{ "id": "epjeb9v9tw", "slug": "victim-2019-tv-series", "title": "Victim (2019 TV series)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv", "label": "Scripted television and comedy series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv" }, { "id": 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"geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020: Drama and prestige series (individual series)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv", "label": "Scripted television and comedy series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series", "label": "Drama and prestige series (individual series)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series" } ] } ], "excerpt": "The Victim is a 2019 four-part BBC One legal thriller by Rob Williams, produced by STV Productions, starring Kelly Macdonald as Anna Dean and James Harkness as Craig Myers, broadcast 8–11 April 2019, BAFTA-nominated.", "snippet": "The Victim is a 2019 four-part BBC One legal thriller by Rob Williams, produced by STV Productions, starring Kelly Macdonald as Anna Dean and James Harkness as Craig Myers, broadcast 8–11 April 2019, BAFTA-nominated.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series.crime-and-thriller-series.psychological-and-domestic-thrillers", "markdown": "# Victim (2019 TV series)\n\n**The Victim** is a four-part British television legal thriller written and created by Rob Williams, directed by Niall MacCormick, and produced by STV Productions for BBC One, first broadcast on four consecutive nights in April 2019.[1](https://www.screen.scot/film-in-scotland/made-in-scotland/tv/the-victim) It stars [Kelly Macdonald](https://www.edgepedia.org/kelly-macdonald) as Anna Dean, a grieving mother accused of unmasking her son's killer online, and James Harkness as Craig Myers, the man attacked after being identified as that killer.[2](https://blackhillpictures.co.uk/productions/the-victim/) Set within Scotland's legal system, the series asks who is really \"the victim\" when a convicted child killer lives under a new identity and an innocent man may be mistaken for him.[2](https://blackhillpictures.co.uk/productions/the-victim/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Format | Limited series, 4 episodes of about 60 minutes, BBC One, 8–11 April 2019 at 9pm[1](https://www.screen.scot/film-in-scotland/made-in-scotland/tv/the-victim) • [3](https://www.epguides.com/Victim/) |\n| Production | STV Productions for BBC One; writer Rob Williams; director Niall MacCormick; producer Jenny Frayn[1](https://www.screen.scot/film-in-scotland/made-in-scotland/tv/the-victim) |\n| Principal cast | Kelly Macdonald (Anna Dean), James Harkness (Craig Myers), John Hannah (DI Steven Grover), Karla Crome (Rebecca Myers), Jamie Sives (Lenny Dean)[3](https://www.epguides.com/Victim/) |\n| Setting | Edinburgh and Port Glasgow, within Scotland's unique legal system[1](https://www.screen.scot/film-in-scotland/made-in-scotland/tv/the-victim) |\n| Awards | BAFTA Scotland 2019 Best Actress, Television (Kelly Macdonald); BAFTA TV Award 2020 nomination, Mini-Series[2](https://blackhillpictures.co.uk/productions/the-victim/) |\n| Reception | 92% Tomatometer and 97% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes; 7.6/10 on IMDb[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_victim) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8178650) |\n| Funding | £250,000 Screen Scotland Production Growth Fund[1](https://www.screen.scot/film-in-scotland/made-in-scotland/tv/the-victim) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise\n\nAnna Dean's nine-year-old son Liam was tortured and murdered 15 years before the story begins, by a child who served his time in a young offenders institution and was released under a new identity.[6](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-04-11/the-victim-cast-john-hannah-kelly-macdonald-bbc1/) On the night of [Halloween](https://www.edgepedia.org/halloween), Craig Myers, a bus driver and father, is brutally attacked and left for dead after an online post identifies him as the notorious child killer previously known as Eddie J. Turner.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_victim) • [7](https://www.deadgoodbooks.co.uk/seasons/the-victim-review/) An investigation into the attack and the post casts suspicion on Anna, who is accused of revealing the killer's new identity online and conspiring to have him murdered.[2](https://blackhillpictures.co.uk/productions/the-victim/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_victim)\n\nThe central question is whether Myers is the convicted killer living under a changed name or a tragic victim of mistaken identity.[2](https://blackhillpictures.co.uk/productions/the-victim/) The story opens on day one of a criminal trial at the High Court in Edinburgh and follows the legal proceedings while also covering the events leading up to the trial, told through the eyes of both the plaintiff and the accused.[1](https://www.screen.scot/film-in-scotland/made-in-scotland/tv/the-victim) As the trial progresses, new potential suspects are revealed and long-buried secrets are unearthed, building to what the production company describes as a final, devastating climax.[2](https://blackhillpictures.co.uk/productions/the-victim/)\n\n### Cast and characters\n\nKelly Macdonald, known for *Trainspotting* and *Boardwalk Empire*, plays Anna Dean, a nurse still haunted by her son's violent death.[6](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-04-11/the-victim-cast-john-hannah-kelly-macdonald-bbc1/) James Harkness (*Rogue One*, *Darkest Hour*, *In Plain Sight*) plays Craig Myers, a loyal family man with a six-year-old daughter whose life is upended by the assault and the online accusation.[6](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-04-11/the-victim-cast-john-hannah-kelly-macdonald-bbc1/) John Hannah plays DI Steven Grover, the detective investigating the attack, with [Karla Crome](https://www.edgepedia.org/karla-crome) as Rebecca Myers, Jamie Sives as Lenny Dean, and John Scougall as Tom Carpenter.