Holliday Grainger returns as Rachel Carey in the third season of BBC thriller The Capture, with Rachel now dealing with a “brutal” act of terror and a high-stakes geopolitical crisis.
As seen in an adrenaline-filled extended trailer, season 3 sees Rachel at the helm of the Counter Terrorism Command as Acting Commander.
After a shooting takes place in central London, Rachel realises she’s the only one who’s seen the attacker. When footage of the incident is released, she is stunned when she doesn’t recognise the man, realising the video has been altered with Correction, the covert manipulation programme uncovered in previous seasons.
Following a second season rated 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, the series created by Ben Chanan returns to BBC One and iPlayer on 8 March, with episodes releasing weekly on Sundays.
The trailer offers a look at the other stars joining Carey for round three of The Capture, including Game of Thrones’ Indira Varma as Khadija Khan and Paapa Essiedu as MP Isaac Turner.
BBC
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“The question we asked ourselves years ago has become even more urgent,” Rachel says in the clip during an interview with Newsnight presenter Khadija.
“How do we sort fact from fiction? How can we believe what we see?” she continues.
As Isaac suggests hiring Rachel as Commander of CTD is the best way for the department to “clean up its act”, she’s confident that the newly rolled-out Operation Veritas, a surveillance system aimed to detect deepfakes in real time, will restore public trust in the institutions.
But the shooting derails the plan, with Rachel desperate to find out the truth and who’s behind the attack.
“Why am I the only one who saw the shooter?” Rachel asks, coming to the realisation that the act of terror was carefully planned to target her.
BBC
In one scene, she has a tense exchange with CIA’s Frank Napier (Ron Perlman), who asks for a favour.
“Why would I do you a favour?” Rachel asks, to which Frank replies: “So I can owe you one. You may need a favour from a guy like me one day.”
Elsewhere, Rachel has a stand-off with Ben Miles’ Commander Danny Hart, who promises her he will reveal his allegiance “in good time”.
BBC
Season 3 also stars Tessa Wong as DC Chloe Tan, Lia Williams as Gemma Garland, Ginny Holder as DI Nadia Latif, Nigel Lindsay as DCI Tom Kendricks, Daisy Waterstone as Abigail.
Rounding out the cast for this season are Hugh Quarshie as Commissioner Cameron Yates, plus Broadchurch’s Andrew Buchan, Game of Thrones’ Joe Dempsie, Kaos star Killian Scott, and Good Omens’ Jonathan Aris.
The official synopsis for season 3 of The Capture teases lies have become “daily currency”.
“How do you protect the truth, in a world where lies are daily currency? And with the proliferation of deepfakes, how can we trust what we see?” the synopsis says.
“It’s been 12 months since Rachel Carey broadcast a live deepfake of a government minister to the nation, exposing the UK intelligence service’s clandestine video manipulation programme known as Correction.
BBC
“Amidst an inquiry into the unlawful use of Correction, Carey has become Acting Commander of Counter Terrorism Command, determined to regain the public’s trust in surveillance technology through the new Operation Veritas camera system.
“And then it happens: a brutal and exceptionally well-coordinated act of terror aimed right at the heart of the British establishment that leaves behind just one witness.
“The more Carey investigates, the deeper she is drawn into an unfolding geopolitical crisis that infects the British political establishment, the security services, and the media. The conspiracy reaches deep into the State, but just who is pulling the strings?
“Caught in an increasingly violent situation, and with few allies left to trust, what sacrifices will Carey be willing to make?”
The Capture season 3 returns on 8 March on BBC One and iPlayer.
The first episode of the season becomes available to stream on iPlayer at 6am and airs on BBC One at 9pm, with episodes following weekly. Seasons 1 and 2 are available on iPlayer now.
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Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.Â
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).Â