As the nights draw in and we go hurtling into autumn, there's a new Sunday night drama on the agenda, that looks set to draw millions of viewers to ITV as it continues this weekend with its second episode.
This time of year tends to be a real breeding ground for tense thrillers as people across the country curl up on the couch, on the hunt for their latest new series to get stuck into or a new binge watch to put at the top of the list. Well ITV might just be ticking the boxes with its new Sunday show, Karen Pirie.
The new three parter arrives on screen after the ratings success of Ridley, with Line of Duty's Adrian Dunbar in the title role. Karen Pirie is NOT a true story, instead based on the novels about the detective of the same name by Val McDermid. The first run of three episodes are all inspired by celebrated author Val's book, The Distant Echo.
Episode one hits the ground running when three students are found at the scene of a murder, as young barmaid Rosie Duff has been assaulted, stabbed and left for dead. Twenty five years on, the still unsolved investigation is brought back into the spotlight when it becomes the topic of discussion on a true crime podcast. This leads to Detective Sergeant Karen Pirie being put in charge of a cold case review.
The title role in Karen Pirie has been handed to rising acting star, Lauren Lyle, with a series of other newcomers joining her in the cast.
ITV's Karen Pirie cast
Lauren Lyle - DS Karen Pirie
Chris Jenks - DC Jason Murray
Zach Wyatt - DS Phil Parhatka
Jhon Lumsden - Sigmund ‘Ziggy’ Malkiewicz Junior
Jack Hesketh - Tom ‘Weird’ Mackie Junior
Buom Tihngang - Alex Gilbey Junior
Alec Newman - Sigmund ‘Ziggy’ Malkiewicz Senior
Michael Shaeffer - Tom ‘Weird’ Mackie Senior
Ariyon Bakare - Alex Gilbey Senior
Bobby Rainsbury - Grace Galloway
Anna Russell-Martin - Rosie Duff
Gilly Gilchrist - DI Barney Maclennan
Kevin Mains - DS Jimmy Lawson Junior
Stuart Bowman - Chief Superintendent Lawson Senior
Gemma Mcelhinney - PC Janice Hogg Junior
Emer Kenny - River Wilde
Rakhee Thakrar - Bel Richmond
Steve John Shepherd - DI Simon Lees
Speaking about landing the lead role, Lauren said: "My mum and dad had read the books and they were beside themselves when I told them I’d been offered the role of Karen. Mydad kept saying, “But Lauren, Val McDermid is the Queen of crime, do you know that?!” my mum told me my dad didn’t sleep that night."
She added: "It was all really exciting but such a big whirlwind. I didn’t quite know what I was letting myself in for, and then when I got to the shoot it was just three months of complete joy and exhaustion the whole time. It was the best job I’ve ever done, it was fab."
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