ITV's new crime thriller The Dark, based on GR Halliday's debut novel, arrives with a promising premise: a serial killer stalking the Scottish Highlands, a haunted detective, and a small community in turmoil. Yet, despite its effective scares and strong performances, the show is undermined by its release strategy—all six episodes dropped at once on ITVX, robbing it of the weekly water-cooler buzz that made predecessors like Broadchurch cultural phenomena.
A Classic Cat-and-Mouse Setup
The series opens with a gruesome discovery: a naked corpse staged in the wilderness. DI Monica Kennedy (Laura Donnelly), a new detective with a mysterious past, leads the investigation. The victim is a young, lonely man, the first in a spree by a killer who uses a uniquely nightmarish method. The murderer appears only as a hideous mask with heavy breathing, a technique that initially terrifies but loses impact with overexposure.
Distraught mother Bethany Morgan (Helen Baxendale, known for Friends) navigates her own grief, contrasting with her husband's (Emun Elliott) reaction. Monica's partner, DC Connor Crawford (Mark Rowley), finds her enigmatic, especially given a strange branding mark on her arm—a secret the review withholds due to spoilers.
Missed Opportunity for Weekly Engagement
Rebecca Cook, Senior TV Reporter, notes that the current TV landscape is dominated by the World Cup and Love Island, leaving little room for event television. The Dark, she argues, could have thrived with a week-to-week schedule. "I feel like I'm standing at the office water cooler waiting for someone to join me," she writes. The show evokes Broadchurch, whose 2013 weekly theorizing reached a fever pitch, making the reveal almost secondary to the build-up. In contrast, The Dark's binge release diminishes that communal speculation.
The show avoids the trope of violence against women, instead focusing on young, vulnerable men in rural communities—a theme handled without being preachy. The cinematography showcases the glens' beauty, though the wider community impact of the crimes feels underexplored.
Cast and Verdict
Lead director Gilles Bannier, writers Matt Hartley, Lena Rae, and Nessah Muthy, and executive producers including Hartley and Ben Stephenson deliver a solid thriller. The cast, including Donnelly, Baxendale, and Rowley, is strong. However, the verdict is mixed: "Like Broadchurch, The Dark is a fairly by-the-numbers thriller, but one that fans of the genre will no doubt enjoy. But what I wanted even more was an old-school release strategy." The article cites Widow's Bay, which gained Emmy attention through weekly word-of-mouth, as a model.
The Dark is available to stream on ITVX, with episodes airing on ITV1 at 9pm on Mondays.
