The Victim (2019 TV series)

Last updated

The Victim
The Victim 2019 BBC miniseries poster.jpg
Written by Rob Williams
Directed by Niall McCormick
Starring
Country of originScotland
Original languagesEnglish, Scots
No. of series1
No. of episodes4 (list of episodes)
Production
Production company STV Studios
Original release
Network BBC One
Release8 April (2019-04-08) 
11 April 2019 (2019-04-11)

The Victim is a four-part Scottish thriller miniseries starring Kelly Macdonald, James Harkness, John Hannah and John Scougall. The series was produced by STV Studios and first broadcast on BBC One television in April 2019. [1] The series was shot on location in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Port Glasgow and Largs.

Contents

Plot

Bereaved mother Anna Dean, whose young son was murdered by an older boy 14 years prior, goes on trial for inciting murder after she is accused of posting online the new identity and address of the man she believes murdered her son: Craig Myers. Myers, a husband and father, is violently beaten and feels he must restore his reputation. The series revolves around the trial of the case, alongside its consequences for Myers' family and Dean's search to unmask the true identity of her son's killer.

Cast

Episodes

No.EpisodeDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions) [3]
1Episode 1 Niall MacCormick Rob Williams 8 April 2019 (2019-04-08)7.38
Fourteen years after her 9-year-old son Liam Graham was brutally murdered, Scottish nurse Anna Dean continues to feel hatred towards his then teenage killer, Eddie J. Turner. Craig Myers, a 28-year-old bus driver, is nearly beaten to death at his home in Inverclyde after an anonymous online post identifies him as Eddie J. Turner, the teenage murderer who killed Liam. The post included his photo, address and a message: "Don't let evil live." Anna is outraged that Turner never had to explain his crimes and spent just seven years in juvenile detention before being released with a new identity. She is accused of posting the comment and arrested for attempted murder for inciting violence against Myers. DI Stephen Grover, who was falsely accused of a crime himself, relates to Craig and feels responsible to prove his innocence.
2Episode 2Niall MacCormickRob Williams9 April 2019 (2019-04-09)6.46
Craig recovers from his assault, but lingering suspicions remain about his identity, causing strain with his wife, Rebecca. He denies he is Turner, but is reluctant to reveal details of his past. He receives hate mail and fears for his wife and daughter's safety after a brick is thrown through their window. Suffering from PTSD from the attack, he loses his job. In court, he does not reveal details about his childhood except to say he was neglected and in and out of care. The police tell Anna that Craig is not Turner, though they are also blocked from knowing Turner's new identity. She continues to pursue the case with her private investigator, Margaret "Mo" Buckley, who has contacts with former prison guards, despite the apprehension of her family, particularly her daughter, Louise, a law student. At trial in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, Anna's attorney challenges Craig and his memory of the attack to cast doubt on whether the assailant was acting for another reason.
3Episode 3Niall MacCormickRob Williams10 April 2019 (2019-04-10)5.88
Anna gets her day in court, where she admits to being happy that Craig had been attacked because of her belief that he is Turner. After their daughter's teddy bear is burned and nailed to a fence, Rebecca decides to move out with their daughter. DI Grover suspects William, a troubled drug addict who is treated by Anna at the clinic, as the perpetrator in the attack against Craig. He interviews him without permission of the investigation. After the jury retires to begin deliberating their verdict, Anna is devastated when Liam's grave is defaced, with Turner's initials spray painted with yellow paint, and stunned again when she sees the same yellow paint on the shoes of her other son, Ben. Danny, Louise's boyfriend, acts oddly when introduced to Gerry Tythe, the detective in Liam's case. Gerry warns Louise that not only did Danny serve time in prison, he was the one who discovered Liam's body, and only reported it after several hours. Danny seeks out Ben and tell him he has to go. Anna meets with her ex-husband, Christian, an alcoholic who was just released from jail. She tells him she wants Turner dead, and that he meets frequently at a certain cafe with his social worker. Mo is shocked to spot Tom Carpenter, Craig's loyal best friend, with the social worker.
4Episode 4Niall MacCormickRob Williams11 April 2019 (2019-04-11)6.25

Mo informs Anna that Craig is not Turner and that they have ruined an innocent man's life. In court, the jury finds Anna guilty, but on a lesser charge of assault to danger life. She remains out on bail until sentencing. Louise confronts Danny and tells him to stay away from her family. DI Grover is suspended after William is admitted to hospital after a suicide attempt. William confesses to Anna that he attacked Craig. Anna meets with Craig to apologise. After a crying Anna begs his forgiveness, Craig reveals he is in fact Eddie J. Turner. As she stumbles out in shock, Christian texts her that Turner is at the cafe. She is able to stop him before he stabs Tom. Eddie admits to Rebecca his real identity and that Tom was his cellmate and she ends their relationship. Anna discovers that Eddie has left his phone number in her purse and decides to call him, seeking answers as to what happened to Liam, against her husband's advice. DI Grover goes to meet Craig to find out the result of the meeting and reacts furiously when he confesses to being Eddie J. Turner. She meets him at the spot where he killed Liam, under a bridge. He confesses that back in 2003, he had been sitting at the spot self-harming when Liam walked by. Liam, who could see Eddie bleeding, told him that his mum was a nurse and could help him. Eddie asked Liam to leave him alone, but when he did not, he stabbed him to death in a fit of rage. He apologises to Anna, telling her that he continues to live with crushing guilt as a result of his actions. Christian appears and intends to kill Eddie with a knife, with Anna left faced with the decision of whether to allow Eddie to die. She decides to stand between Christian and Eddie and she tells Christian: "He wanted to be big". This refers simultaneously to Liam, who said, "I want to be big" in an old video that Anna often watched.

