Series synopsis
Marcella is a British crime drama television series that premiered on ITV1 on April 4, 2016. It ended on March 2, 2021. It was created by Hans Rosenfeldt. It stars Anna Friel, Nicholas Pinnock, Ray Panthaki and Sinéad Cusack.
Marcella is shocked to the core of her being when her husband Jason leaves her unexpectedly, confessing he no longer loves her. Heartbroken, Marcella returns to the Met’s Murder Squad. Ten years ago Marcella gave up her fast-tracked police career to marry and devote her life to her family. With the abrupt end to her marriage and isolated from her 13 year old daughter and 10 year old son, Marcella throws herself into work to stop herself from falling apart.
Premise
Marcella is shocked to the core of her being when her husband Jason leaves her unexpectedly, confessing he no longer loves her. Heartbroken, Marcella returns to the Met’s Murder Squad. Ten years ago Marcella gave up her fast-tracked police career to marry and devote her life to her family. With the abrupt end to her marriage and isolated from her 13 year old daughter and 10 year old son, Marcella throws herself into work to stop herself from falling apart.
Premise: Detective. Witness. Suspect.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Anna Friel as Marcella Backland
- Nicholas Pinnock as Jason Backland
- Ray Panthaki as DI Rav Sangha
- Sinéad Cusack as Sylvie Gibson
- Amanda Burton as Katherine Macguire
- Nina Sosanya as DCI Laura Porter
- Jamie Bamber as DI Tim Williamson
- Harry Lloyd as Henry Gibson
Supporting cast
- Ian Puleston-Davies as Peter Cullen
- Robert Whitelock as Guy Roberts
- Laura Carmichael as Maddy Stevenson
- Charlie Covell as DC Alex Dier
- Jack Doolan as DC Mark Travis
- David Mallet as Phil Maxwell
- Maeve Dermody as Grace Gibson
- Nick Hendrix as Adrien Cooper
- Patrick Baladi as Stephen Holmes
- Ben Cura as Matthew Neil
- Harriet Cains as Gail
- Tobias Santelmann as Yann Hall
Guest cast
- Toby Wharton as Ronnie Weir
- Florence Pugh as Cara Thomas
- Victoria Broom as Sascha
- Tariq Jordan as Mr. Yusef
- Derek Carroll as Jogger (uncredited)
Episodes
This series spans 4 seasons with 25 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 0 | 1 | February 9, 2018 | February 9, 2018 |
| Season 1 | 8 | April 4, 2016 | May 17, 2016 |
| Season 2 | 8 | February 19, 2018 | April 9, 2018 |
| Season 3 | 8 | January 26, 2021 | March 2, 2021 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Story So Far Get up to speed with Marcella, the unmissable drama written by Hans Rosenfeldt (The Bridge) and starring International Emmy Award winner Anna Friel, before the start of series 2 on Monday 19th February. |
February 9, 2018 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 Former detective Marcella Backland is shocked to the core when her husband Jason leaves her unexpectedly, confessing he no longer loves her. Heartbroken, she returns to her job on the Met's murder squad that she gave up 10 years before to have her second child, and decides to follow up on a hunch she had in a case involving a serial killer. |
April 4, 2016 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 The Gibson family are in a state of panic when Grace is discovered missing, and Marcella tries to make sense of the previous evening's events, scouring CCTV footage in an attempt to discover more about her disappearance. Cara returns home from her latest job, in which she has stolen a watch, some earrings and a bracelet, but is unaware of their significance and the danger she's put herself in, with all of the items recognisable as trophies taken by the Grove Park Killer. |
April 11, 2016 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Grace's body is discovered by the police and Marcella tries to keep her head and hide the fact that she was one of the last people to see her alive. Sylvie is distraught at the loss of her daughter and her dismay is further compounded when she learns that Grace and Jason were having an affair, while Henry tries to find comfort with his friends Matthew and Yann. Meanwhile, Peter is released from open prison and makes a beeline for Maddy, who lies to him about having a boyfriend. |
April 18, 2016 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 The discovery of a young boy's body sends Marcella and the team after a child killer. |
February 19, 2018 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 Dr Fairclough tells Marcella that it might be a good idea to go back to the root cause of her blackouts - Juliet's cot death. But when she tries to relive that moment at her home, the resulting stress levels put her into another fugue state. Meanhile, the team is called out when the driver of a car abandons his vehicle after a fatal collision with a cyclist and police attending the scene open the boot to discover a body surrounded by the same stuffed toys found with Leo. |
February 26, 2018 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Marcella digs deep in her attempts to take down Phil Dawkins, but her dogged pursuit has tragic consequences, causing her to question everything. Meanwhile, her ongoing blackouts mean she has to face up to the threat of losing her children. |
March 5, 2018 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 Eighteen months later, Marcella has a new life as a deep undercover operative in Belfast, spying on a powerful family that's running a shady business. |
January 26, 2021 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 Marcella is recognized on the street, and later finds an odd note on her windshield. When DCI Sangha arrives in Belfast, Bobby must cover his tracks. |
January 26, 2021 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Marcella receives an anonymous package. At Jessie's vigil, DCI Sangha spots an eerily familiar face. Finn finds out who sold Jessie the heroin. |
February 2, 2021 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | ITV1 |
|---|---|
| First aired | April 4, 2016 |
| Last aired | March 2, 2021 |
| Runtime | 45 minutes |
| Status | ended |
| Schedule | at 21:00:00 |