Marcella (ITV 2016, Anna Friel, Nicholas Pinnock)

Crime drama series Marcella was co-created by Hans Rosenfeldt, the writer behind the Scandinavian smash hit The Bridge.

The series, set in modern-day London, was Rosenfeldt’s first drama created for a UK audience.

Marcella Backland (Anna Friel) was shocked to the core when her husband Jason (Nicholas Pinnock) left her. Heartbroken, Marcella returned to the London Metropolitan Police’s murder squad after having previously given up her police career.

With the abrupt change in her circumstances and feeling estranged from her 13-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son, Backland threw herself into work to hold things together, following up on a hunch about the identity of a notorious serial killer she had chased in 2005 before leaving to have her second child.

SEASON TWO
The eight-part series is once again set in contemporary London and the new series unfolds in the unique style of Rosenfeldt’s Nordic style. Interweaving storylines and characters from all different walks of life and backgrounds will lead the audiences on a complex and emotional journey and keep them guessing until the very end.

The story begins with the discovery of a body inside a wall. The body is clothed in a school blazer and surrounded by soft toys; a devastated Marcella soon works out that the body is that of schoolboy Leo Priestley, who was abducted a few years beforehand and a friend of Marcella’s son, Edward.

A task-force is quickly pulled together by newly promoted DCI, Tim and we are introduced to a new member of the team, LeAnn. As the investigation progresses, we’re introduced to a number of new characters – a former famous musician Reg and his manager and friend Alan; edgy businessman Vince Whitman and his charity boss wife Maya; a previously convicted criminal Phil Dawkins; sister and brother Gail and Eric; and Becky, the new girlfriend of Marcella’s ex-husband.

Whilst the storylines entwine, Marcella is still battling with her ongoing sporadic fugue states which she struggles to come to terms with and is getting increasingly worried about the effects it is having on her and her family around her.

production details
Country: UK | ITV | 16×50 minutes
Release Year: 2016 – 2017

Creator: Hans Rosenfeldt

cast
Anna Friel as Marcella Backland
Nicholas Pinnock as Jason Backland
Sinéad Cusack as Sylvie Gibson
Nina Sosanya as DCI Laura Porter
Jamie Bamber as DI Tim Williamson
Ian Puleston-Davies as Peter Cullen
Ray Panthaki as DI Rav Sangha
Harry Lloyd as Henry Gibson
Robert Whitelock as Guy Roberts
Laura Carmichael as Maddy Stevenson
Charlie Covell as DC Alex Dier
Jack Doolan as DC Mark Travis
David Kennedy as Phil Maxwell
Maeve Dermody as Grace Gibson
Nick Hendrix as Adrien Cooper
Patrick Baladi as Stephen Holmes
Ben Cura as Matthew Neil
Tobias Santelmann as Yann Hall
Florence Pugh as Cara Thomas