Strike (TV series)

2017 British crime drama series

Strike

Also known as| C. B. Strike
Genre|

* Crime drama
* Detective fiction

Based on| Cormoran Strike
by Robert Galbraith
Written by|

* Ben Richards
* Tom Edge

Directed by|

* Michael Keillor
* Kieron Hawkes
* Charles Sturridge
* Sue Tully

Starring|

* Tom Burke
* Holliday Grainger

Opening theme| "I Walk Beside You" by Beth Rowley
Composer| Adrian Johnston
Country of origin| United Kingdom
Original language| English
No. of series| 6
No. of episodes| 19
Production
Executive producers|

* Ben Richards
* Neil Blair
* Ruth Kenley-Letts
* J. K. Rowling
* Elizabeth Kilgarriff
* Tom Edge
* Tommy Bulfin

Producers|

* Jackie Larkin
* Alex Rendell

Running time| 57–59 minutes
Production companies| Brontë Film and Television
Original release
Network| BBC One
Release| 27 August 2017 (2017-08-27) –
present

Strike (also known as C. B. Strike internationally) is a British crime drama television programme based on the book series Cormoran Strike by J. K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.[1] The programme was first broadcast on BBC One on 27 August 2017, after receiving an advance premiere at the British Film Institute on 10 August 2017.[2]

The programme follows Cormoran Strike (Tom Burke), a war veteran turned private detective operating out of a tiny office in London's Denmark Street, who uses his unique insight and his background as a Special Investigation Branch investigator to solve complex cases that have eluded the police along with his assistant, subsequently business partner, Robin Ellacott (Holliday Grainger).[3]

Nineteen episodes across six series have been broadcast to date, each series adapting a novel: The Cuckoo's Calling (2013), The Silkworm (2014), Career of Evil (2015), Lethal White (2018), Troubled Blood (2020), and The Ink Black Heart (2022) respectively.[4][5][6]

The programme premiered on 1 June 2018 in the United States on Cinemax and in Canada on HBO Canada.[7] Following the fourth series, the programme was exhibited in the United States on HBO.[8][9]

## Cast and characters

[edit]

### Main cast

[edit]

* Tom Burke as Cormoran Blue Strike
* Holliday Grainger as Robin Venetia Ellacott

### Recurring cast

[edit]

* Kerr Logan as Matthew Cunliffe
* Ben Crompton as Shanker
* Natasha O'Keeffe as Charlotte Campbell
* Killian Scott as DI Eric Wardle
* Ann Akin as Vanessa Ekwensi
* Sargon Yelda as DI Richard Anstis
* Caitlin Innes Edwards as Ilsa Herbert
* Kierston Wareing as Leda Strike
* Jack Greenlees as Sam Barclay
* Sarah Sweeney as Lucy
* Ruth Sheen as Pat Chauncey
* Tupele Dorgu as Midge Greenstreet
* Stephen Hagan as DCI Richard Murphy

### Guest cast

[edit]

#### S1: The Cuckoo's Calling

[edit]

* Siân Phillips as Lady Yvette Bristow
* Martin Shaw as Tony Landry
* David Avery as Nico Kolovas-Jones
* Leo Bill as John Bristow
* Tara Fitzgerald as Tansy Bestigui
* Amber Anderson as Ciara Porter
* Kadiff Kirwan as Guy Somé
* Bronson Webb as Evan Duffield
* Elarica Johnson as Lula Landry
* Brian Bovell as Derrick Wilson

#### S2: The Silkworm

[edit]

* Dorothy Atkinson as Kathryn Kent
* Monica Dolan as Leonora Quine
* Dominic Mafham as Jerry Waldegrave
* Tim McInnerny as Daniel Chard
* Peter Sullivan as Andrew Fancourt
* Jeremy Swift as Owen Quine
* Lia Williams as Liz Tassel
* Sarah Gordy as Orlando Quine

#### S3: Career of Evil

[edit]

* Andrew Brooke as Niall Brockbank
* Emmanuella Cole as Alyssa
* Jessica Gunning as Holly Brockbank
* Matt King as Jeff Whittaker
* Neil Maskell as Donald Laing

#### S4: Lethal White

[edit]

* Nick Blood as Jimmy Knight
* Robert Glenister as Jasper Chiswell
* Joseph Quinn as Billy Knight
* Sophie Winkleman as Kinvara Chiswell
* Christina Cole as Izzy Chiswell
* Adam Long as Raff Chiswell
* Natalie Gumede as Lorelei Bevan
* Saffron Coomber as Flick Pardue
* Danny Ashok as Aamir Malik
* Robert Pugh as Geraint Winn

