{"id":489135,"date":"2026-03-22T10:50:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T10:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/489135\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T10:50:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T10:50:09","slug":"bbc-launches-gripping-new-series-the-whole-family-can-binge-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/489135\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC launches gripping new series ‘the whole family’ can binge-watch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Filmed in Northern Ireland, the eight-part series lands on the streaming platform on Sunday\"Eight<\/p>\n

Eight episodes will land on BBC iPlayer (Image: BBC)<\/p>\n

The BBC is launching a gripping new series “the whole family” can binge-watch. Based on the hit book series by JJ Arcanjo, Crookhaven is a highly anticipated eight-part drama series filmed in Northern Ireland. It lands on BBC One and iPlayer this Sunday, March 22.<\/p>\n

The show follows Gabriel Avery, a 13-year-old pickpocketing genius who is recruited into Crookhaven, which is a secret training academy. Students, known as “Crooklings”, are taught skills like lock-picking and deception to outwit real criminals and restore justice to the outside world.<\/a><\/p>\n

In its description for the series, the BBC<\/a> said: “Set in a secret school for Crooks, the series flips the high school genre on its head with a gripping, morally complex, twisty mystery rooted in identity, loyalty and found family.<\/p>\n

“Crookhaven students (Crooklings) are taught to perfect their skills to do good, bring balance, justice and order to the outside world.”<\/p>\n

\"Crookhaven<\/p>\n

Crookhaven launches this Sunday(Image: BBC)<\/p>\n

The broadcaster added: “Centred around pickpocketing genius Gabriel (Lucas Leach) and his arch-rival, headmaster\u2019s daughter Penelope (Carmel Laniado), the series follows a group of eight very different, young international students as they go head to head in the competition for the infamous Crooked Cup \u2013 all while battling a terrifying enemy, The Nameless.”<\/p>\n

It features some well-known faces i<\/a>ncluding Dougray Scott, known for hit series Crime (2021) and films Twin Town (1997), Ever After (1998), Mission: Impossible 2 (2000).<\/p>\n

Julie Hesmondhalgh also stars in the new series, best known for her role as Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street<\/a>. Other stars include Keith Allen and Claire Forlani.<\/p>\n

\"Julie<\/p>\n

Julie Hesmondhalgh as Grandma Sue(Image: BBC Studios)<\/p>\n

Speaking about taking part in the series, Julie Hesmondhalgh told the BBC<\/a>: “From the very first page I said to my husband, who’s a writer, \u201c’his is really good. There’s something about this.’<\/p>\n

“It rattled along, and it read like a Hollywood film. I thought ‘Oh, this has got ambition, and scope, and imagination’ so I was hooked from the very first page.”<\/p>\n

How to watch Crookhaven<\/p>\n

The first episode of Crookhaven airs on BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday, March 22 at 3.05pm.<\/p>\n

The second episode airs directly after at 3.50pm until 4.35pm. Episodes will also drop on BBC iPlayer.<\/p>\n

For the latest TV and showbiz stories, head to the Liverpool ECHO website.<\/p>\n

Join the Liverpool ECHO Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community to receive the latest news straight to your phone by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Filmed in Northern Ireland, the eight-part series lands on the streaming platform on Sunday Eight episodes will land…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":489136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[243,96,391,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-489135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-bbc","tag-entertainment","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489135","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=489135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/489136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=489135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=489135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=489135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}