The Dark

Set in the rural Scottish Highlands, ITVX’s The Dark begins in familiar crime thriller territory: the body of a young man, eerily staged in the wilderness, and a detective pulled into a case that clearly has further to run. At first glance, the six-episode series has all the makings of a standard serial-killer drama: a predator to catch, a community on edge and a trail of violence through remote, ominous terrain. But the story becomes increasingly compelling as each new lead draws the case further into homes, relationships and histories people would rather leave unspoken.

The Highlands are not just there to look brooding, though they certainly do. Wind cuts across conversations, leaves crowd the lens, and the repeated return to empty roads, farm buildings and dark stretches of woodland makes the investigation feel exposed and endless. The landscape is beautiful, but the show does not use it as decoration: distance, weather and emptiness all become part of the threat.

That attention to detail carries into the performances. Laura Donnelly plays DI Monica Kennedy with a flinty, controlled intelligence, steering clear of the more obvious damaged-detective beats. Monica is guarded, but not blank; driven, but not invincible. Donnelly makes her composure feel like something she needs in order to function, rather than a simple character trait. She is well matched by Mark Rowley as Connor Crawford, who brings warmth, instinct and emotional intelligence to a role that could easily have been reduced to a foil. Their partnership is one of the show’s quieter strengths, built through gradual trust rather than forced sparring.

The supporting characters are also written with more care than the genre typically allows. They do not come across like suspects lined up for the next reveal, but like people whose lives were already complicated before the investigation reached them. Helen Baxendale is especially affecting as Bethany, a mother whose grief is handled without melodramatic overstatement. Her reactions feel practical, frightened, contradictory and painfully realistic. Around her, The Dark builds a world that feels specific without becoming overexplained. It is a grim, atmospheric thriller, but the darkness has weight because it comes from the people, not just the crimes.