{"id":469899,"date":"2026-03-11T16:01:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T16:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/469899\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T16:01:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T16:01:10","slug":"line-of-duty-star-kelly-macdonalds-impressive-and-taut-drama-now-on-netflix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/469899\/","title":{"rendered":"Line of Duty star Kelly Macdonald&#8217;s &#8220;impressive&#8221; and &#8220;taut&#8221; drama now on Netflix"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"3\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The Victim starring Line of Duty&#8217;s Kelly Macdonald had landed on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/netflix\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/netflix\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Netflix\" data-node-id=\"3.4\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Netflix<\/a>. Originally airing on BBC One back in 2019, the miniseries follows the trial of a woman accused of conspiring to murder a man suspected of killing her son 15 years earlier.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"9\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">After a post accuses Craig Myers (James Harkness) of being a child killer known as Eddie J Turner, he is fatally attacked, with Macdonald&#8217;s Anna Dean suspected of sharing the identity of the man she believes killed her child.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"13\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">All four episodes of the courtroom drama have now been added to Netflix, where it has already shot up the charts \u2013 currently sitting at the number seven spot in the Top 10 series in the UK.<\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"kelly macdonald as anna dean in the victim\" title=\"Kelly Macdonald as Anna Dean in The Victim\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/the-victim-kelly-macdonald-1555012479.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>STV\/Mark Mainz\/\/BBC<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"18\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tech\/best-tech-deals\/g35899960\/best-streaming-services\/\" target=\"_blank\" 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=\"18.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Best streaming services<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"22\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The Victim earned a near-perfect 92% fresh score on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/tv\/the_victim\/s01\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/tv\/the_victim\/s01\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Rotten Tomatoes\" data-node-id=\"22.2\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rotten Tomatoes<\/a> based on 12 reviews, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-reviews\/victim-1238758\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-reviews\/victim-1238758\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"The Hollywood Reporter\" data-node-id=\"22.4\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hollywood Reporter<\/a> writing in their review: &#8220;What looks like an ordinary mystery has a truly impressive depth and level of intellectual agility to it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"26\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">After watching the first episode <a href=\"https:\/\/decider.com\/2019\/09\/10\/the-victim-britbox-stream-it-or-skip-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/decider.com\/2019\/09\/10\/the-victim-britbox-stream-it-or-skip-it\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Decider\" data-node-id=\"26.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Decider<\/a> suggested it could be &#8220;four hours of taut drama&#8221;, while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theage.com.au\/culture\/tv-and-radio\/retribution-is-a-tangled-web-in-this-compelling-scottish-crime-drama-20240318-p5fd7m.html\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.theage.com.au\/culture\/tv-and-radio\/retribution-is-a-tangled-web-in-this-compelling-scottish-crime-drama-20240318-p5fd7m.html\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"The Age\" data-node-id=\"26.3\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Age<\/a> called it &#8220;an emotionally and morally complex study of pain, rage, regret and forgiveness that captures and holds attention until its stunning final scenes&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"31\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;It is a drama that resonates with its time by asking what constitutes a victim and how much leeway we allow in bestowing that status,&#8221; added <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2019\/apr\/08\/the-victim-review-grab-a-drink-and-settle-in-for-a-gripping-vicious-thriller\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/tv-and-radio\/2019\/apr\/08\/the-victim-review-grab-a-drink-and-settle-in-for-a-gripping-vicious-thriller\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"The Guardian\" data-node-id=\"31.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Guardian<\/a>. &#8220;Do they have to be perfect? How sure do we have to be? And what happens when the perpetrator becomes a victim too, of a different kind?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"35\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Meanwhile, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.standard.co.uk\/culture\/tvfilm\/the-victim-a-child-murderer-shady-police-officer-and-brooding-backdrop-make-for-a-dark-series-a4112171.html\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.standard.co.uk\/culture\/tvfilm\/the-victim-a-child-murderer-shady-police-officer-and-brooding-backdrop-make-for-a-dark-series-a4112171.html\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"London Evening Standard\" data-node-id=\"35.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">London Evening Standard<\/a> called the series &#8220;tense&#8221; with &#8220;plenty of plot to hook you in&#8221;, further praising Macdonald, who &#8220;doesn\u2019t miss a beat as the hardened Dean&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"kelly macdonald, the victim\" title=\"Kelly MacDonald, The Victim\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2078\" height=\"1384\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/the-victim-2-kelly-macdonald-1554754463.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>BBC<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"40\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Executive producer Sarah Brown <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a26936399\/bbc-the-victim-black-mirror-kelly-macdonald-polarise-audiences\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a26936399\/bbc-the-victim-black-mirror-kelly-macdonald-polarise-audiences\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"previously explained\" data-node-id=\"40.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">previously explained<\/a> how the series will &#8220;polarise&#8221; audiences as it &#8220;delves into the grey areas around justice and the law&#8221;, further noting &#8220;the difference between moral justice and legal justice and that murky thing which the courts don&#8217;t really deal with, that the people involved in are having to deal with day to day&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"44\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">&#8220;As a piece of TV, we wanted to create something compelling for the audience and provoke them into thinking about the issues and delving into those ethically grey areas,&#8221; she added. &#8220;We didn&#8217;t want generic twisty turns, we wanted to ask some difficult big questions about the subject matter of the show.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"48\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The Victim is streaming now on Netflix.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"53\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The new edition of Living Legends, a 100-page all-colour celebration of Harry Styles, is here! <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hearstmagazines.co.uk\/livinglegendsharrystyles\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.hearstmagazines.co.uk\/livinglegendsharrystyles\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Buy Harry Styles in newsagents or online\" data-node-id=\"53.0.3\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Buy Harry Styles in newsagents or online<\/a>.<br data-node-id=\"53.1.0\"\/><\/p>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773244870_827_0a81bfbe-1026-4736-8d8a-d20144e2ec87_1551709595.png\" alt=\"Headshot of Sam Warner\" title=\"Headshot of Sam Warner\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"css-o0wq4v ev8dhu53\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/movies\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">movies<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TV<\/a> and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/author\/samwarner\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NME<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.screendaily.com\/sam-warner\/1100838.contributor\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Screen International<\/a>. \u00a0Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/lord-of-the-rings\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Lord of the Rings<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/love-is-blind\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Love Is Blind<\/a>, and is equally in his element crossing every &#8216;t&#8217; and dotting every &#8216;i&#8217; as a sub-editor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Victim starring Line of Duty&#8217;s Kelly Macdonald had landed on Netflix. Originally airing on BBC One back&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":469900,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[147950,163708,149865,379,168172,381,96,1156,168171,391,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-469899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-collection-latest-news","tag-collection-line-of-duty","tag-collection-netflix","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-7397dd6a-fe98-467b-80ba-3bfe756d0263","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-kelly-macdonalds-impressive-drama-now-on-netflix","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=469899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469899\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/469900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=469899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=469899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=469899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}