Strike | |
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Also known as | C. B. Strike |
Genre | |
Based on | Cormoran Strike by Robert Galbraith |
Written by | |
Directed by |
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Starring | |
Opening theme | "I Walk Beside You" by Beth Rowley |
Composer | Adrian Johnston |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 6 |
No. of episodes | 17 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Running time | 57–59 minutes |
Production companies | Brontë Film and Television |
Original release | |
Network | BBC One |
Release | 27 August 2017 – present |
Strike (also known as C. B. Strike internationally) is a British crime drama television programme based on the book series Cormoran Strike by J. K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. [1] The programme was first broadcast on BBC One on 27 August 2017, after receiving an advance premiere at the British Film Institute on 10 August 2017. [2]
The programme follows Cormoran Strike (Tom Burke), a war veteran turned private detective operating out of a tiny office in London's Denmark Street, who uses his unique insight and his background as a Special Investigation Branch investigator to solve complex cases that have eluded the police along with his assistant, subsequently business partner, Robin Ellacott (Holliday Grainger). [3]
Nineteen episodes across six series have been broadcast to date, each series adapting the novels The Cuckoo's Calling (2013), The Silkworm (2014), Career of Evil (2015), Lethal White (2018), Troubled Blood (2020), respectively. [4] [5] and The Ink Black Heart (2022). [6]
The programme premiered on 1 June 2018 in the United States on Cinemax and in Canada on HBO Canada. [7] Following the fourth series, the programme was exhibited in the United States on HBO. [8] [9]
On 10 December 2014, it was announced that the Cormoran Strike novel series, written by J. K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, would be adapted for television by the BBC, for broadcast on BBC One, beginning with The Cuckoo's Calling . Two years later, it was confirmed that the series would total seven episodes of sixty minutes, with shooting to begin in London in the autumn of 2016. [3] Tom Burke was announced in the role of Cormoran Strike in September 2016, [11] while Holliday Grainger was announced in the role of Robin Ellacott in November 2016. [12]
Ben Richards adapted The Cuckoo's Calling, and Tom Edge adapted The Silkworm , Career of Evil , Lethal White and Troubled Blood . Richards stated that the series is "very different tonally and visually from other crime dramas." He compared Strike to the British detective television show Morse . Similarly, Edge commented that "people use old-fashioned as a pejorative word, but to me that's part of why these books, and, I hope, the TV series, works so well." [13]
Series | Episodes | Originally aired | Average UK viewers (millions) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | ||||
1 | 3 | 27 August 2017 | 3 September 2017 | 8.45 | |
2 | 2 | 10 September 2017 | 17 September 2017 | 8.35 | |
3 | 2 | 25 February 2018 | 4 March 2018 | 8.08 | |
4 | 4 | 30 August 2020 | 13 September 2020 | 7.82 | |
5 | 4 | 11 December 2022 | 19 December 2022 | 6.92 | |
6 | 4 | 16 December 2024 | 24 December 2024 | TBA |
The Cuckoo's Calling was released on DVD on 27 November 2017. [14]
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) [15] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "The Cuckoo's Calling: Part 1" | Michael Keillor | Ben Richards | 27 August 2017 | 8.89 |
2 | 2 | "The Cuckoo's Calling: Part 2" | Michael Keillor | Ben Richards | 28 August 2017 | 8.28 |
3 | 3 | "The Cuckoo's Calling: Part 3" | Michael Keillor | Ben Richards | 3 September 2017 | 8.18 |
The Silkworm was released on DVD on 19 February 2018. [16]
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) [15] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | 1 | "The Silkworm: Part 1" | Kieron Hawkes | Tom Edge | 10 September 2017 | 8.67 |
5 | 2 | "The Silkworm: Part 2" | Kieron Hawkes | Tom Edge | 17 September 2017 | 8.02 |
Career of Evil was released on DVD on 16 April 2018. [17]
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) [15] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 | 1 | "Career of Evil: Part 1" | Charles Sturridge | Tom Edge | 25 February 2018 | 8.43 |
