Dark by name, darker by nature
THIS drama has a promising pedigree, coming from writer Chris Lang, who also penned Unforgotten, Innocent and Undeniable. It stars Monroe actor Tom Riley as DI Will Wagstaffe, a man haunted by the unsolved murder of his parents when he was a teenager.
There’s nothing new about the trope of a damaged detective, burying themselves in work to escape their own problems. Whether it’s Jane Tennison and the booze, Luther and his lovelife, or Strike and his war injuries. For Will, it’s knowing that whoever killed his parents was never caught.
Now he only has his sister Juliette (played by Press’ Charlotte Riley) and nephew Harry – whom he adores, but has a complicated relationship with.
Will’s very black and white when he comes to work, an approach which clearly winds some of his more old-school copper colleagues up no end, but which also gets results.
As we said, nothing new about the premise. But it’s to the writer’s and cast’s credit that this doesn’t feel cliched or repetitive. Instead Will, or ‘Staffe’, appears fully formed and believable and we’re thrown right into his gritty world from the off. And they’re not pulling any punches, as his first case is dealing with the murder and torture of suspected paedophiles. So yes, it is very dark. Both in the way it looks on screen – all dim and moody, you might be reaching for the brightness button on your remote – and in its subject matter.
These are gruesome murders, in a bit of a Se7en style, and certainly not for the squeamish.
The first two parts were originally shown as a pilot on ITV Encore in 2016, then a series was commissioned and four brand new episodes will follow. And we’re pretty gripped by it already.