This drama set in Wales has been dropping weekly but all six parts are now available to download for the weekend
16:22, 27 Feb 2026Updated 16:23, 27 Feb 2026
Kelly Reilly plays the role of troubled Jackie Ellis to perfection(Image: SKY)
A new drama has now reached it’s finale on screen after six weeks – making it the perfect show to binge watch this weekend if you love TV thrillers. Under Salt Marsh has received rave reviews since it launched in January. But perhaps because it airs on Sky Atlantic and not BBC or ITV it has not got the levels of praise and attention it deserves.
A cross between a Scandi crime drama and whodunnits like Broadchurch and Keeping Faith, Under Salt Marsh is set in the fictional Welsh town of Morfa Halen, with a tight-knit community precariously nestled between towering mountains and a fast-encroaching sea that threatens its very existence.
As a once-in-a-generation storm begins to gather far out at sea, former detective turned teacher Jackie Ellis discovers the body of her nine-year-old pupil, Cefin, seemingly drowned. And it is this grim discovery which sends shockwaves through the town, and sparks a series of events which threatens to unravel the whole community. It also reopens the ghost of an unsolved cold case that rocked the town three years prior – the disappearance of Jackie’s niece, Nessa, which cost her career.
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Kelly Reilly plays Jackie Ellis and Rafe Spall is Detective Eric Bull(Image: SKY)
WHO IS IN IT?
The cast is led by Kelly Reilly as Jackie Ellis and Rafe Spall, who plays Jackie’s former police partner, Detective Eric Bull, back to Morfa Halen. He leads the investigation into a community he failed once before.
Convinced the cases are linked, Jackie and Bull must reconcile and race to uncover long-buried secrets inside Morfa, before the storm breaks and all the evidence is gone for good. Other big star names involved in the drama include Jonathan Pryce from The Crown and Slow Horses and Industry star Harry Lawtey.
WHEN AND WHERE CAN IT BE WATCHED?
The first two episodes of Under Salt Marsh premiered exclusively on Sky Atlantic on Friday, January 30th. The rest of the series has been released weekly on Fridays. The full release of all six episodes has now taken place. This means this weekend the whole series is available to download for anyone with Sky or NOW TV.
Rafe Spall has his hands full as Detective Eric Bull in Under Salt Marsh, where there are more questions then answers(Image: Sky/Little Door)
REVIEWS SO FAR…
The show is a must see, but don’t just take my word for it! In the Guardian, Lucy Mangan gave the series a four star review and said: “There were only two episodes available for review but, with a little leap of faith, viewers can surely look forward to a compelling, psychologically astute thriller that manages to weave a thoughtful meditation on the ramifications of isolation and suffering round its narrative poles.”
And on the BBC’s Must Watch section on Radio Five Live, Hayley Campbell and Scott Bryan both said the series was compelling when they reviewed the early parts. Scott said he was “itching to get on and watch the rest” and he “found the premise of it really rather interesting.” Hayley said it is “depressing, it’s atmospheric, the setting is beautiful and strange. It populates the town with various kinds of local eccentrics.” She adds that it is “sort of Scandinavian in its setting”.
Radio Times gave it four stars. Reviewer Jon O’Brien concluded: “Don’t expect obvious answers: the why, who and how is still as much of a mystery at the end of the second of the two episodes available for review as it is the lengthy cold open.Yet thanks to a first-class cast (Welsh royalty Jonathan Pryce also shows up as Cefin’s grieving grandfather), some immersive, if resolutely desolate, cinematography and a script which allows the characters to feel entirely lived-in, you’ll remain hooked no matter your skills as an amateur armchair sleuth.”
Jonathan Pryce has a lot to think about in his role as Solomon Bevan, head of the Bevan family(Image: Sky/Little Door)
LOTS OF VIEWERS GRIPPED ALREADY
The series made an immediate impact when it launched on Sky and streaming service NOW on January 30. The series quickly found a big audience, with the first episode drawing 1.8 million viewers in its first seven days , making it Sky’s strongest original drama launch since The Day of the Jackal in November 2024. Despite this there are millions of other people with Sky yet to try the drama, and with it running for just six episodes it is the perfect drama to binge watch over a weekend.
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