New Michelle Keegan gritty crime drama The Blame tipped to be the ‘next Happy Valley’
If you’ve been looking for a gritty police drama to fill the gaping hole in your heart that Happy Valley left when it ended three years ago, you’re in luck.
Excitement is bubbling over Michelle Keegan and Douglas Booth’s new ITV series, The Blame, which has been adapted from the novel of the same name by Charlotte Langley.
Due to hit screens on Sunday (20 September), it follows DI Emma Crane (Keegan) and DI Tom Radley (Booth) as they investigate a tragic murder in the fictional town of Wakestead.
They quickly identify their main suspect, but as the case progresses, an unexpected lead comes to light, causing Emma and Tom to ‘uncover a web of lies, institutional cover-ups and moral compromise’.
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The show promises to ‘tackle big questions around policing and will take an unflinching look at who we can really trust,’ while exposing the misogyny that can be found in the UK police force.
And if that’s not enough to get excited, the producer of the show, Nicola Shindler, also worked as the executive producer on BBC's Happy Valley.
The beloved show, starring Sarah Lancashire and created by Sally Wainwright, captivated the nation and won many major TV awards during its three-season run.
It ended with an explosive and emotional finale in February 2023, and many die-hard fans have said nothing has lived up to it since - but could The Blame finally be the one?
Shindler told Radio Times: “The Blame, that is coming on ITV in a couple of weeks. I am so proud of that.
"It does a similar thing to what we just said about Happy Valley. I hope the audiences feel the same.”
She added: “It's an incredibly good crime story, but with this extraordinarily complex central character, female character, right in the centre of something that is revealing a lot about modern policing and modern society.
"It's really good fun, and it's also very, very well written. Megan Gallagher wrote it all and just is fantastic."
The series has been written for screen by Gallagher, who also wrote the gripping 2025 drama All Her Fault starring Sarah Snook.
Like Happy Valley, it looks like The Blame will explore difficult and serious topics, as Esquire has reported that the series also looks to be ‘influenced’ by the two Metropolitan police officers who took photos from the murder scene of two Black women in 2020 ‘for their own amusement’.
Another haunting parallel to real-life is that messages in a male police officers’ group chat in the show were taken from actua; officers’ messages.
ITV’s director of drama Polly Hill told the publication: “The Blame is a brilliant new crime thriller full of surprising twists and a compelling investigation that also cleverly tackles police corruption, exploitation and misogyny as the thriller unravels…This is going to be an unmissable drama and one I’m very proud to have on ITV.”
You can watch the trailer here:
Meanwhile, Keegan told Radio Times: “I feel like we’re in a space now where women can say they’re uncomfortable about something and blow the whistle on it, and I think this is going to fuel that. It’s been a long time coming.”
Booth added: “When I watched the Panorama about Charing Cross Police Station, it was horrific. It makes you sick. There are parallels in this show. It brings a human element to those awful themes.”
Alongside Keegan and Booth, also starring in the show are Ian Hart, Nathan Mensah, Nigel Boyle, Joe Armstrong, Matilda Freeman, Gavin Spokes, Josh Bolt, Vikash Bhai and Ceallach Spellman.
The Blame will debut on ITV1 and ITVX from Sunday 20 September, consisting of six episodes, with two airing every week on Sundays and Mondays.
Topics: Michelle Keegan, ITV, Entertainment, TV And Film, BBC, Police
Madison Burgess