''From Darkness'' is a British psychological

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

that premiered on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

on 4 October 2015. The series stars

Anne-Marie Duff Anne-Marie Duff (born 8 October 1970) is an Irish actress and narrator. She is an accomplished theatre actress and has been nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award. She has also received acclaim and awards for her television and film work. After ...

as former police officer Claire Church. A total of four episodes were broadcast. A DVD of the complete series was released on 9 November 2015. Internationally, the series premiered in Australia on 1 November 2015, on

BBC First BBC First is an entertainment subscription television channel featuring comedy, crime, drama and film programming, originating from UK and mostly from the BBC. The channel is wholly owned and operated by BBC Studios. The channel began rolling ou ...

Plot

Claire Church, a former police officer who moves away to the remote Western Isles in an attempt to escape the violent past that still haunts her, finds herself pulled back by her former lover and colleague DCI John Hind, and his new DS Anthony Boyce, into an investigation she thought she had left well behind. When two victims are uncovered beneath the murky depths of a Manchester building site, Hind links them to a serial killer whose identity has not been discovered. Now, 17 years on, he appears to be killing again. But can Church and Hind piece together all of the clues – old and new – to finally discover the killer's identity?

Cast

as Claire Church * Johnny Harris as DCI John Hind * Caroline Lee-Johnson as Superintendent Lola Keir *

Luke Newberry Luke Newberry (born 19 February 1990) is an English actor. He is best known for his leading role in the drama television series '' In the Flesh'' (2013–2014), which earned him a British Academy Television Award nomination. Early life Newberry ...

as DS Anthony Boyce * Leanne Best as Julie Hind *

Richard Rankin Richard Rankin (born Richard Harris on 4 January 1983) is a Scottish film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for the Scottish sketch show '' Burnistoun'' and as Roger Wakefield MacKenzie in the Starz drama '' Outlander''. Early li ...

as Norrie Duncan *

Emma Edmondson Emma Edmondson (born 15 March 1984 in Rochdale, Greater Manchester) is a British television actress, best known for playing Mel Morton in '' Coronation Street''. She joined the soap in March 2007. Prior to this she had a small role in the first ...

as DC Rachel Weir *

Lyndsey Marshal Lyndsey Marshal (born 16 June 1978) is an English actress best known for her performance in '' The Hours'', and as the recurring character Cleopatra on HBO's ''Rome'', and as Lady Sarah Hill in BBC period drama ''Garrow's Law''. Biography Mars ...

as Lucy Maxley *

Adrian Rawlins Adrian John Rawlins (born 27 March 1958) is an English actor best known for playing Arthur Kidd in ''The Woman in Black'' and James Potter in the ''Harry Potter'' films. In 2019, he starred in ''Chernobyl'' as Nikolai Fomin. Early life Rawlin ...

as Gareth Harding *

Josh Taylor Josh or Joshua Taylor may refer to: * Josh Taylor (actor) (born 1943), American comedy and dramatic television actor * Josh Taylor (baseball) (born 1993), American professional baseball pitcher * Josh Taylor (boxer) (born 1991), Scottish professio ...

as Ollie Hind

Episode list

Reception

The series had a mixed reception from critics. ''The List'' summarised their review: "We've walked this road too many times before. There's nothing blatantly wrong with From Darkness – it's well produced, the acting is uniformly good, the story intriguing – but after The Killing, The Bridge, even Shetland, it feels anonymous." News site ''Metro'' said "Not a fan of police procedural dramas? Good, because this ain’t that. From Darkness is a character-driven tale of one women’s journey and resolve and it includes a bloody brilliant performance by Duff. It’s full of atmospheric music – the opening credits gave us chills alone – and perfectly placed flashbacks keeping you hooked on Claire’s story." Sam Wollaston in ''The Guardian'' called it intriguing but derivative.

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, id=4511898, title=From Darkness BBC high definition shows BBC television dramas 2010s British drama television series 2015 British television series debuts 2015 British television series endings British crime drama television series British detective television series 2010s British television miniseries English-language television shows Television shows set in the United Kingdom