“The Deceived” and “The Drowning”
British series offensive in a double pack
At the center of “The Drowning” (left) and “The Deceived” are two women who are investigating a secret.
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“The Deceived” and “The Drowning”: Thanks to two miniseries from Great Britain, October will be crime and thriller month.
Those who like concentrated thriller tension with crime elements should mark the next two Sundays in October in their series planner. Because with “The Drowning” (October 17th) and “The Deceived” (October 24th) two British miniseries start on the pay-TV channel 13th Street, which are perfect for a dim autumn day. Read here what the two four-part series are all about, which will be broadcast in one piece from 8:13 pm.
“The Drowning”
It all starts with a dramatic missing person case on October 17th. During a boisterous picnic by the lake, the four-year-old son of Jodie Walsh (Jill Halfpenny) disappears from one moment to the next. The sad certainty quickly seems to be: the child must have drowned. But a body is never found.
Nine years have passed. The desperate mother is still puzzling over the fate of her son. Until she runs into a teenager named Daniel (Cody Molko). The youngster seems to be the likeness of her missing boy, the age would be right too. Contrary to the advice of the police and her family, Jody goes on her own to search for clues. Is the man who claims to be Daniel’s father really his kidnapper?
Goosebumps at the push of a button
Even the subject of “The Drowning” makes you stand up your neck hairs even without your own children. It is the powerlessness and the uncertainty, impressively played by the British theater, film and TV actress Jill Halfpenny, that captivate you to the screen. And the burning question of whether the desperate mother is just clinging to a pipe dream or whether she has found her son, who was believed to be dead.
“The Drowning” is comparable to the British series “The Missing”. It also deals with the case of a missing child per season – as in the US series “The Family”. Both productions cannot keep up with the narrative density of the miniseries “The Drowning”. In the four times 60 minutes you never get bored, but rather the joy of being able to get through the exciting fall in one go.
“The Deceived”
Exactly one week later, this also applies to the second miniseries “The Deceived”. In it, the Cambridge student Ophelia (Emily Reid) has an affair with the married professor Michael (Emmett J. Scanlan, “Peaky Blinders”). But suddenly the charismatic university employee disappears.
During her research, Ophelia finally tracks him down in his Northern Irish homeland – but nothing is as before. Michael’s wife was killed in a tragic fire on the very day he confessed his affair to her. The happenings on the family estate make Ophelia increasingly doubt not only Michael’s story, but also her own sanity.
Who against who?
The title says it all in “The Deceived”. Who is betraying whom here – who is deceiving whom here? The viewer is confronted with these questions like the main character Ophelia. In the gloomy mansion, in which large parts of the plot take place, something like “Shutter Island” vibes emerges. A psychological thriller with numerous twists and turns, which the mini-series format benefits a lot and which knows how to entertain until the finale.
Both series are showing 13th Street as a German TV premiere. All episodes are also available on demand after they have aired.