their bickering is so believable that it's clear they are very close to make it natural as an act. Lu's even in a wedding dress when she hires Frank!

* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: Frank and Lu are this in spades, they act more like a couple than business partners. When even acting as a divorcing couple in one episode their bickering is so believable that it's clear they are very close to make it natural as an act.

* LargeHam: Any episode involving acting, especially Shakespearean acting, will have these. Certain examples are the [=LARPers=] in "The Play's the Thing", the WhiteDwarfStarlet actor in "This Cursed Hand", and Sally in "Exit, Pursued by a Bear". Sebastian is a very downplayed example as most people find him very believable when he goes undercover. When he's actually acting, his hammier side can come out. There's even a character called Harold [b]HAM[/b]worthy

* LargeHam: Any episode involving acting, especially Shakespearean acting, will have these. Certain examples are the [=LARPers=] in "The Play's the Thing", the WhiteDwarfStarlet actor in "This Cursed Hand", and Sally in "Exit, Pursued by a Bear". Sebastian is a very downplayed example as most people find him very believable when he goes undercover. When he's actually acting, his hammier side can come out.

* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: Frank and Lu are this in spades, they act more like a couple than business partners. When even acting as a divorcing couple in one episode their bickering so believable that it's clear they are very close.

''Shakespeare & Hathaway - Private Investigators'' is a comedy-drama mystery television series set in Stratford-upon-Avon.

** In 'Best Beware My Sting', ''Theatre/TheTamingOfTheShrew'' gets remade with an aggressive, violent environmentalist as Kate, a spoiled DaddysGirl as Bianca, and both are daughters to an oil magnate.