#### S5: Troubled Blood

[edit]

* Jonas Armstrong as Saul Morris
* Linda Bassett as Joan Nancarrow
* Fionnula Flanagan as Oonagh Kennedy
* Sutara Gayle as Kim Sullivan
* Abigail Lawrie as Margot Bamborough
* Ian Redford as Ted Nancarrow
* Andy de la Tour as Nico 'Mucky' Ricci
* Sophie Ward as Anna Phipps
* Kierston Wareing as Leda Strike
* Michael Byrne as Roy Phipps
* Anna Calder-Marshall as Janice Beattie
* Cherie Lunghi as Gloria Conti
* Carol MacReady as Irene Hickson
* Madhav Sharma as Dr Dinesh Gupta
* Samuel Oatley as DI George Layborn
* Kenneth Cranham as Dennis Creed
* Robin Askwith as Steve Douthwaite
* Christina Cole as Izzy Chiswell

#### S6: The Ink Black Heart

[edit]

* Jacob Abraham as Josh Blay
* Ewan Bailey as Nils De Jung
* Kevin Bishop as Wally Cardew
* Ellise Chappell as Kea Niven
* Jack Donoghue as Gus Upcott
* Emma Fielding as Katya Upcott
* Mirren Mack as Edie Ledwell
* Christian McKay as Inigo Upcott
* James Nelson-Joyce as Pez Pierce
* Luke Norris as Phillip Ormond
* David Westhead as Grant Ledwell[10]

## Production and development

[edit]

On 10 December 2014 it was announced that the Cormoran Strike novel series, written by J. K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, would be adapted for television by the BBC for broadcast on BBC One, beginning with The Cuckoo's Calling. Two years later it was confirmed that the series would total seven episodes of sixty minutes, with shooting to begin in London in the autumn of 2016.[3] Tom Burke was announced in the role of Cormoran Strike in September 2016,[11] and Holliday Grainger in the role of Robin Ellacott in November 2016.[12]

Ben Richards adapted The Cuckoo's Calling, and Tom Edge adapted The Silkworm, Career of Evil, Lethal White and Troubled Blood. Richards stated that the series is "very different tonally and visually from other crime dramas." He compared Strike to the British detective television series Morse. Similarly, Edge commented that "people use old-fashioned as a pejorative word, but to me that's part of why these books, and, I hope, the TV series, works so well."[13]

## Episodes

[edit]

Series| Episodes| Originally released| Average UK viewers
(millions)

|
|
|

First released| Last released
1| 3| 27 August 2017 (2017-08-27)| 3 September 2017 (2017-09-03)| 8.45
2| 2| 10 September 2017 (2017-09-10)| 17 September 2017 (2017-09-17)| 8.35
3| 2| 25 February 2018 (2018-02-25)| 4 March 2018 (2018-03-04)| 8.08
4| 4| 30 August 2020 (2020-08-30)| 13 September 2020 (2020-09-13)| 7.82
5| 4| 11 December 2022 (2022-12-11)| 19 December 2022 (2022-12-19)| 6.92
6| 4| 16 December 2024 (2024-12-16)| 24 December 2024 (2024-12-24)| TBA

### Series 1: The Cuckoo's Calling (2017)

[edit]

The Cuckoo's Calling was released on DVD on 27 November 2017.[14]

No.
overall| No. in
series| Title| Directed by| Written by| Original release date| UK viewers
(millions) [15]

|
|
|
|
|
|

1| 1| "The Cuckoo's Calling: Part 1"| Michael Keillor| Ben Richards| 27 August 2017 (2017-08-27)| 8.89
2| 2| "The Cuckoo's Calling: Part 2"| Michael Keillor| Ben Richards| 28 August 2017 (2017-08-28)| 8.28
3| 3| "The Cuckoo's Calling: Part 3"| Michael Keillor| Ben Richards| 3 September 2017 (2017-09-03)| 8.18

### Series 2: The Silkworm (2017)

[edit]

The Silkworm was released on DVD on 19 February 2018.[16]

No.
overall| No. in
series| Title| Directed by| Written by| Original release date| UK viewers
(millions) [15]

|
|
|
|
|
|

4| 1| "The Silkworm: Part 1"| Kieron Hawkes| Tom Edge| 10 September 2017 (2017-09-10)| 8.67
5| 2| "The Silkworm: Part 2"| Kieron Hawkes| Tom Edge| 17 September 2017 (2017-09-17)| 8.02

### Series 3: Career of Evil (2018)

[edit]

Career of Evil was released on DVD on 16 April 2018.[17]