7 | 2 | "Career of Evil: Part 2" | Charles Sturridge | Tom Edge | 4 March 2018 | 7.72 |
Lethal White was released on DVD on 23 November 2020. [18]
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) [19] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
8 | 1 | "Lethal White: Part 1" | Sue Tully | Tom Edge | 30 August 2020 | 8.61 |
9 | 2 | "Lethal White: Part 2" | Sue Tully | Tom Edge | 31 August 2020 | 7.58 |
10 | 3 | "Lethal White: Part 3" | Sue Tully | Tom Edge | 6 September 2020 | 7.85 |
11 | 4 | "Lethal White: Part 4" | Sue Tully | Tom Edge | 13 September 2020 | 7.22 |
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) [19] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12 | 1 | "Troubled Blood: Part 1" | Sue Tully | Tom Edge | 11 December 2022 | 8.07 |
13 | 2 | "Troubled Blood: Part 2" | Sue Tully | Tom Edge | 12 December 2022 | 6.34 |
14 | 3 | "Troubled Blood: Part 3" | Sue Tully | Tom Edge | 18 December 2022 | 6.86 |
15 | 4 | "Troubled Blood: Part 4" | Sue Tully | Tom Edge | 19 December 2022 | 6.41 |
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) [19] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
16 | 1 | "The Ink Black Heart: Part 1" | Sue Tully | Tom Edge | 16 December 2024 | TBD |
17 | 2 | "The Ink Black Heart: Part 2" | Sue Tully | Tom Edge | 17 December 2024 | TBD |
18 | 3 | "The Ink Black Heart: Part 3" | Sue Tully | Tom Edge | 23 December 2024 | TBD |
19 | 4 | "The Ink Black Heart: Part 4" | Sue Tully | Tom Edge | 24 December 2024 | TBD |
The Cuckoo's Calling received generally positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave it an approval rating of 85%, based on 20 reviews, and an average score of 6.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads "The TV adaptation of C. B. Strike delivers an entertaining detective series that faithfully and effectively adheres to genre tropes." [20] Morgan Jeffery of Digital Spy , who reviewed the first episode, praised both Burke and Grainger's performances, calling Burke's performance "a revelation". [21]
Similarly, the adaptation of The Silkworm was met with positive reviews, with critics again praising Burke and Grainger's performances. [22] [23] However, the first episode was criticised for showing a suicide scene on World Suicide Prevention Day, making some viewers claim that this scene was insensitive. [24]
Career of Evil holds an 88% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 8 reviews, and an average score of 7/10. [25]
Lethal White holds a 73% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 11 reviews, and an average score of 5.6/10. [26]
Troubled Blood holds a 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 26 reviews. [27]
The Ink Black Heart holds a 46% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 13 reviews. [28]
Joanne Rowling, known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of Harry Potter, a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has sold over 600 million copies, been translated into 84 languages, and spawned a global media franchise including films and video games. The Casual Vacancy (2012) was her first novel for adults. She writes Cormoran Strike, an ongoing crime fiction series, under the alias Robert Galbraith.
Christopher Joseph Columbus is an American filmmaker. Born in Spangler, Pennsylvania, Columbus studied film at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts where he developed an interest in filmmaking. After writing screenplays for several teen comedies in the mid-1980s, including Gremlins, The Goonies, and Young Sherlock Holmes, he made his directorial debut with a teen adventure, Adventures in Babysitting (1987). Columbus gained recognition soon after with the highly successful Christmas comedy Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992).
Thomas Anthony Hollander is a British actor. Hollander trained with National Youth Theatre and won the Ian Charleson Award in 1992 for his performance as Witwoud in The Way of the World. He made his Broadway debut in the David Hare play The Judas Kiss in 1998. His performance as Henry Carr in a revival of the Tom Stoppard play Travesties earned nominations for both the Olivier Award and Tony Award.
