Based on Mick Herron’s novel of the same name, this British TV series follows wily and resourceful private detective Zoë Boehm (Emma Thompson) as she unravels a government conspiracy and searches for a missing child. The case centers on Sarah Trafford (Ruth Wilson), whose neighborhood is rocked by an explosion that kills her friend Maddie Singleton, whose 5-year-old daughter, Dinah (Ivy Quoi), is whisked away in what appears to be a kidnapping.
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What’s it rated? TV-MA
When? 2025
Where’s it showing? Apple TV+
Things get complicated quickly as we learn of a Ministry of Defense covert operation and meet shady supervisor, C (Darren Boyd), and his underlings such as Hamza Malik (Adeel Akhtar), Amos Crane (Fehinti Balogun), and his rogue agent brother Rufus Crane (Ken Nwosu). Downey (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett), a former soldier who’s also Dinah’s uncle, is also trying to locate her.
It’s a gripping and gritty tale with a lot of complicated characters operating under various motivations, but at its center are two strong female leads in Thompson and Wilson, who work well together and whose characters are both vulnerable and tenacious. Mick Herron has written four books in his Zoë Boehm series, and this show has already been renewed for another season. I’ll be watching. (eight 50- to 54-min. episodes) ∆
This article appears in Dec 25, 2025 – Jan 1, 2026.