End screen quote...

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field.

I'll meet you there."

-- Rumi

Production

In an interview with RadioTimes.com, screenwriter Rob Williams, who had previously volunteered to teach in prisons, said, “What has become really clear to me is that there is always a story behind every crime, from the seemingly trivial to the biggest crimes... We look for the black and the white, not least because the law demands black and white, it demands a goodie and a baddie and a villain and a hero. Life’s not like that, it seems to me and when you dig into the reasons behind crimes, all sorts of crimes, they’re always just far more nuanced and fascinating as a result of going beyond the surface”. [4]

Broadcast

The series was first broadcast on BBC One at 9pm from Monday to Thursday, 8 to 11 April 2019. [1]

Reception

The series has an 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. [5] It was well received by critics, one of whom pointed to plot similarities with real life cases involving child murderers such as the murder of James Bulger. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelly Macdonald</span> Scottish actress

Kelly Macdonald is a Scottish actress. Known for her performances on film and television, she has received various accolades including a BAFTA Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards.

<i>Maisie Raine</i> UK TV series (1998–1999)

Maisie Raine is a British television crime drama series, first broadcast on BBC One, that ran from 28 July 1998 to 9 July 1999. Pauline Quirke stars as the eponymous title character, an unorthodox detective whose hands on yet down-to-earth approach is not always appreciated by her superiors. Created by Stephen Bill, a total of twelve episodes were broadcast across two series. The first series features a running story arc involving Maisie's wayward brother Kelvin, and had a much lighter feel than the second, which featured grittier storylines including drug dealing, armed robbery, arson and murder.

<i>Shetland</i> (TV series) BBC Scotland crime drama television series, 2013–

Shetland is a Scottish crime drama series made by ITV Studios for BBC Scotland. First broadcast on BBC One on 10 March 2013, it is originally based upon the novels of Ann Cleeves and adapted by David Kane. The first seven series starred Douglas Henshall as DI Jimmy Pérez, whilst Ashley Jensen stars as DI Ruth Calder from the eighth series. The cast also includes Alison O'Donnell as DS Alison "Tosh" McIntosh and Steven Robertson as DC Sandy Wilson, as well as Lewis Howden and Anne Kidd. Henshall won the 2016 BAFTA Scotland award for Best Actor and the series received the award for Best TV Drama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scotland Club XV</span> Rugby team

The Scotland national Club XV rugby union team is one of several national rugby union teams behind the Scottish national side.

<i>Unforgotten</i> British crime drama series

Unforgotten is a British crime drama television series, which initially aired on ITV on 8 October 2015. It was created and written by Chris Lang and directed by Andy Wilson. The programme follows a team of London detectives led by DCI Cassie Stuart, DCI Jessie James and DI Sunny Khan as they solve cold cases of disappearance and murder.

<i>SS-GB</i> (TV series) 2017 British drama series

SS-GB is a 2017 British drama series produced for the BBC and based on the 1978 novel of the same name by Len Deighton. It is set in a 1941 alternative timeline in which the United Kingdom is occupied by Nazi Germany during the Second World War.

The Loch is a six-part British television drama series, created by screenwriter Stephen Brady, that first broadcast on ITV on 11 June 2017. The series follows DS Annie Redford, a small town police officer with the Scottish Highland Police as she investigates the murder of piano teacher Niall Swift, who is found dead at the bottom of a cliff in the picturesque village of Lochnafoy, Loch Fyne, Inveraray. When it becomes apparent that part of Swift's brain has been removed, and a human heart belonging to another victim is found close by, Annie's team realise they are searching for a serial killer. In response, Glasgow based major investigation detective DCI Lauren Quigley is brought in to lead the enquiry.

Innocent is a British anthology television series, produced by TXTV productions, that was first broadcast on ITV for four consecutive nights between 14 and 17 May 2018. The first series stars Lee Ingleby as David Collins, Daniel Ryan as Phil Collins, David's faithful brother, Hermione Norris as Alice Moffatt and Adrian Rawlins as her husband, Rob Moffatt. The German TV broadcaster ARD produced a two-part adaptation, Unschuldig, first broadcast in December 2019. The second series, aired in 2021, starred Katherine Kelly, Andrew Tiernan, Priyanga Burford and Jamie Bamber.

