Stellan Skarsgård (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) leads the cast of River, BBC One’s new six-part drama, as John River, a brilliant police officer whose genius and fault-line is the fragility of his mind.
Nicola Walker (Last Tango In Halifax) and Adeel Akhtar (Utopia) star alongside Skarsgård as Detective Sergeant Jackie ‘Stevie’ Stevenson, River’s colleague and confidant, and Detective Sergeant Ira King. Lesley Manville (An Adventure In Space And Time) is their superior, Chief Inspector Chrissie Read, with Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan) as a notorious killer who plagues River.
> Order River on DVD on Amazon.
John River: a Detective who lives among the dead and dying victims and killers from the murder cases he’s trying to solve.
John River: a man whose vulnerabilities and eccentricities are brought to the fore as he grieves the loss of his dearest friend and colleague, DS Jackie Stevenson.
The stages of his grief mark River’s growing bonds with those he has excluded from his heart and his mind, and when a murder suspect jumps to his death whilst being pursued by River, the pressure and scrutiny that surrounds him escalates fast.
As the investigation into Stevie’s murder begins to reveal her deepest secrets, River has to question everything he thought he knew about his one true friend. Their relationship might have survived her death but can it survive the truth of who she really was in life?
Episode 1
Tuesday 13 October 2015, 9pm
John River is a respected police officer, haunted by the murder victims whose secrets he must uncover.
Struggling to come to terms with the recent loss of a close colleague, River chases a potential suspect across London, with tragic consequences.
Calls for his dismissal grow due to his fragile mental state, and under intense scrutiny from the press and within the police force, River must battle to keep his condition in check.
Meanwhile, the mother of a murdered teenager Erin Fielding is growing increasingly desperate – the boyfriend has confessed but no body has been found, and she blames River for failing to make good on his promise to find her daughter.
Episode 2
Tuesday 20 October 2015, 9pm
Racked with grief over the death of his colleague and partner Jackie ‘Stevie’ Stevenson, River and his colleagues attend her wake.
He is surprised to come across her brother Jimmy (Steve Nicolson, pictured), who has recently been released after serving 16 years for a brutal murder, in which Stevie’s evidence was key.
River’s mental fragility is further strained when he begins to suspect the man he chased to his death was innocent.
Episode 3
Tuesday 27 October 2015, 9pm
Discovering that Stevie was keeping secrets forces River to reassess how well he knew his colleague and friend.
Unearthing new information about Stevie throws suspicion on somebody close to her, someone with a motive to murder her and a history of violence.
Keeping his unofficial investigation into Stevie’s death a secret causes tension with partner Ira, who is desperate to impress in his new role.
Episode 4
Tuesday 3 November 2015, 9pm
The investigation into Stevie’s murder changes direction when CCTV footage suggests she was closely involved with a Somalian migrant – the owner of the car that was used in her murder.
The more secrets River uncovers, the greater his confusion – until he discovers the surprising identity of the person Stevie spoke to on the night she died. Has he blown the case wide open?
Episode 5
Tuesday 10 November 2015, 9pm
Following a murder in the public library, River and Ira journey deep into the refugee community, where they discover what it was that Stevie was unravelling before she died.
Was it these investigations she was punished for? River finds some solace in the Hearing Voices group, before Ira is led into the heart of the storm – with devastating complications for another member of the team.
Episode 6
Tuesday 17 November 2015, 9pm
River is convinced that Stevie’s investigation into the exploitation of illegal migrants holds the key to her murder.
As the fractured events leading up to her death start to fall into place, it puts more pressure than ever on River and his worsening state of mind.
While her loved ones reel from the truth of her past, River holds the future in his hands. How can he keep his promises to Stevie and still do what is right?
> Order River on DVD on Amazon.
Watch the trailer…
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