{"id":622474,"date":"2026-10-06T17:18:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T17:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/622474\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T17:18:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T17:18:12","slug":"michelle-keegans-superb-and-twisty-crime-thriller-breaks-impressive-record-for-itv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/622474\/","title":{"rendered":"Michelle Keegan&#8217;s &#8220;superb&#8221; and &#8220;twisty&#8221; crime thriller breaks impressive record for ITV"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"3\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">Michelle Keegan\u2019s &#8220;superb&#8221; and &#8220;twisty&#8221; crime thriller The Blame has broken streaming records for ITV. The police drama follows Keegan as DI Emma Crane as she investigates the disappearance of a 16-year-old girl. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"9\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">According to an ITV press release, The Blame is tracking as the UK\u2019s biggest new drama across any channel or streaming platform in 2026, based on 14 days of viewing. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"13\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">Since its release on the platform on 20 September, the six-part series has been the top title of the month on ITVX, with an average of 6.6 million viewers for the launch episode. Viewership continues to rise.<\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"michelle keegan, the blame\" title=\"Michelle Keegan, The Blame\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"3000\" height=\"2000\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/a4991aad-66d0-4984-9d49-581213244360.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1ddfba50\"\/><\/p>\n<p>ITV<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"18\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tech\/best-tech-deals\/g35899960\/best-streaming-services\/\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tech\/best-tech-deals\/g35899960\/best-streaming-services\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Best streaming services\" data-node-id=\"18.2\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Best streaming services<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"22\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">Joining Keegan in the cast is Douglas Booth, who plays her colleague, DI Tom Radley. The show follows the pair as they investigate the mystery and tragic death, which forces Crane to take a closer look at her own team. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"26\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">Based on the novel by Charlotte Langley, the drama was written for television by Megan Gallagher and features several recognisable British actors. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"31\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">Among them are Ian Hart, Matilda Freeman, Nathan Mensah, Nigel Boyle, Joe Armstrong, Gavin Spokes, Josh Bolt and Ceallach Spellman. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"35\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">The logline reads: &#8220;How do you catch a killer when the killer is one of your own? Twisty thriller starring Michelle Keegan and Douglas Booth. A teenager&#8217;s murder draws detectives down a dark path.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"39\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">The series was popular with audiences, who took to IMDb to share their thoughts, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt36857537\/review\/rw11900931\/?ref_=tturv_22\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt36857537\/review\/rw11900931\/?ref_=tturv_22\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"one fan\" data-node-id=\"39.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\">one fan<\/a> writing: &#8220;Twist after twist and Michelle Keegan Superb! Loved this up there with one of the best series I&#8217;ve seen in [a] long time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"michelle keegan, the blame\" title=\"Michelle Keegan, The Blame\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2200\" height=\"1467\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/77d26221-2158-4c66-9cce-222896e7ead7.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1ddfba50\"\/><\/p>\n<p>ITV<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"44\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a73628487\/michelle-keegan-exits-itv-drama-jodie-whittaker\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a73628487\/michelle-keegan-exits-itv-drama-jodie-whittaker\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"ITV responds to reports that Michelle Keegan has exited drama with Doctor Who star replacing her\" data-node-id=\"44.2\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ITV responds to reports that Michelle Keegan has exited drama with Doctor Who star replacing her<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"48\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">They continued: &#8220;Great story, great twists, it had absolutely everything. Michelle and her co star were brilliant. Had me on the edge of my seat from episode 1 to the final episode. Please guys get this watched, this is fantastic and will certainly not disappoint.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"52\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt36857537\/review\/rw11890938\/?ref_=tturv_4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt36857537\/review\/rw11890938\/?ref_=tturv_4\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Another said\" data-node-id=\"52.0\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\">Another said<\/a>: &#8220;The Blame blends a twisty investigation with secret WhatsApp groups, systemic failure, and made-up narrative that barely plays out convincingly, including scenes &#8216;based on a true events&#8217;. While not subtle, kinda effective enough to keep you guessing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"56\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">The Blame is streaming on ITVX.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"61\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">Visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a70049607\/streaming-guide\/\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a70049607\/streaming-guide\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Streaming Guide\" data-node-id=\"61.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Streaming Guide<\/a> now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"65\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">The new edition of Legends, a 100-page celebration of Dolly Parton&#8217;s life, is here. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hearstmagazines.co.uk\/special-editions-subscriptions\/living-legend-specials\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.hearstmagazines.co.uk\/special-editions-subscriptions\/living-legend-specials\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Buy Dolly in newsagents or online\" data-node-id=\"65.3\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Buy Dolly in newsagents or online<\/a>.<br data-node-id=\"65.5.0\"\/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-dynamic-svg=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/hearst\/static\/images\/logos\/lettermark.be20fe9.svg?primary=%2523000\" loading=\"lazy\" data-testid=\"dynamic-svg-base\" height=\"100\" width=\"100\" alt=\"Lettermark\" class=\"css-7mevzh ev8dhu50\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Reporter, Digital Spy<\/p>\n<p>Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TV<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/movies\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">movies<\/a> at Digital Spy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michelle Keegan\u2019s &#8220;superb&#8221; and &#8220;twisty&#8221; crime thriller The Blame has broken streaming records for ITV. The police drama&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":622475,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[147144,2115,306247,2117,156,207184,2116,111,139,69,306246,251090,437],"class_list":["post-622474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-collection-latest-news","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-cb0865fd-c3af-4e02-98e2-278ecb42c693","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-shorttitle-michelle-keegans-superb-crime-thriller-breaks-itv-record","tag-sponsored-false","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=622474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/622475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=622474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=622474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=622474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}