The Long Call promises to fill the Hollington Drive-shaped hole in the ITV1 schedules this week.
Stripped over four nights, the crime drama has a cast most shows would die for – and a location to match.
Here’s everything you need to know about The Long Call on ITV1.
Read more: The Long Call: ITV confirms start date for Ben Aldridge crime drama from Ann Cleeves
The Long Call on ITV1 – what’s it all about?
The Long Call follows Detective Inspector Matthew Venn, who returns to live in a small community in North Devon with his husband, Jonathan.
Matthew walked away from his hometown 20 years ago.
His family rejected him as a result of their faith in the Barum Brethren community.
Meanwhile, Matthew’s partner DS Jen Rafferty is a former Londoner who has relocated to this isolated destination with her two teenage children.
Matthew leads the investigation when the body of a man is found on the beach close to his house.
However, the investigation throws suspicion on the whole community.
Matthew and his team have to get to the bottom of a case which brings with it old wounds and a deadly secret in order to expose the killer.
How many episodes is The Long Call?
The Long Call is four episodes long.
ITV1 are showing the hour-long episodes stripped over four nights.
The series starts on Monday October 25 2021 and concludes on Thursday October 28 2021.
Read more: The Long Call on ITV: Our Girl and Fleabag actor Ben Aldridge leads the cast
Who’s in the cast of The Long Call on ITV1?
The drama has an amazing TV cast.
Our Girl actor Ben Aldridge portrays Detective Inspector Matthew Venn.
Former EastEnders star Declan Bennett – aka Charlie Cotton – plays his husband, Jonathan.
And he’s not the only former EastEnders cast member to appear – Anita ‘Angie Watts’ Dobson stars as Grace Stephenson.
Meanwhile, Inspector George Gently star Martin Shaw stars as Dennis Stephenson, and Truly Madly Deeply’s Juliet Stevenson portrays Dorothy Venn.
Doctor Who’s Pearl Mackie portrays DS Jen Rafferty.
Guest stars include Men Behaving Badly’s Neil Morrissey as Christopher Reasley, and former Coronation Street star Jenny Platt.
Also, Alan Williams plays Maurice Craddle, while Sarah Gordy MBE stars as Lucy Craddle.
Sarah is a British actress who has Down syndrome.
The A Word viewers will know her as Katie Thorne in the series.
Charlie Anson is Rich Chorley, Nia Gwynne stars as Ruth, and Iona Anderson plays Rosa.
Siobhan Cullen and Amit Shah star as Caroline Reasley and Ed Raveley.
Where is the series filmed?
The Long Call on ITV1 is set in North Devon, “where the rivers Taw and Torridge converge and run into the sea”.
It is also filmed there, and in Bristol.
ITV film crews were seen on Ilfracombe Pier, at Hele Bay and Oxford Grove.
Is The Long Call on ITV1 based on a book?
The Long Call on ITV1 is indeed based on a book.
It’s an adaptation of the bestselling novel of the same name by Ann Cleeves.
TV viewers probably know author Ann best for her Vera and Shetland novels.
The Times said about the book The Long Call: “Had me hooked. A promising beginning to another fine chapter in the Ann Cleeves story.”
The Guardian called it “a traditional mystery of the best sort”.
Ann Cleeves has written a second Matthew Venn novel.
The Heron’s Cry was released in September, which bodes well for a second TV series!
The Long Call airs over four consecutive nights, starting on Monday October 25 2021 at 9pm on ITV1.
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