''Six Four'' is a 2023 British crime thriller television series set in Glasgow and Edinburgh starring

Kevin McKidd Kevin McKidd (born 9 August 1973) is a Scottish actor and television director best known as Dr. Owen Hunt in ''Grey's Anatomy'' and Tommy Mackenzie in Danny Boyle's '' Trainspotting'' (1996). McKidd played Colin in the 2008 film Made of Hono ...

Vinette Robinson Vinette Robinson (born 1981) is a British actress. She won a British Independent Film Award for her performance in the film ''Boiling Point'' (2021), a role she reprised in its spinoff series. On television, she is known for her roles in the B ...

Alex Ferns Alexander Ferns (born 13 October 1968) is a Scottish actor and television personality. His role in ''EastEnders'' as Trevor Morgan from 2000 to 2002 was described as "Britain's most-hated soap villain". He also played the role of Rick Harper ...

and

James Cosmo James Ronald Gordon Copeland (born 1947), known professionally as James Cosmo, is a Scottish actor. Known for his character work, he has played supporting roles in films such as '' Highlander'' (1986), ''Braveheart'' (1995), '' Trainspotting' ...

. It is an adaptation of the 2012 novel of the same name by

Hideo Yokoyama is a Japanese novelist who specializes in mystery novels. He is also known for his career as a journalist for the Jomo Shimbun, the regional paper in Gunma. He repeated his Kono Mystery ga Sugoi! No. 1 ranking in 2013 with '' Six Four'' (64). ...

. It was made available on

ITVX ITVX is a British Over-the-top media services, over-the-top and ad-supported Streaming television, streaming service operated by ITV plc. The service offers original content from the broadcaster, livestreams of the ITV television channels, Free ...

in the United Kingdom from 30 March 2023.

Synopsis

Chris (McKidd) and Michelle (Robinson) are parents to a missing child, but a wider conspiracy may link the father (Cosmo) of another missing child to Chris' brother, Philip (Whipp).

Cast

as Detective Constable Chris O'Neill *

as Michelle O'Neill, Chris's wife and a former undercover officer * Selin Hizli as Samantha Wishart, an investigative journalist with whom Chris had an affair *

as Constable Gordon Byrne, a local officer based in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

as Jim Mackie, a lawyer and the father of missing woman Julie Mackie *

Andrew Whipp Andrew Whipp is a British actor. He is best known for his roles in ''Not Going Out'' as Dr Jenkins and Emmerdale as Callum Rennie and Eastenders as DI Savage. Whipp has received critical acclaim for many of his stage performances; most recentl ...

as Assistant Chief Constable Phillip O'Neill, Chris's older brother *

Brian McCardie Brian McCardie (22 January 1965 – 28 April 2024) was a Scottish actor and writer, known for his role as John Thomas "Tommy" Hunter in the BBC police procedural series ''Line of Duty''. Personal life Brian McCardie was born on 22 January 196 ...

as Bill Martin, a security contractor and former

Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...

officer *

Richard Coyle Richard Coyle (born 6 February 1972) is an English actor. He portrayed the lead role of Father Faustus Blackwood in the Netflix series '' Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'', and Jeff Murdock in the sitcom '' Coupling''. Early and personal life ...

as Robert Wallace, the Scottish Justice Minister and SNP leadership candidate *

Alison Peebles Alison Peebles (born 1953) is a Scottish actress, director, and writer in theatre, film, and television. She is a co-founder of Communicado, a Scottish theatre company. Early life Peebles trained as a painter at Edinburgh College of Art. Career ...

as April Mclean, the mother of deceased DC Gary Mclean, the audio recordist involved in the Mackie investigation * Laura Cairns as Ms Fullerton, a teacher at the private Strathalmond School in

* Lorne Macfayden as Stuart Simpson, a maths teacher at the private Strathalmond School *

Toby Stephens Toby Stephens (born 21 April 1969) is an English actor who has appeared in films in the United Kingdom, United States, and India. He is known for the roles of Bond villain Gustav Graves in the 2002 James Bond film '' Die Another Day'', for whic ...

as Piers Fields-Turner, former criminal associated with Michelle * Iona Anderson as Annabel Wallace, the teenage daughter of Robert and Pauline *

Eubha Akilade Eubha Akilade ( ; born 27 June 1998) is a Scottish actress, dancer, and filmmaker. She is known for her roles as Lily Watson on the CBBC series ''Eve'' (2015–2017) and Ines Le Breton on the Hulu series '' Find Me in Paris'' (2018–2020). Ear ...

as Olivia O'Neill, the teenage daughter of Chris and Michelle * Frances Grey as Pauline Wallace, Robert's wife and Annabel's mother * Jessica Hardwick as PC McKenzie, an officer based at Glasgow Police Headquarters * Peter Hannah as Cameron, a member of Wallace's ministerial staff

Episodes

Production

The series is produced by House Productions. Clare Kerr is producer and Ben A. Williams is director. Gregory Burke is script writer executive producer alongside Juliette Howell, Tessa Ross and Molly Bolt. Clare Mcquillan is also a writer on the series. Burke described the series as a “human story about two people under incredible amounts of pressure, who both choose to try and address their pasts. It is a story about how chance can define a lifetime, exploring the corruption that runs through institutions, and examining the secrets and monsters that lurk in every family.” The adaptation moves the setting from

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

in Japan to

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland with the main character’s name changing from Mikami to Chris. Script writer Gregory Burke explained the move by saying “In recent years we have not lacked our own examples of institutional inertia. Our public life and collective health has been jeopardised by corruption. In many of these situations the same dilemma is at their core; to what is the individual within the institution loyal, and does that loyalty inevitably lead to a compromise with the truth.”

Casting

Kevin McKidd and Vinette Robinson were revealed to be cast as Chris and Michelle O’ Neill in May 2022.

Filming

Six Four was filmed in both Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland in the summer of 2022.

Music

Music from the television series was released by Dubois Records on March 30, 2023. The album features a selection of original music for the series by Luke Richards.

Broadcast

The series was available on

in the United Kingdom from 30 March 2023. ITV1 began airing the four episodes weekly, commencing Sunday 22 October 2023.

Reception

Charlotta Billstrom awarded the series four stars in the ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'', saying, "The cast deliver excellent performances" and "It’s tightly plotted too, and filler-free, making for four powerful episodes full of twists and turns."

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 20765320 2023 British television series debuts 2023 British television series endings 2020s British crime drama television series British thriller television series ITV crime dramas British English-language television shows Television shows filmed in Scotland Television series by BBC Studios