Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger are back as Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott in the seventh instalment of the BBC's hit crime drama, Strike: The Running Grave. The five-part series, co-produced with HBO and Warner Bros. Discovery, is based on J.K. Rowling's novel written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.
The story follows Sir Colin Edensor and his wife Sally, who hire Strike and Ellacott to gather evidence against the Universal Humanitarian Church, a religious cult that has indoctrinated their son Will and siphoned off his trust fund. Led by the charismatic Jonathan Wace, the church is protected by a charitable facade, celebrity backers, and aggressive lawyers.
Robin goes undercover at the cult's Norfolk headquarters, Chapman Farm, where she faces psychological and physical duress. Meanwhile, Strike interviews former members on the outside. The key to the case lies in solving the mystery of the Drowned Prophet, Daiyu, whose death is central to the cult's mythology.
The cast includes James Fleet, Nichola McAuliffe, Keeley Forsyth, Fabian McCallum, and John Lynch. Returning cast members include Ruth Sheen as Pat, Jack Greenlees as Sam Barclay, Tupele Dorgu as Midge, and Natasha O'Keeffe as Charlotte. Sue Tully directs, with Tom Edge adapting the screenplay. Alex Rendell produces, and executive producers include J.K. Rowling, Neil Blair, Ruth Kenley-Letts, and Nick Lambon.
Strike: The Running Grave is the seventh series of the BBC drama, which averaged 7.1 million viewers for its previous instalment, The Ink Black Heart, in 2024. The series is available on BBC iPlayer, with HBO holding North American rights.
