Series synopsis
Murphy's Law is a British crime mystery drama television series that premiered on BBC One on September 24, 2001. It ended on October 3, 2007. It was created by Colin Bateman. It stars James Nesbitt, Del Synnott, Liam Cunningham and Andrea Lowe.
Detective Sergeant Tommy Murphy is a maverick cop with a dark past. After failing a psychiatric assessment, he's given one last chance by his boss and given a dangerous undercover assignment. A loner with little to lose and dealing with everything on his own terms, this time around, however, Murphy has an ally in Detective Inspector Annie Guthrie.
Premise
Detective Sergeant Tommy Murphy is a maverick cop with a dark past. After failing a psychiatric assessment, he's given one last chance by his boss and given a dangerous undercover assignment. A loner with little to lose and dealing with everything on his own terms, this time around, however, Murphy has an ally in Detective Inspector Annie Guthrie.
Premise: A maverick Irish cop takes on the LONDON Crime World
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- James Nesbitt as DS Tommy Murphy
- Del Synnott as DC Alan Carter
- Liam Cunningham as Drew Johnstone
- Andrea Lowe as DC Kim Goodall
- Claudia Harrison as DI Annie Guthrie
- Francis Magee as DCS Warren
- Jessica Oyelowo as DC Jackie Cole
- Owen Teale as Paul Allison
Supporting cast
- Ian Redford as CS Ken Bowry
- Michael Feast as Rees
- Robbie Gee as DCS John Atwood
- Mark Womack as David Callard
- Brian McCardie as Billy Johnstone
- Tim Plester as DC Phil 'Wilco' Simpson
- Sarah Berger as Hilary Clarke
- Christopher Fulford as Mark Baker
- Packy Lee as Drew Johnstone Jnr.
- Nadim Sawalha as Mohammed Khan
- Sarah Ball as Carol Kershaw
- Priyanga Burford as Shahana Khan
Guest cast
- Mark Benton as Father McBride
- Georgia Mackenzie as Ellie Holloway
- Michael Fassbender as Caz Miller
- Ramon Tikaram as Richard Holloway
- Larry Lamb as George Garvey
- Shaun Dooley as Ollington
- Jay Kilbey as Frankie
- Maggie Lloyd Williams as Leedham
- Christopher Sandford as Police Technician
- Isobel Pravda as Misha
- Ivana Basic as Annushkha
- Rebekah Manning as Lorraine
Episodes
This series spans 5 seasons with 23 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 5 | September 24, 2001 | May 19, 2003 |
| Season 2 | 6 | May 10, 2004 | June 14, 2004 |
| Season 3 | 6 | May 25, 2005 | June 30, 2005 |
| Season 4 | 3 | August 27, 2006 | August 29, 2006 |
| Season 5 | 3 | October 1, 2007 | October 3, 2007 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Murphy's Law (Pilot) A team of undertakers moonlight as diamond thieves, and the bodies are stacking up. Detective Sergeant Tommy Murphy goes undercover and discovers a nefarious connection with Japanese heroin dealers. Meanwhile, team leader Hatcher plans the most audacious heist yet. Murphy has to hold his nerve in an epic final showdown. |
September 24, 2001 |
| 2 |
Electric Bill Richard Mooney, London's most infamous kidnapper, is brought in, and the race is on for Murphy and Guthrie to get a confession in time to save his latest victim, Kate Jennings. To crack Mooney’s silence, Murphy is set up as a suspected terrorist and goes undercover into Bellview to befriend him. But when this master plan is unexpectedly threatened by the prison's very own protection racket, time seems to be running out for Kate. |
April 28, 2003 |
| 3 |
Manic Munday When world-famous Irish snooker player Mickey Munday comes under pressure to rig the outcome of his game in the forthcoming championships, Murphy and Guthrie go undercover to protect his life and find the culprit when he arrives in London. The stakes are raised for Munday when his long-lost love and daughter reappear in his life. |
May 5, 2003 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Jack's Back When Guthrie is fatally stabbed in an alleyway, Murphy cancels his holiday to investigate. She was working undercover in the case of three murders of homeless women. Murphy in turn poses as a homeless man to find what the press is calling the return of Jack the Ripper. He takes up residence in a homeless shelter and befriends a teenaged refugee who may have witnessed one of the killings. He also has his eye on resident counsellor and religious advisor, Reverend William Norris. |
