Crime drama fans have been left bewildered by Channel 4’s latest offering, which features a sleuth protagonist so neurotypical that he is completely unrecognisable as a detective, critics have claimed.

Hart of the Matter stars Noah Michaels as Detective Inspector Graeme Hart. Hart describes himself as a graduate of “The University of Life,” but actually studied at Bournemouth before embarking on a fairly typical career progression through the police force.

When investment banker Lloyd Didcot is found stabbed to death inside a locked room, Hart takes a cursory glance at the crime scene and announces: “What we need is a team away day. We can start out with some icebreakers and team building exercises, and then move on to really brainstorm this case. Then we can go out for karaoke afterwards.”

Halfway through the episode, the killer is so bored that he hands himself in. Hart is unaware of this, however, as he is in a crowded pub subjecting his colleagues to a spirited rendition of Livin’ on a Prayer.

Viewer Kelsey Dacey, 31, said, “Hang on, isn’t Hart… supposed to be the victim? Maybe he works in marketing and got lost or something. Where’s his brusque manner, his troubled backstory, his obsession with puzzles? Where, for the love of God, is the autism?”

In next week’s episode, it is rumoured that Hart and his colleagues will begin searching for the autism.

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