The Silkworm is a 2014 crime fiction novel written by J. K. Rowling, and published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. It is the second novel in the Cormoran Strike series of detective novels and was followed by Career of Evil in 2015, Lethal White in 2018,Troubled Blood in 2020, The Ink Black Heart in 2022 and The Running Grave in 2023.
Tom Burke is an English actor. He played Athos in the 2014–2016 BBC TV series The Musketeers, Dolokhov in the 2016 BBC literary-adaptation miniseries War & Peace, the eponymous character Cormoran Strike in the BBC series Strike, Orson Welles in the 2020 film Mank, and Praetorian Jack in the 2024 film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
Dominic Mafham is an English stage, film and television actor. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
The Scouting Book for Boys is a 2009 British drama thriller film directed by Tom Harper in his directorial debut, produced by Ivana MacKinnon and written by Jack Thorne. It stars Thomas Turgoose, Holliday Grainger, Rafe Spall, Susan Lynch, Tony Maudsley and Steven Mackintosh.
Holliday Clark Grainger, also credited as Holly Grainger, is an English screen and stage actress. Some of her prominent roles are Kate Beckett in the BAFTA award-winning children's series Roger and the Rottentrolls, Lucrezia Borgia in the Showtime series The Borgias, Robin Ellacott in the Strike series, DI/DCI Rachel Carey in the Peacock/BBC One crime drama The Capture, and Estella in Mike Newell's 2012 film adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1861 novel Great Expectations.
Neil Blair is an English literary agent, television producer, and film producer.
The Cuckoo's Calling is a 2013 crime fiction novel written by J. K. Rowling, and published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. It is the first novel in the Cormoran Strike series of detective novels and was followed by The Silkworm in 2014, Career of Evil in 2015, Lethal White in 2018, Troubled Blood in 2020 and The Ink Black Heart in 2022. A seventh book The Running Grave was published on 26 September 2023.
Cormoran Strike is a series of crime fiction novels written by British author J. K. Rowling under the pen name Robert Galbraith. The story chronicles the cases of the fictional British private detective Cormoran Strike and his partner Robin Ellacott. Seven novels have so far been published in a planned series of ten. The seventh novel, titled The Running Grave, was released on 26 September 2023. As of February 2024, the series has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and was published in more than 50 countries, being translated into 43 languages.
Career of Evil is a 2015 crime fiction novel written by Robert Galbraith, a pseudonym for J. K. Rowling. It is the third novel in the Cormoran Strike series of detective novels and is followed by Lethal White in 2018, Troubled Blood in 2020 and The Running Grave in 2023.
Tell It to the Bees is a 2018 British romantic drama film directed by Annabel Jankel and starring Anna Paquin and Holliday Grainger. The screenplay by Henrietta and Jessica Ashworth is based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Fiona Shaw.
Lethal White is the fourth novel in the Cormoran Strike series, written by J. K. Rowling and published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The novel was released on 18 September 2018.
Animals is a 2019 comedy-drama film directed by Sophie Hyde, starring Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat. It was screened in the Premieres category at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. An adaptation of Emma Jane Unsworth's 2014 novel of the same name, the film follows best friends Laura and Tyler whose lifestyle comes under scrutiny just as Laura becomes engaged to a teetotaller.
Wild Mountain Thyme is a 2020 romantic comedy film written and directed by John Patrick Shanley, based on his play Outside Mullingar. The film stars Emily Blunt, Jamie Dornan, Jon Hamm, Dearbhla Molloy and Christopher Walken.
The Capture is a British mystery thriller television series created, written and directed by Ben Chanan, and starring Holliday Grainger, Callum Turner, Laura Haddock, Ben Miles, Cavan Clerkin, Paul Ritter, and Ron Perlman.
Troubled Blood is the fifth novel in the Cormoran Strike series, written by J. K. Rowling and published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The novel was released on 15 September 2020.
The Ink Black Heart is a crime fiction novel written by J. K. Rowling, and published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. It was published on 30 August 2022. It is the sixth and the longest novel in the Cormoran Strike series.