In 2003, Nesbitt played undercover police detective Tommy Murphy in the first series of "Murphy's Law", after starring in a successful pilot episode in 2001. The series was conceived when Nesbitt was working on "Playing the Field"; he and producer Greg Brenman approached author Colin Bateman about creating a television series for Nesbitt in a similar vein to Bateman's Dan Starkey novels. Bateman and Nesbitt were already well acquainted; Nesbitt had been considered for a main role in "Divorcing Jack" (David Caffrey, 1998), based on Bateman's original novel. A 90-minute pilot of "Murphy's Law" was commissioned by the BBC, initially as a "comedy action adventure". Bateman created a complex backstory for Murphy, which was cut at the request of the producers. After the broadcast of the pilot, "Guardian" critic Gareth McLean wrote, "the likeable James Nesbitt turned in a strong, extremely watchable central performance, though rarely did he look taxed by his efforts, and his chemistry with Harrison was promising and occasionally electric." In 2003, Nesbitt won the Irish Film & Television Award (IFTA) for Best Actor in a TV Drama for the role. The second series was broadcast in 2004.