General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20267 min read

The Chemistry of Death

The Chemistry of Death is a six-part British-German crime thriller television series, first broadcast on Paramount+ in January 2023, adapted from the first two novels in Simon Beckett's David Hunter series, The Chemistry of Death (2006) and Written in Bone.¹ It stars Harry Treadaway as Dr David Hunter, a forensic anthropologist who has abandoned his police-consultant work after a personal tragedy and rebuilt his life as a village doctor in Norfolk, until a mutilated body in the woods draws him back into murder investigation.¹

Key fact	Detail
Format	6-episode crime drama, 60 minutes per episode, Paramount+ (2023)²^•³
Premiere	United States 12 January 2023; United Kingdom 19 January 2023, weekly⁴^•¹
Source material	Simon Beckett's first two David Hunter novels, The Chemistry of Death (2006) and Written in Bone⁵
Lead cast	Harry Treadaway as Dr David Hunter; Lucian Msamati as Dr Henry Maitland¹
Production	Cuba Pictures and Nadcon, in association with Paramount; director Richard Clark; writer Sukey Venables Fisher¹
Filming	15-week shoot, May to August 2022, in Glasgow and Norfolk⁶
Reception	IMDb 6.5/10 (about 3,900 votes); JustWatch user score 72%; Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 60% from a single review²^•⁷
Status	Ended after one season; no renewal reported as of late October 2024⁸

Spoilers

Premise and structure

The season adapts both of the first two novels. In the Norfolk storyline, Hunter, once a renowned police consultant, works as a GP in the village of Manham alongside Dr Henry Maitland, who employed him after an accident left Maitland in a wheelchair.¹^•⁴ When the mutilated body of a young woman is found in the woods and a second woman disappears, the local police ask the reluctant Hunter for help, and suspicion tears the small community apart.⁴^•¹³ The story then moves to the Hebridean island of Runa in Scotland, following Written in Bone, where Hunter becomes involved in a case that puts his own life in danger.¹

Beckett said that adapting both books in one season was not the original plan; he read drafts of the Norfolk portion, and it was the producers' idea to bring Written in Bone in as well.¹⁴ Some viewers criticized the compression: one audience review on Rotten Tomatoes argued that only three of the six episodes cover the first book before the season shifts to the second.⁷

Cast and characters

Harry Treadaway as Dr David Hunter, a forensic anthropologist hiding from his past as a police consultant¹
Lucian Msamati as Dr Henry Maitland, the village GP who hired Hunter¹
Katie Leung as Maggie Cassidy, an investigative journalist⁴
Jeanne Goursaud as Jenny Krause, a teacher at the local school⁴
Nick Blood and Amy Nuttall as Michael and Grace Strachan, wealthy newcomers trying to buy their way into village life⁴
David Hayman as Andrew Brody, and Hardy Krüger Jr. as Gunther³
Samuel Anderson as DCI Mackenzie, Jefferson Hall as Ben Anders, and Neve McIntosh as DS Josie Fraser³

Episodes

The six episodes aired weekly on Paramount+ from 12 January (US) and 19 January (UK) 2023.³^•⁴

"Fallen Angel" (12 January 2023)
"Only 48 Hours" (19 January 2023)
"Where the Wind Blows" (26 January 2023)
"Written in Bone" (2 February 2023)
"Island on Fire" (9 February 2023)
"The Clouds Part" (16 February 2023)³

The novels behind the series

Simon Beckett, a British former freelance journalist, published The Chemistry of Death in 2006 as the first of a series of crime thrillers featuring the forensic anthropologist Dr David Hunter.⁴^•⁹ Beckett wrote the first book on spec, without a publisher attached, and has said he was more concerned with finding a publisher than planning sequels.⁹ The second novel, Written in Bone, set on a Hebridean island, established the format he kept for the series: each book moves Hunter to a new location with a new cast of characters, testing his forensic skills in a different setting.⁹

The series has been commercially successful, though sources give different totals: the production company Cuba Pictures cites over ten million books sold and translations into more than 29 languages,¹ while the German broadcaster ARD Degeto puts the series at more than 20 million books sold worldwide.¹⁰ By the time of the adaptation Beckett had written six Hunter novels: The Chemistry of Death, Written in Bone, Whispers of the Dead, The Calling of the Grave, The Restless Dead, and The Scent of Death.¹¹

Beckett has said he deliberately never described Hunter's appearance in the books, leaving readers to form their own image, and judged Treadaway's performance by the character's qualities rather than looks: "I felt he brought Hunter to life."¹²

Production

Filming began in May 2022 on a 15-week shoot based largely in Glasgow and Norfolk, delivered as six 60-minute episodes and commissioned out of Germany as part of a new Paramount+ slate that also included a Sexy Beast prequel and an adaptation of A Gentleman in Moscow.⁶ Cuba Pictures describes the shoot as running from May until August in Scotland and Norfolk.¹ Treadaway said the Highland locations, including scenes filmed up the side of a mountain near Lower Diabeg, required a large effort from the crew in boggy conditions, but that the scenery could not be faked.⁴

Richard Clark, whose credits include Outlander and War of the Worlds, directed, with Matt Carver producing and Sukey Venables Fisher writing the script.¹ A casting credit on Richard Clark's CV lists a "Chemistry of Death: The Restless Dead" project alongside the 2023 series, suggesting further books were considered.¹⁵

Reception

Critical response was generally favorable. The Metro gave the series four stars and called it "packed with cliff-hangers"; the Saturday Times named it a Critics' Choice as "absorbing and atmospheric"; and the Radio Times made it Pick of the Week.¹ Carol Midgley in The Times praised the "macabre eeriness" of the village and its "Twin Peaks-lite vibe in rural England," while Anita Singh in The Telegraph credited the film-makers with "eschewing a chocolate box, Midsomer Murders-style village for something that feels more commonplace."¹⁶ A German review at the series' Paramount+ premiere was more negative, judging the adaptation a disappointment.¹⁷

Aggregated scores sit in the middle range: IMDb 6.5 out of 10 from about 3,900 votes, a 72 percent JustWatch user score, and a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer of 60 percent based on a single published review.²^•⁷

Availability and future

The series ran on Paramount+ in 2023 and is listed as ended.¹³ As of late October 2024 no renewal had been announced, although the underlying book series offers ample source material for more episodes; BritishTV.com also noted that the show did not appear to be available in the United States.⁸ In Germany, where the series is known as Die Chemie des Todes, ARD gave it a free-to-air premiere over three evenings at Easter 2024.¹⁸ As of late 2026, JustWatch lists the series as purchasable on Amazon Video in the United Kingdom, with no free streaming options.² Beckett said in a January 2023 interview that he would "definitely" like to see further seasons with Treadaway as Hunter.¹⁹

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026