Down Cemetery Road

Down Cemetery Road is a British television series based on the 2003 novel by Mick Herron, adapted by Morwenna Banks. The series premiered on 29 October 2025 on Apple TV. The second season was announced by Apple TV on 12 December 2025.

Premise

A woman hires an investigator after an explosion occurs and a girl goes missing on the same night in a quiet suburban neighbourhood.

Cast

Emma Thompson as Zoë Boehm, a misanthropic private investigator
Ruth Wilson as Sarah Trafford, an art conservationist caught up in a criminal conspiracy
Adeel Akhtar as Hamza Malik, an officious military intelligence operator working under C
Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as Michael Downey, a former soldier trying to protect Sarah and Dinah
Tom Goodman-Hill as Gerard Inchon, an abrasive loud-mouth banker
Darren Boyd as C, a senoir official in the Ministry of Defense overseeing a black operation
Lydia Leonard as Talia Ross, a new Minister about to take office in the Ministry of Defense
Tom Riley as Mark, Sarah's husband, a banker
Mark Benton as Tony McGrath, a "canceled" university professor
Adam Godley as Joe Silverman, an idealistic private investigator, husband of Zoë Boehm
Sinead Matthews as Denise/"Wigwam", Sarah's naive new-age neighbour
Ken Nwosu as Rufus/Axel Crane, Denise's husband and Amos's brother
Fehinti Balogun as Amos Crane, a robotic and resourceful assassin
Aiysha Hart as Paula, Gerard Inchon's wife
Steven Cree as Bob Poland, Zoë Boehm's boytoy mistress
Ella Bruccoleri as Nurse Steph Ricci, a caretaker looking after Dinah
Pip Torrens as Dr Isaac Wright, a doctor working on a cure for a new nerve-agent chemical weapon
Gary Lewis as Captain Donny, a proud Scottish fisherman
Sara Kestelman as Janice Silverman, Joe Silverman's mother
Ivy Quoi as Dinah Singleton, Downey's niece, recently orphaned and in highly-secretive protective custody
Joshua James as Wayne, a nurse and aspiring streamer, becomes a hacker assistant to Zoë Boehm
Aaron Neil as Detective Investigator Ash Varma, a police detective trusted by Zoë Boehm
Ioanna Kimbook as Cheski Galanis, Talia Ross's political aid
Sophia Brown as Ella Downey, Michael Downey's sister
Harry Anton as Eli, C's chauffer
David Mooret as Sam, a hotel deskman
Episodes

Production

Development

The project, from the London-based 60Forty Films, was announced in April 2024 with Natalie Bailey as lead director and Morwenna Banks adapting the Mick Herron novel, and executive producer. Other executive producers include Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta and Tom Nash of 60Forty Films, as well as Herron, and Emma Thompson. On 12 December 2025, Apple TV renewed the series for a second season.

Casting

Emma Thompson stars as investigator Zoë Boehm alongside Ruth Wilson as Sarah Trafford. In August 2024, Adeel Akhtar, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Tom Goodman-Hill, Darren Boyd, Tom Riley, Adam Godley, Sinead Matthews, Ken Nwosu, Fehinti Balogun, and Aiysha Hart joined the cast. The cast also includes Ella Bruccoleri.

Filming

Although the series is primarily set in and around Oxford, and many of the outside scenes were filmed in that city, principal photography began in Bristol in June 2024 with locations including the University of Bristol campus. Filming also took place in Bishops Lydeard railway station and Street, Somerset.

Release

The series debuted on Apple TV on 29 October 2025, with the first two episodes and the rest debuting on a weekly basis until the finale on 10 December.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 79% based on 56 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "A twisty mystery that grows more addictive as it unfolds, Down Cemetery Road is tonally imbalanced but has a steadfast center of gravity in Emma Thompson's flinty star turn." Metacritic gave the series a weighted average score of 71 out of 100 based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.