The Victim (2019 TV series)


The Victim is a four-part Scottish thriller miniseries starring Kelly Macdonald, James Harkness and John Hannah. The series was produced by STV Studios and first broadcast on BBC One television in April 2019. The series was shot on location in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Port Glasgow and Largs.

Plot

Bereaved mother Anna Dean, whose young son was murdered by an older boy 14 years prior, goes on trial for attempted murder after she is accused of posting online the new identity and address of the man she believes murdered her son: Craig Myers. Myers, a husband and father, is violently beaten and must restore his reputation. The series revolves around the trial of the case, alongside its consequences for Myers' family and Dean's search to unmask the true identity of her son's killer.

Cast

Production

In an interview with RadioTimes.com, screenwriter Rob Williams, who had previously volunteered to teach in prisons, said “What has become really clear to me is that there is always a story behind every crime, from the seemingly trivial to the biggest crimes... We look for the black and the white, not least because the law demands black and white, it demands a goodie and a baddie and a villain and a hero. Life’s not like that, it seems to me. And when you dig into the reasons behind crimes, all sorts of crimes, they’re always just far more nuanced and fascinating as a result of going beyond the surface.”

Broadcast

The series was first broadcast on BBC One at 9pm from Monday to Thursday, 8 to 11 April 2019.

Reception

The series has an 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It was well received by critics, some of who pointed to plot similarities with real life cases involving child murderers such as the murder of James Bulger.