Hidden is a Welsh television drama serial, created by Mark Andrew and Ed Talfan. It was initially broadcast in Welsh on the Welsh-language channel S4C under its Welsh name Craith. The bilingual version of the series, under the English name Hidden, was broadcast on BBC One Wales and BBC Four. The Welsh-language versions of the first two series aired on S4C in 2018 and 2019, respectively, with the third and final series beginning on 10 October 2021. The English-language version of the third and final series aired in April 2022.

<i>Dracula</i> (2020 TV series) 2020 British horror television series

Dracula is a drama-horror television serial developed by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, based on the 1897 novel of the same name by Bram Stoker. The series, consisting of three episodes, premiered on 1 January 2020 and was broadcast over three consecutive days on BBC One before releasing on Netflix. Claes Bang stars as the title character.

<i>Giri/Haji</i> British television series

Giri/Haji is a British crime drama television series which premiered on BBC Two in the United Kingdom on 17 October 2019, and was released internationally on Netflix on 10 January 2020. A co-production between the BBC and Netflix, the series was created and written by Joe Barton, and features an international ensemble cast including Takehiro Hira, Kelly Macdonald, Yōsuke Kubozuka, Will Sharpe, Masahiro Motoki, Justin Long, Anna Sawai, and Charlie Creed-Miles. The series is set in London and Tokyo, with dialogue in English and Japanese. In September 2020, it was cancelled by BBC Two and Netflix.

The North Water is a 2021 five-part television miniseries based on Ian McGuire's 2016 novel of the same name directed by Andrew Haigh and starring Colin Farrell and Jack O'Connell. An international co-production between British public broadcaster BBC, and Canadian English-language public broadcaster CBC Television, in association with Canadian premium television channel Super Channel and CBC Television's French-language counterpart ICI Radio-Canada Télé, the series first premiered in the United States on AMC+ on 15 July 2021 before premiering in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 10 September 2021 and in Canada on Super Channel Fuse a week later on 19 September, followed by a nationwide broadcast in the country on CBC Television in English and ICI Radio-Canada Télé in French, with video on demand availability on the CBC Gem and ICI TOU.TV services in both respective languages.

<i>Line of Duty</i> (series 5) BBC police procedural TV show, 2019 series

The fifth series of Line of Duty, consisting of six episodes, began broadcasting on 31 March 2019 on BBC One. The series follows the actions of Superintendent Ted Hastings, DI Kate Fleming and DS Steve Arnott as they investigate an Organised Crime Group with links to missing undercover officer DS John Corbett. Anna Maxwell Martin stars in episodes five and six as DCS Patricia Carmichael. Supporting characters include underboss Lisa McQueen and the special counsel to the police and crime commissioner Gill Biggeloe.

<i>The Capture</i> (TV series) 2019 British TV series

The Capture is a British mystery thriller 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.

<i>White House Farm</i> (TV series) British crime drama TV series

White House Farm is a British television crime drama based on the real-life events that took place in August 1985.

James Harkness is a Scottish actor. He is known for his roles as Craig Myers in the BBC crime drama The Victim (2019), as James in BBC drama The Nest (2020) and footballer Jimmy Love in the Netflix drama The English Game (2020) and the Sky Original "Gangs of London".

Rob Williams is a British screenwriter and producer, best known for the BBC1 crime drama The Victim.

<i>Time</i> (2021 TV series) British TV series

Time is a British television drama anthology series created and co-written by Jimmy McGovern, with Helen Black. Each series presents a new scenario following the lives of inmates and staff in His Majesty's Prison Service. Its first series, starring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham, was first broadcast on BBC One on 6 June 2021 and concluded on 20 June 2021. Its second series, starring Jodie Whittaker, Tamara Lawrance and Bella Ramsey, was broadcast, also on BBC One, on 29 October 2023 and concluded on 12 November 2023.

<i>Kin</i> (Irish TV series) Crime drama on Irish TV

Kin is an Irish television crime drama series, co-created by Peter McKenna and Ciaran Donnelly, that first broadcast on 9 September 2021, on RTÉ. The series, which revolves around a fictional Dublin family embroiled in gangland war, stars Aidan Gillen and Ciarán Hinds as rival gang leaders, Frank Kinsella and Eamon Cunningham.

<i>Bodies</i> (2023 TV series) British crime thriller series

Bodies is a British crime and science fiction limited series primarily written and created for Netflix by Paul Tomalin. It is based on the 2015 DC Vertigo graphic novel of the same name, written by Si Spencer and illustrated by Dean Ormston, Tula Lotay, Meghan Hetrick and Phil Winslade. The series consists of eight episodes and premiered on Netflix on 19 October 2023.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Meet the cast of BBC1's The Victim". Radio Times .
  2. "John Scougall". IMDb. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  3. "Four-screen dashboard". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board.
  4. "When is The Victim on TV?". RadioTimes.com. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  5. "The Victim". Rotten Tomatoes .
  6. "The Victim review: BBC drama echoes the James Bulger story" . The Independent . 8 April 2019. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022.