No.
overall| No. in
series| Title| Directed by| Written by| Original release date| UK viewers
(millions) [15]

|
|
|
|
|
|

6| 1| "Career of Evil: Part 1"| Charles Sturridge| Tom Edge| 25 February 2018 (2018-02-25)| 8.43
7| 2| "Career of Evil: Part 2"| Charles Sturridge| Tom Edge| 4 March 2018 (2018-03-04)| 7.72

### Series 4: Lethal White (2020)

[edit]

Lethal White was released on DVD on 23 November 2020.[18]

No.
overall| No. in
series| Title| Directed by| Written by| Original release date| UK viewers
(millions) [19]

|
|
|
|
|
|

8| 1| "Lethal White: Part 1"| Sue Tully| Tom Edge| 30 August 2020 (2020-08-30)| 8.61
9| 2| "Lethal White: Part 2"| Sue Tully| Tom Edge| 31 August 2020 (2020-08-31)| 7.58
10| 3| "Lethal White: Part 3"| Sue Tully| Tom Edge| 6 September 2020 (2020-09-06)| 7.85
11| 4| "Lethal White: Part 4"| Sue Tully| Tom Edge| 13 September 2020 (2020-09-13)| 7.22

### Series 5: Troubled Blood (2022)

[edit]

No.
overall| No. in
series| Title| Directed by| Written by| Original release date| UK viewers
(millions) [19]

|
|
|
|
|
|

12| 1| "Troubled Blood: Part 1"| Sue Tully| Tom Edge| 11 December 2022 (2022-12-11)| 8.07
13| 2| "Troubled Blood: Part 2"| Sue Tully| Tom Edge| 12 December 2022 (2022-12-12)| 6.34
14| 3| "Troubled Blood: Part 3"| Sue Tully| Tom Edge| 18 December 2022 (2022-12-18)| 6.86
15| 4| "Troubled Blood: Part 4"| Sue Tully| Tom Edge| 19 December 2022 (2022-12-19)| 6.41

### Series 6: The Ink Black Heart (2024)

[edit]

No.
overall| No. in
series| Title| Directed by| Written by| Original release date| UK viewers
(millions) [19]

|
|
|
|
|
|

16| 1| "The Ink Black Heart: Part 1"| Sue Tully| Tom Edge| 16 December 2024 (2024-12-16)| 6.08
17| 2| "The Ink Black Heart: Part 2"| Sue Tully| Tom Edge| 17 December 2024 (2024-12-17)| 5.44
18| 3| "The Ink Black Heart: Part 3"| Sue Tully| Tom Edge| 23 December 2024 (2024-12-23)| 4.92
19| 4| "The Ink Black Heart: Part 4"| Sue Tully| Tom Edge| 24 December 2024 (2024-12-24)| 4.54

## Reception

[edit]

The Cuckoo's Calling received generally positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave it an approval rating of 85%, based on 20 reviews, and an average score of 6.8/10. The website's critics’ consensus reads "The TV adaptation of C. B. Strike delivers an entertaining detective series that faithfully and effectively adheres to genre tropes."[20] Morgan Jeffery of Digital Spy, who reviewed the first episode, praised both Burke’s and Grainger's performances, calling Burke's performance "a revelation".[21]

Similarly, the adaptation of The Silkworm was met with positive reviews, with critics again praising Burke’s and Grainger's performances.[22][23] However the first episode was criticised for showing a suicide scene on World Suicide Prevention Day, making some viewers claim that this scene was insensitive.[24]

Career of Evil holds an 88% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 8 reviews, and an average score of 7/10.[25]

Lethal White holds a 73% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 11 reviews, and an average score of 5.6/10.[26]

Troubled Blood holds a 93% approval rating from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 26 reviews.[27]

The Ink Black Heart holds a 51% approval rating from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 20 reviews.[28]

