Red Eye is the latest thriller to land on ITV1 and it’s going to be the water-cooler series of the month – because of its tense plot, great cast, and “unguessable ending”.
The main draw is lead actor Richard Armitage. He’s already proven he’s more than capable of fronting a tense whodunnit. If you’ve seen Harlan Coben’s The Stranger and Stay Close on Netflix, then you’ll know exactly what I mean.
Here, he stars as London police officer DC Hana Li is tasked with escorting him back to Beijing to face justice.
However, on board flight 357, she finds herself embroiled in an escalating conspiracy and a growing number of murders. If you enjoyed the claustrophobic pressure of Hijack on Apple TV+, then this is for you.
Here’s everything you need to know about the new six-part drama…
What is the plot of Red Eye on ITV?
ITV describes Red Eye as “the collision of three worlds – DC Hana Li, Journalist Jess Li, and MI5’s Madeline Delaney.
When a British doctor (Richard Armitage) is arrested for murder upon flying home from Beijing, all three women are thrown into the same life-threatening conspiracy.
Dr Matthew Nolan comes frighteningly close to dying in a car crash while attending a medical conference in Beijing. However, when he arrives home, he is immediately arrested at London’s Heathrow Airport. A dead woman was discovered in his crashed car and, despite his protests that he was driving alone, Nolan must return to China to face charges.
DC Hana Li (Jing Lusi) is the no-nonsense, London officer charged with accompanying Nolan back to Beijing. Born in Hong Kong and with a traumatic past, she does not want to go. So, once ordered, her resentment for this assignment, and of Nolan himself, is intense.
However, when a first death occurs onboard, Hana begins to suspect foul play and she commences an investigation… Further deaths confirm that Nolan truly is in danger, and after a call from MI5, Hana finds herself embroiled in an escalating conspiracy.
Meanwhile, back in London, we follow Hana’s half-sister Jess Li (Jemma Moore), a scrappy journalist with whom Hana has a fractious relationship. Trying to cash in on Hana’s assignment, Jess runs her own investigation into Nolan’s extradition and finds herself on the run from a lethal, unknown assassin.
And in Thames House, the head of MI5, Madeline Delaney (Lesley Sharp) breaks protocol and risks her entire career to not only help Hana and Nolan stay alive, but to expose an international conspiracy that seems to implicate both China and people in her own government for the murders on flight 357.
How many episodes is Red Eye?
Red Eye is six totally unboring episodes which hurtle along at, well, aircraft speed.
Each instalment is one hour long, with the usual ITV adverts for inflight beverages.
When is the start date? How can I watch it?
Red Eye starts on Sunday, April 21, 2024 at 9pm on ITV1.
It will be available to watch on ITVX at the same time, and the whole series will be up there too if you can’t wait for episode 2.
Who is in the cast of Red Eye?
Popular actor Richard Armitage leads the cast of Red Eye. He plays accused murderer Dr Matthew Nolan, who may or may not have been set up.
Of course, viewers know Richard well for his roles in the likes of Robin Hood, Spooks, Strike Back, and the recent Fool Me Once.
Jing Lusi stars as DC Hana Li, the copper who faces the most stressful flight of her life. The actress is known for playing Amanda Ling in the film Crazy Rich Asians. She also played Vicky in Gangs of London, Tara Lo in Holby City, Lily-Anne Lau in Lucky Man, and Miyu Hatfield in The Feed.
Lesley Sharp portrays MI5 boss Madeline Delaney, who risks her career to help Nolan. Lesley is probably best known for her roles in Before We Die, Scott and Bailey, Afterlife, Clocking Off, and Playing the Field.
Meanwhile, Jemma Moore stars as Hana’s journalist sister Jess Li. In 2023, she played Mia Falshaw in Silent Witness. She describes the series as “really exciting”. She predicts the viewers are “never going to guess because every time you think you know, the writer takes you on a completely new turn”.
The Lazarus Project actress Zoe Telford stars as Dr Amber Hurst. In fact, Red Eye has a huge ensemble cast (big plane), with names including Ryan Cloud, Kevan MacKenzie, Natasha Patel, and Ken Bradshaw.
Shetland fans might recognise Lucianne McEvoy, who plays a fellow doctor and colleague of Matthew. She played DI Jimmy Perez‘s love interest Meg Pattison.
Lastly, Happy Valley star Rick Warden – aka Catherine Cawood’s boss Mike Taylor – plays Chris Peele.
Is the TV series the same as the film?
Some film fans among you may remember a film called Red Eye, starring Cillian Murphy.
However, the series is in no way connected to the film, despite the same name. It followed a woman kidnapped by a stranger on a routine flight. She was pulled into a plot to assist her captor in a political assassination.
There have also been several other films and TV series with the same name, but none that follow the same story.
Who wrote Red Eye on ITV?
British screenwriter Peter A Dowling created the original story of Red Eye.
His film work includes the Jodie Foster film Flight Plan, Naomie Harris thriller Black and Blue, and Reasonable Doubt with Dominic Cooper.
Red Eye starts on ITV1 on Sunday, April 21, 2024 at 9pm. The whole series will be available as a boxset on ITVX at the same time.
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