Adapted from Mick Herron’s debut novel, the series is now streaming on Apple TV+ starring Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson
Adapted from Mick Herron’s debut novel, the series is now streaming on Apple TV+ starring Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson
Apple TV+ is bringing viewers a major British thriller — and this one comes straight from the mind of bestselling author Mick Herron.
Down Cemetery Road, adapted from Herron’s debut 2003 novel, is being billed as an essential companion piece to his hugely successful Slow Horses franchise.
The eight-episode series stars Emma Thompson and Ruth Wilson in a gripping Oxford-set mystery packed with explosions, conspiracies, and Herron’s trademark dark humour.
The story begins in an apparently peaceful Oxford suburb, where an ordinary evening is shattered when a house suddenly blows up. On that very same night, a young girl goes missing.
Neighbour Sarah Tucker (Ruth Wilson) quickly becomes certain the two events are connected, reports the Express.
Unable to shake her suspicions, she turns to private investigator Zoë Boehm (Emma Thompson), a woman carrying her own emotional baggage, to help unravel what really happened.
Together, Sarah and Zoë unpick a complex web of secrets suggesting people long presumed dead are actually still alive — while others are dying violently at an alarming rate.
Apple TV+ has described the drama as bearing “all the hallmarks of Mick Herron’s funny and acerbic writing,” while presenting it as an “unmissable companion piece” for fans of Slow Horses.
Oscar-winner Emma Thompson takes the lead as Zoë Boehm, a sharp but troubled detective, while Golden Globe-winner Ruth Wilson portrays Sarah Tucker, the determined neighbour whose persistence draws them both into danger.
The ensemble cast represents a formidable collection of award-winning performers and recognisable figures from British cinema and television.
Joining Thompson and Wilson are Adeel Akhtar as Hamza, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as Downey, Tom Goodman-Hill as Gerard, Darren Boyd as C. and additional cast members.
Considering Herron’s standing for incisive espionage fiction, parallels with Apple’s highly praised Slow Horses are understandable. However, Down Cemetery Road possesses a completely distinct energy.
In conversation with TV Insider, Ruth Wilson revealed: “It gets mad as it goes on and gets more wild and dangerous, and the landscape changes, and in the way it’s shot is all wild and brutal in the last three, and it feels like a sort of action movie thriller by the end.”
She continued: “That’s why it’s different to Slow Horses. It’s a road movie and it’s an odyssey for these two characters, and through it, they’re finding things out about themselves as they go.
“It is in the same world and the same humour and wit, but actually structurally, it’s quite different.”
The original novel received substantial critical praise, with Audiofile Magazine observing: “Mick Herron skillfully weaves a complex story with interesting snippets of current events . . . This is the perfect choice for those who like to analyze many layers and false starts as a story unfolds.”
The Guardian remarked: “A not-to-be-missed treat . . . Herron’s incisive portraits are as pitch perfect as ever, and even if you’ve read this series before, it’s worth reminding yourself of its excellence.”
Down Cemetery Road is available to stream on Apple TV now.
