THE DARK: CASTING ANNOUNCED FOR NEW ITV THRILLER BASED ON GR HALLIDAY NOVEL

ITV’s upcoming six-part series, The Dark, based upon GR Halliday’s debut novel, From the Shadows, announces a line up stellar talent; Laura Donnelly (The Nevers, Sugar), as Scottish Detective Monica Kennedy, is joined by Mark Rowley (Trigger Point, Karen Pirie) as Detective Connor Crawford.

Emun Elliott (The Gold, Sexy Beast), plays local Barclay Adams, with Helen Baxendale (Noughts + Crosses, Cuckoo) as Bethany, parents who are scarred by their past and aren’t pleased to see Detective Monica at their door again with a case linked to their missing son.

Rona Morrison (Our Ladies, Macbeth), Cal MacAninch (Trigger Point, Downton Abbey), Stella Gonet (The Salisbury Poisonings, Breeders), Phil McKee (The Rig, Professor T) Tunji Kasim (Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, Nancy Drew) and Catherine McCormack (Lockerbie: a Search for Truth, 28 Weeks Later) round out the cast.

Laura Donnelly comments: “Having long been a fan of the detective genre shows that Ben Stephenson has been involved in creating, when I read the first script of The Dark I knew it was going to be something special. I’m so excited to work with Poison Pen, ITV and a fantastic cast to create something unique and thrilling and to develop the singular, compelling and complex spirit of DI Monica Kennedy.”

Poison Pen’s Ben Stephenson adds: “I can’t believe we have such an excellent cast at the helm of Poison Pen’s first drama. We are delighted to be working with a cast of such great actors bringing these complex characters to life, led by Laurence Olivier winner and twice Tony-nominated Laura. Laura has shown across her theatre and screen work what an extraordinary, varied and magnetic actress she is - pushing the boundaries of how to bring to life complex women.”

When the body of a young man is found eerily staged in the idyllic Scottish wilderness, detective Monica Kennedy fears this is just the beginning of a terrifying campaign that will strike the heart of a rural community. As paranoia rises, suspicions and secrets are forced into the light, and the locals start to realise that there is a serial killer hidden amongst them.

With her experience of dealing with the darkest of humanity Monica Kennedy quickly becomes entangled in a heightened game of cat and mouse with a cunning killer. Only she can stop this monster before he claims any more victims. But when her own history creeps up on her, she begins to lose trust in her own judgement. Will it be her own actions that are the biggest risk to herself and her family?

Poison Pen’s Ben Stephenson, Preethi Mavahalli, Luke Woellhaf and Fern McCauley will executive produce alongside Matt Hartley. Matt Brown will be producing the series which also has Lena Rae and Nessah Muthy writing and Gilles Bannier as lead Director and Executive Producer. 

More details will be announced in due course.