[3](https://www.epguides.com/Victim/) The wider cast includes [Ramon Tikaram](https://www.edgepedia.org/ramon-tikaram) as Solomon Mishra, Chloe Pirrie as Ella Mackie, Isis Hainsworth as Louise Graham, and [Georgie Glen](https://www.edgepedia.org/georgie-glen) as the judge.[8](https://www.tvinsider.com/show/the-victim/)\n\n## Production\n\nThe series was written by Rob Williams, whose credits include *The Man in the High Castle* and *Killing Eve*, and directed by Niall MacCormick (*The Long Walk to Finchley*, *Complicit*).[9](https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/film-and-tv/the-victim-where-can-i-watch-it-and-will-there-be-another-series-1420237) • [10](https://www.formulatv.com/series/the-victim/) Jenny Frayn produced, with Sarah Brown, Gaynor Holmes, Elizabeth Kilgarriff, and Rob Williams as executive producers.[1](https://www.screen.scot/film-in-scotland/made-in-scotland/tv/the-victim) It was filmed in Edinburgh and Port Glasgow and received £250,000 from Screen Scotland's Production Growth Fund.[1](https://www.screen.scot/film-in-scotland/made-in-scotland/tv/the-victim)\n\nAccording to Williams and Sarah Brown, the show was originally conceived as a returning series set at the High Court in Edinburgh, exploring the impact of fictional crimes in Scotland; work on a follow-up story was already under way when the first series aired.[9](https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/film-and-tv/the-victim-where-can-i-watch-it-and-will-there-be-another-series-1420237) No second series followed, and the show is listed as canceled or ended after its single season.[3](https://www.epguides.com/Victim/)\n\n## Reception and awards\n\nThe series earned a 92% average Tomatometer score from 12 critics and a 97% Popcornmeter score on Rotten Tomatoes.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_victim) Reviewers noted its resemblance to the [James Bulger murder case](https://www.edgepedia.org/murder-of-james-bulger), in which a child killer's identity and later life became the subject of intense public anger, and praised its examination of vigilantism, revenge, and the ethics of naming offenders.[7](https://www.deadgoodbooks.co.uk/seasons/the-victim-review/) A French review in *Le Monde* described it as a clever psycho-legal drama that weaves together the anguish of a family that lost a child with the devastating effects of a criminal trial on the families involved.[11](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2019/10/08/mytho-the-victim-ou-peaky-blinders-des-series-pour-la-semaine_6014600_3246.html)\n\nKelly Macdonald won the 2019 BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actress, Television, and the series was nominated in the Mini-Series category at the 2020 BAFTA TV Awards.[2](https://blackhillpictures.co.uk/productions/the-victim/)\n\n## Distribution\n\nAfter its [BBC One](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-one) broadcast, the series has been available on streaming services including BritBox, ITVX, Netflix, Apple TV, and Prime Video.[2](https://blackhillpictures.co.uk/productions/the-victim/) • [8](https://www.tvinsider.com/show/the-victim/) It was broadcast in France on [France 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/france-2) from October 2019 under the title *La victime*.[12](https://www.a-suivre.org/annuseries/encyclopedie/series.php?series=8511) The final episode closes with a quotation attributed to the Persian poet Rumi, in the reinterpretation by the American poet Coleman Barks: \"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there.\"[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8178650)\n\n## References\n\n1. [The Victim, Screen Scotland](https://www.screen.scot/film-in-scotland/made-in-scotland/tv/the-victim)\n2. [The Victim, Blackhill Pictures (STV Studios)](https://blackhillpictures.co.uk/productions/the-victim/)\n3. [The Victim, a Titles & Air Dates Guide, epguides.com](https://www.epguides.com/Victim/)\n4. [The Victim, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_victim)\n5. [The Victim (TV Mini Series 2019), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8178650)\n6. [Meet the cast of BBC1's The Victim, RadioTimes.com](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-04-11/the-victim-cast-john-hannah-kelly-macdonald-bbc1/)\n7. [The Victim review, Dead Good](https://www.deadgoodbooks.co.uk/seasons/the-victim-review/)\n8. [The Victim, TV Insider / BritBox](https://www.tvinsider.com/show/the-victim/)\n9. [The Victim: where can I watch it and will there be another series?, The Scotsman](https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/film-and-tv/the-victim-where-can-i-watch-it-and-will-there-be-another-series-1420237)\n10. [La víctima. Serie TV, FormulaTV](https://www.formulatv.com/series/the-victim/)\n11. [« Mytho », « The Victim » ou « Peaky Blinders » : des séries pour la semaine, Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2019/10/08/mytho-the-victim-ou-peaky-blinders-des-series-pour-la-semaine_6014600_3246.html)\n12. [Victim (The), Fiche série, a-suivre.org](https://www.a-suivre.org/annuseries/encyclopedie/series.php?series=8511)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Drama and prestige series (individual series) › Crime and thriller series › Psychological and domestic thrillers*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/victim-2019-tv-series", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/victim-2019-tv-series.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Victim (2019 TV series)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/victim-2019-tv-series. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Victim (2019 TV series)](https://www.edgepedia.org/victim-2019-tv-series)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/victim-2019-tv-series](https://www.edgepedia.org/victim-2019-tv-series). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Victim (2019 TV series)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/victim-2019-tv-series. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "The Victim is a 2019 four-part BBC One legal thriller by Rob Williams, produced by STV Productions, starring Kelly Macdonald as Anna Dean and James Harkness as Craig Myers, broadcast 8–11 April 2019, BAFTA-nominated." }