Stephen Graham is starring in a major new Netflix crime drama series based on Si Spencer’s mind-bending graphic novel Bodies. Here’s everything we know so far.
Exciting news for fans of prison dramas, detective shows and all things true crime: the one and only Stephen Graham has signed up to star in Bodies, a major new Netflix crime thriller.
An adaptation of the 2015 graphic novel of the same name by Si Spencer, Bodies tells the story of four detectives in four different London eras who find themselves investigating the same murder.
And, in the process, they wind up uncovering a conspiracy that spans a whopping 150 years.
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Intrigued? Of course you are.
Here’s what you need to know, then, about the must-watch series.
What is Bodies all about?
In London, 1890 – a time when Jack the Ripper stalks the streets – Edmond Hillinghead does his best to solve a crime that nobody else cares about. But, as he draws ever closer to learning the truth about the unidentified victim’s killer, he realises that he is waded in way over his head. And, if the overachieving detective gets any closer to the truth, his own dark secrets may be exposed…
Meanwhile, in 1940s London, the dashing Charles Whiteman discovers a mysterious body amongst the Blitz-bombed wreckage. Much like Hillinghead before him, though, the self-described war hero learns that his double life may be destroyed if he takes his investigations any further…
As racist rioters wreak havoc in London in 2014, DS Shahara Hasan leads the fight against them – until she becomes fixated on an unidentified corpse and the rotten secrets it presents…
Finally, in London in 2050, Maplewood – an amnesiac survivor of the terrifying techno-apocalypse – discovers the mysterious body she’s uncovered has been killed in a ritualistic slaying that is all but identical to those from decades past.
The twist? These murders aren’t just identical in that it’s the same MO with the exact same injuries and found in the exact same spot throughout time.
Rather, they’re identical in that, over a span of 160 years, it’s always the same body. Eep.
Who stars in Bodies?
Graham, somewhat mysteriously, isn’t down to play any of the detectives. Instead, he will be playing Elias Mannix, who has been described as the “central character to the story”.
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Alongside Graham, Bodies features a talented cast of familiar faces. Among them are Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (The Queen’s Gambit, See How They Run) as DS Whiteman, and Shira Haas (Unorthodox, Shtisel) as DC Maplewood.
Amaka Okafor (The Responder, Greatest Days) also joins the cast as DS Hasan, while Kyle Soller (The Inheritance, Andor) plays DI Hillinghead.
Further cast members have also been revealed for the series:
- Tom Mothersdale as Gabriel Defoe
- Michael Jibson as DCI Jack Barber
- Gabriel Howell as Young Elias Mannix
- Derek Riddel as Calloway
- Emily Barber as Kathleen
- Anna Calder-Marshall as Lady Agatha Harker
- Will Merrick as PC Byrne
- Michael Shaeffer as CI Hayden
- Silvana Damm as Svetlana Kabliska
- George Parker as Henry Ashe
- Alfie Tempest as Sam
- Ellie James as Teri
- Zachary Hart as Lee Cozens
- Jordan Baker as June
- Neil Swift as Captain Drake
What are people saying about Bodies?
The graphic novel was praised for its handling of deeper themes around immigration and belonging when it first hit bookshops in 2015, and fans of the text have warned that the series will be very different to anything they’ve watch on TV before.
As Comics Alliance notes: “[The letters] KYAL appears near the body whenever it’s discovered, and then again and again and again in the background, throughout each detective’s story. The sigil is carved into the body’s wrist and appears in the fingerprints and in each era has different connotations.”
We won’t say much more on that, because spoilers, but it hammers home the idea that murder changes things. In a very big way.
Where was Bodies filmed?
The series, which comes from the creators of Peaky Blinders, might be a London-centric story, but scenes have been shot across several big UK cities, including Hull, Leeds, Grimsby, Bradford and Rotherham.
And, good news, filming finished in October 2022, which means we hopefully won’t have long to wait before the series hits our screens.
How many episodes of Bodies will there be?
The series is comprised of eight hour-long episodes.
When can we watch Bodies?
While there’s no word on a release date just yet, Bodies is expected to air sometime later this year.
We’ll keep you updated when we hear more details.
Images: BBC; Getty
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