After the Ink Black Heart began airing on HBO on 23 January 2025 the show was one of the top ten streamed series on the streaming service Max following the broadcast of the second episode.[29][30][31][32]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Sommers, Kat (November 2016). "First Look: Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger in 'Cormoran Strike'". BBC America. Archived from the original on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
2. ^ "Buy cinema tickets for TV Preview: Strike: The Cuckoo's Calling + discussion | BFI Southbank". whatson.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
3. ^ a b Furness, Hannah (7 September 2016). "Confirmed: Tom Burke to play Cormoran Strike in BBC's JK Rowling dramas". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
4. ^ Griffiths, Emmy (29 November 2022). "BBC's hit crime show Strike confirms season 5 airdate - and it's sooner than you might think". Hello!. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
5. ^ "Troubled Blood coming to BBC One this December". Robert Galbraith. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
6. ^ "Strike The Ink Black Heart cast and creatives on Robin and Strike's relationship, online anonymity, and bringing books to life on screen". BBC. 13 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
7. ^ Anop, Nirat (9 October 2017). "Cinemax 2018 Programming Lineup". SpoilerTV.com. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
8. ^ "CB Strike (HBO)". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
9. ^ Roush, Matt (20 January 2021). "Worth Watching: Strike Is Back in 'Lethal White,' Inauguration Day & 'Celebrating America,' CW's Wednesday Returns". TV Insider. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
10. ^ "Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger return in BBC's Strike - The Ink Black Heart". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
11. ^ "Tom Burke to play JK Rowling's Cormoran Strike on BBC One". BBC News. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
12. ^ "Holliday Grainger joins Tom Burke for major BBC One drama". BBC Media Centre. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
13. ^ Hughes, Sarah (13 August 2017). "Witty, not gritty: JK Rowling's gentle TV detective is a return to the era of Morse". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
14. ^ "Strike: The Cuckoos Calling". 27 November 2017. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2018 - via Amazon.
15. ^ a b c "Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Archived from the original on 15 December 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2017. (User must select "BBC1" in the Channel field and then select the appropriate year, month and week to retrieve the figure for each episode)
16. ^ "Strike: The Silkworm". 19 February 2018. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2018 - via Amazon.
17. ^ "Strike: Career Of Evil". 16 April 2018. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2018 - via Amazon.
18. ^ "Strike: Lethal White". Amazon UK.
19. ^ a b c Weekly top programmes on four screens (from Sept 2018) Archived 2 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine at barb.co.uk
20. ^ "C.B. Strike: The Cuckoo's Calling". Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2019 - via Rotten Tomatoes.
21. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (27 August 2017). "Strike - 'The Cuckoo's Calling' episode 1 review: This could be the next great detective drama". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
22. ^ Power, Ed (11 September 2017). "Strike – The Silkworm, part one, review – an entertaining and disturbing peek into the darker side of JK Rowling's imagination". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
23. ^ Wollaston, Sam (11 September 2017). "Strike: The Silkworm review – necrophilia, cannibalism and literary London". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
24. ^ Fleming, Molly (11 September 2017). "Strike the Silkworm shows intense suicide scene on World Suicide Prevention Day". Metro. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
25. ^ "C.B. Strike: Career of Evil". Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2019 - via Rotten Tomatoes.
26. ^ "C.B. Strike: Lethal White". Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020 - via Rotten Tomatoes.
27. ^ "C.B. Strike: Troubled Blood". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
28. ^ "C.B. Strike: The Ink Black Heart". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
29. ^ "Breaking News - HBO Original Limited Series "C.B. Strike: The Ink Black Heart" Debuts January 23 | TheFutonCritic.com". www.thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
30. ^ "The TV Ratings Guide: What's Trending on Streaming: Daily Trending Lists for Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+ and Max from January 26-February 1". The TV Ratings Guide. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
31. ^ "The TV Ratings Guide: What's Trending on Streaming: Daily Trending Lists for Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+ and Max from February 2-February 8". The TV Ratings Guide. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
32. ^ "The TV Ratings Guide: What's Trending on Streaming: Daily Trending Lists for Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+ and Max from February 9-February 15". The TV Ratings Guide. Retrieved 15 February 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Strike at BBC Online
* Strike at epguides.com
* Strike at IMDb

Wikiquote has quotations related to C.B. Strike.

* v
* t
* e

Works by J. K. Rowling

Wizarding World
books|

| Harry Potter|

* The Philosopher's Stone (1997)
* The Chamber of Secrets (1998)
* The Prisoner of Azkaban (1999)
* The Goblet of Fire (2000)
* The Order of the Phoenix (2003)
* The Half-Blood Prince (2005)
* The Deathly Hallows (2007)

|

Other|

* Quidditch Through the Ages (2001)
* Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2001)
* Harry Potter prequel (2008)
* The Tales of Beedle the Bard (2008)
* Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide (2016)
* Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists (2016)
* Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies (2016)

Cormoran Strike
books|

* The Cuckoo's Calling (2013)
* The Silkworm (2014)
* Career of Evil (2015)
* Lethal White (2018)
* Troubled Blood (2020)
* The Ink Black Heart (2022)
* The Running Grave (2023)

Films and
TV series|

| Films produced|

* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010)
* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)

|

Films produced
and written|

* Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
* Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)
* Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)

TV series adaptations|

* The Casual Vacancy (2015)
* Strike (2017–present)

Other works|

* The Casual Vacancy (2012)
* Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016)
* The Ickabog (2020)
* The Christmas Pig (2021)

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