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Home TV News ‘The Long Shadow’: ITV Releases Trailer For Yorkshire Ripper Drama Starring David Morrissey, Toby Jones, Jill Halfpenny, Daniel Mays and more

‘The Long Shadow’: ITV Releases Trailer For Yorkshire Ripper Drama Starring David Morrissey, Toby Jones, Jill Halfpenny, Daniel Mays and more

Written by George Kay (Hijack, Criminal: UK, Litvinenko)

by Dave Elliott

‘The Long Shadow’: ITV Announces Cast & Releases Trailer For Yorkshire Ripper Drama Starring David Morrissey, Toby Jones, Jill Halfpenny, Daniel Mays and more

ITV has released a trailer for The Long Shadow, a true crime drama, premiering in September, from the brilliant George Kay (Hijack, Criminal: UK, Litvinenko) following the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper, with Toby Jones, David Morrissey, Jill Halfpenny, Daniel Mays and more set to star.

The seven-part drama is the definitive depiction of the desperate five-year hunt for serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, sensitively focussing on the lives of the victims who crossed his path and those of the officers at the heart of the police investigation. With the victims, their families and the survivors at the heart of this series, ‘The Long Shadow’ brings a new perspective to a well-documented story.

Meticulously researched and drawing upon the most extensive archive of the investigation, comprising of hundreds of case files, interview transcripts and police reports, the series is also based on Wicked Beyond Belief, Michael Bilton’s critically acclaimed account of the case, published by William Collins.

Award-winning actor Toby Jones (‘MCU’, ‘Detectorists’) will play DCS Dennis Hoban, who initially led the enquiry, with David Morrissey (‘Walking Dead’, ‘Sherwood’) taking the role of DCS George Oldfield, who famously took on the investigation. Lee Ingleby (‘The A Word’, ‘Inspector George Gently’) is DCS Jim Hobson, whilst Katherine Kelly (‘Criminal: UK’, ‘Coronation Street’, ‘Mr Selfridge’) plays Emily Jackson with Daniel Mays (‘Line of Duty’, ‘Code 404’, ‘Good Omens’) as her husband, Sydney Jackson and Shaun Thomas as their son, Neil Jackson.

Jill Halfpenny plays Doreen Hill, with Daisy Waterstone as her daughter, Jacqueline Hill. Jasmine Lee-Jones plays Marcella Claxton, Molly Wright as Donna Deangelo, Liz White as PS Meg Winterburn and Shaun Dooley as DCS Chris Gregg.

The cast also includes Alexa Davies, Chloe Harris, Stephen Tompkinson, Jack Deam, Michael McElhatton, Adam Long, Ruth Madeley, Dorothy Atkinson, Rob James-Collier, Charley Webb, Steven Waddington and Kris Hitchen.

One murder has the power to cast a long shadow and this case plunged a whole society into darkness. For every victim, there were friends and loved ones. For every police officer, there was the burden of failure – of near misses and guilt – and the knowledge that as they failed to find their man, more women continued to suffer. The impact on the lives of those who live on after the death of their loved one remains to this day. Those who cannot escape what happened, who must sit with their incomprehensible trauma for decades after, enduring their own life sentences.

With people today holding to account the institutional foundations that foster misogyny, racism, and violence against women, The Long Shadow will speak to the societal issues of the past whilst highlighting alarming parallels between these terrible crimes and tragic events in our more recent history.

The series is written by the award-winning screenwriter, George Kay (Hijack, Criminal: UK, Litvinenko) and solely directed by BAFTA-winning director Lewis Arnold (Sherwood, Time, Des). New Pictures, the award-winning independent production company behind critically acclaimed and high-rating dramas including ‘Des’ and ‘White House Farm’, produced the drama in Yorkshire. ITV’s Head of Drama Polly Hill commissioned The Long Shadow, which was produced in association with Sundance Now, which holds exclusive rights in the U.S. and Canada, and All3Media International.

‘The Long Shadow’ is executive produced by New Pictures co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Willow Grylls (Des, White House Farm, The Missing) with renowned director Lewis Arnold (Time, Sherwood, Des) directing the series. The series is produced by Matt Sandford (Des, White House Farm, Cobra – as script editor), series produced by Sarah Lewis (Noughts + Crosses, McDonald & Dodds) and co-produced by Alison Matthews (Trigger Point, Champion). George Kay, Lewis Arnold and Elaine Pyke also serve as executive producers. Polly Hill is overseeing production of the drama for ITV.

The Long Shadow‘ does not yet have an exact UK premiere date, but is set to air in September 2023 on ITV1 and ITVX. The drama will air on Sundance Now in the USA. If you want to keep track of this or any other show, you can add them via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date.

 

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