THE GUILTY earns glowing reviews after its opening hour...

The tense and suspenseful first episode of Debbie O'Malley's THE GUILTY aired last night, and here's a snippet of what the reviewers are saying:

***** A feast of red herrings as ITV serves up another crime classic... there was a moment of scene setting that was so clever I wanted to stand up and applaud... Catch up if you missed it last night: it promises to be unmissable.
The Daily Mail

When ITV get it right, they get it so right with their crime drama... extremely enjoyable and striking
The Huffington Post

Powerful new three-part drama... It's terrifically done (and) very well acted too... Who did it? I have no idea.... 
The Daily Express

Heartbreaking and harrowing - and it's only the first episode...
Entertainmentwise

We're so looking forward to next week's episode - if you missed it, catch up here.

Debbie O’Malley’s THE GUILTY begins this Thursday 5th September, 9pm ITV

Debbie O’Malley’s new three-part drama premieres this week on ITV1 – and it’s been garnering a lot of praise. The Radio Times featured it as one of their 13 ‘best dramas’ for the new season, also naming it ‘Pick of the Day’, deeming it “thoughtful and promising”, and designated it ‘Drama of the Week’.

The TV Times gave it five stars, saying it’s “an evocative piece with well-woven script and superb performances” and the Telegraph on Saturday called it "stylish, simple and devoid of easy answers". Add to that a raft of ‘Pick of the Day’ and ‘Critic’s Choice’ accolades from the Observer, Sunday Times and more, and we think you’ll agree it’s rather exciting.

Produced by Hartswood Films (Sherlock) and directed by Ed Bazalgette (Endeavour, Vera), we at Blake Friedmann are looking forward to tuning in.

Watch the trailer here, more info here, and catch it on ITV1 at 9pm on Thursday.

THE GUILTY is set across two timelines – 2008 and present day – and tells the story of DC Maggie Brand (Tamsin Greig – Episodes, Friday Night Dinner), who investigates the disappearance of little Callum Reid whilst coping with her own young son’s diagnosis with autism.

Following an annual neighbourhood barbecue, Claire and Daniel Reid frantically search for Callum when they awake to find him missing. Katherine Kelly (Mr Selfridge, Coronation Street) and Darren Boyd (Case Sensitive, Dirk Gently) play the young couple living in hope that their son will one day be found.

ITV commissions Debbie O’Malley’s mystery series

THE GUILTY, an original 3 x 60-minute drama series written by Debbie O'Malley (LAW & ORDER; UK, CASE HISTORIES, SILK), has gone into production. Starring Tamsin Grieg (EPISODES, FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER) as DCI Maggie Brand, the series follows an investigation into the death of a little boy after his body is discovered five years after he went missing. The drama, produced by Hartswood Films, will be set over two time periods - the time of the boy's disappearance and the time of the investigation.

The boy's parents, played by Katherine Kelly and Darren Boyd, hold a barbeque on the night their son vanishes, and a violent, alcohol-fuelled row with neighbours that night causes rifts and suspicion within the community. DCI Brand, stricken with terrible morning sickness at the time of the disappearance, is back in action when the boy's body is found, and is determined to find out what happened to him.

The show was commissioned by Steve November at ITV, and will be directed by Ed Bazalgette. Elaine Cameron will produce, and Beryl Vertue is executive producer. Beryl says of the project: "We're delighted to be working with ITV again on The Guilty and have been buoyed by its enthusiasm for the scripts and the fantastic casting."

THE GUILTY is due to be transmitted in Autumn of this year.