More than a decade after its final episode aired, Wire in the Blood remains one of British television’s most enduring and unsettling crime dramas. The ITV series, which ran for six seasons from 2002 to 2008, has quietly surged back into popularity on ITVX, where fans are bingeing episodes again and praising its unflinching exploration of criminal psychology, razor-sharp writing, and the unforgettable performance of Robson Green as clinical psychologist Dr Tony Hill.
Adapted from Val McDermid’s bestselling novels, Wire in the Blood follows Tony Hill, a brilliant but socially awkward forensic psychologist who consults for the Bradfield police force on the most disturbing murder cases. Each season presents a new killer — or killers — whose crimes are so grotesque and psychologically layered that they force Tony and the police to confront the darkest corners of the human mind. The show’s title, taken from a line by William Blake, captures its essence perfectly: “The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity… and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.” In Wire in the Blood, evil is never cartoonish — it’s disturbingly human.
Robson Green’s Tony Hill is the series’ beating heart. A man who understands killers better than he understands himself, Tony is brilliant, empathetic, and deeply flawed — socially awkward, prone to panic attacks, and haunted by his own past. Green’s performance is mesmerizing: quiet intensity one moment, explosive emotional outbursts the next. He makes Tony feel real — a man who sees too much, feels too much, and pays a heavy price for it.
The supporting cast is equally strong. Hermione Norris is outstanding as Detective Inspector Carol Jordan, Tony’s professional partner and eventual love interest. Their relationship — built on mutual respect, unspoken attraction, and constant tension — is one of British television’s greatest slow-burn romances. Mark Letheren, Simone Lahbib, and later Emma Cunniffe and Peter McDonald provide rock-solid support as the core CID team, each bringing depth to what could have been stock procedural characters.
Every season is built around a single major case (or linked cases), allowing the writers to dive deeply into the psychology of the killer and the toll the investigation takes on the team. The crimes are brutal and meticulously detailed — ritualistic murders, torture, serial killings — but the show never glorifies violence. Instead, it forces viewers to confront the human cost: the families left behind, the officers who can’t sleep, the psychologist who sees too much of himself in the monsters he hunts.
Season 1’s “The Mermaids Singing” (based on McDermid’s novel) set the tone: a sadistic killer targeting gay men in brutal ways. Season 2’s “Justice Is a Woman” explored female serial killers. Later seasons tackled child abduction, cult killings, and revenge murders. The series never shied away from difficult topics — sexual violence, mental illness, institutional failure — but it always did so with purpose and empathy.
Critics praised the show for its intelligence and emotional depth. The Guardian called it “one of the most intelligent and unsettling crime dramas on television.” The Times lauded Green’s performance: “He makes Tony Hill the most compelling character on British TV.” The series earned multiple BAFTA nominations and won praise for its sensitive handling of trauma.
On ITVX, Wire in the Blood has found a new generation of fans. Many are discovering it for the first time, while longtime viewers are returning for comfort rewatches — or perhaps to see how much society has (or hasn’t) changed. “It still feels fresh,” one Reddit user wrote. “Tony Hill would be just as relevant today.”