May 10, 2004 |
| 2 |
Bent Moon on the Rise Murphy is assigned to a drug squad headed by Nic Winters after one of Winters' team, Aaron Parmer, commits suicide. There is a concern that race may have played a part. Soon after joining, Murphy concludes that racism isn't the problem: he suspects Winters of skimming some of the seized drugs. It becomes apparent that the entire squad is on the take and when a second DC is killed, Murphy begins to wonder to what extent Parmer's death was genuinely suicide. |
May 17, 2004 |
| 3 |
Ringers Murphy finds himself going undercover with INTERPOL to smash a car smuggling ring run by Godfrey Raines with his son and daughter. Murphy manages to convince Raines that he too is a car thief specialising in high-end vehicles. He soon realizes that INTERPOL is after something else when they delay arresting Raines and start questioning about arms shipments. Into the picture comes former MI6–turned–criminal Mr Davidson. |
May 24, 2004 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Goodbye Look Murphy is out posing as a criminal armourer to make an arrest. During the set-up he recognises Caz Miller, a man known for his connections to criminal gang leader and known cop-killer Dave Callard. Miller tells Murphy that he wants to kill another gang member called Richard Holloway. Murphy stops the planned arrest because he thinks he can gain Callard's trust and infiltrate the entire criminal organisation to take everyone out. |
May 26, 2005 |
| 2 |
Disorganised Crime Callard recommends Murphy to the McGeechan brothers. They plan to reactivate some assault rifles, but won't tell Murphy why they need them. Murphy knows they plan something big, but first he has to make sure his cover isn't blown. |
June 2, 2005 |
| 3 |
Strongbox Murphy tries to get counterfeit Euros for Callard, and asks fellow undercover officer Jill Calder for help. She has infiltrated an organisation that is printing the fake money. Together they try to set up a deal for both their clients and plan to make the big arrest during the handover. |
June 9, 2005 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Exile Murphy is called back to work after a leave of absence to be at his mother's side. His new job is to attempt to get close to Drew and Billy Johnstone, vicious Belfast criminals now operating in Leicester. Murphy thinks he's found himself a way in when a drug deal goes awry. |
August 27, 2006 |
| 2 |
Hare Trigger Working deep under cover, Murphy manages to gain the trust of Billy Johnstone, while trying to uncover the associations between his brother Drew and a local Asian criminal network. |
August 28, 2006 |
| 3 |
Strike Out Murphy ends up being exposed and caught up in a vicious and final showdown between brothers Drew and Billy Johnstone. |
August 29, 2006 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Food Chain (Part One) Murphy is working as a cover officer for an old friend, Mitch, and his fellow undercover officer, Kim. However, there are tensions between the two undercover officers and when they go missing Murphy is determined to find them. |
October 1, 2007 |
| 2 |
Food Chain (Part Two) With Mitch dead and Kim still missing, it's time for a heavily guilty Murphy to go undercover in the hope of finding Kim before it's too late. What awaits him is a world of people trafficking, drug smuggling and unwilling prostitution. |
October 2, 2007 |
| 3 |
Food Chain (Part Three) Now that Baker knows Murphy is a cop, he must race against the clock to find Kim before her secret is revealed too. However, local Chief Superintendent Bowry cares less about Kim's life and more about his own reputation and funding, and Murphy is forced to take desperate measures in his hunt for his missing friend. |
October 3, 2007 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | BBC One |
|---|---|
| First aired | September 24, 2001 |
| Last aired | October 3, 2007 |
| Runtime | 60 minutes |
| Status | Ended |
| Schedule | Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday at 21:00:00 |