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Strike
Also known as	C. B. Strike
Genre	Crime drama Detective fiction
Based on	Cormoran Strike by Robert Galbraith
Written by	Ben Richards Tom Edge
Directed by	Michael Keillor Kieron Hawkes Charles Sturridge Sue Tully
Starring	Tom Burke Holliday Grainger
Opening theme	"I Walk Beside You" by Beth Rowley
Composer	Adrian Johnston
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	6
No. of episodes	19
Production
Executive producers	Ben Richards Neil Blair Ruth Kenley-Letts J. K. Rowling Elizabeth Kilgarriff Tom Edge Tommy Bulfin
Producers	Jackie Larkin Alex Rendell
Running time	57–59 minutes
Production companies	Brontë Film and Television
Original release
Network	BBC One
Release	27 August 2017 (2017-08-27) – present (present)

Strike (also known as C. B. Strike internationally) is a British crime drama television programme based on the book series Cormoran Strike by J. K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The programme was first broadcast on BBC One on 27 August 2017, after receiving an advance premiere at the British Film Institute on 10 August 2017.

The programme follows Cormoran Strike (Tom Burke), a war veteran turned private detective operating out of a tiny office in London's Denmark Street, who uses his unique insight and his background as a Special Investigation Branch investigator to solve complex cases that have eluded the police along with his assistant, subsequently business partner, Robin Ellacott (Holliday Grainger).

Nineteen episodes across six series have been broadcast to date, each series adapting the novels The Cuckoo's Calling (2013), The Silkworm (2014), Career of Evil (2015), Lethal White (2018), Troubled Blood (2020), respectively. and The Ink Black Heart (2022).

The programme premiered on 1 June 2018 in the United States on Cinemax and in Canada on HBO Canada. Following the fourth series, the programme was exhibited in the United States on HBO.

Cast and characters

Main cast

• Tom Burke as Cormoran Blue Strike
• Holliday Grainger as Robin Venetia Ellacott

Recurring cast

• Kerr Logan as Matthew Cunliffe
• Ben Crompton as "Shanker"
• Natasha O'Keeffe as Charlotte Campbell
• Killian Scott as DI Eric Wardle
• Ann Akin as Vanessa Ekwensi
• Sargon Yelda as DI Richard Anstis
• Caitlin Innes Edwards as Ilsa Herbert
• Kierston Wareing as Leda Strike
• Jack Greenlees as Sam Barclay
• Sarah Sweeney as Lucy
• Ruth Sheen as Pat Chauncey
• Tupele Dorgu as Midge Greenstreet
• Stephen Hagan as DCI Richard Murphy

Guest cast

S1: The Cuckoo's Calling

• Siân Phillips as Lady Yvette Bristow
• Martin Shaw as Tony Landry
• David Avery as Nico Kolovas-Jones
• Leo Bill as John Bristow
• Tara Fitzgerald as Tansy Bestigui
• Amber Anderson as Ciara Porter
• Kadiff Kirwan as Guy Somé
• Bronson Webb as Evan Duffield
• Elarica Johnson as Lula Landry
• Brian Bovell as Derrick Wilson

S2: The Silkworm

• Dorothy Atkinson as Kathryn Kent
• Monica Dolan as Leonora Quine
• Dominic Mafham as Jerry Waldegrave
• Tim McInnerny as Daniel Chard
• Peter Sullivan as Andrew Fancourt
• Jeremy Swift as Owen Quine
• Lia Williams as Liz Tassel
• Sarah Gordy as Orlando Quine

S3: Career of Evil

• Andrew Brooke as Niall Brockbank
• Emmanuella Cole as Alyssa
• Jessica Gunning as Holly Brockbank
• Matt King as Jeff Whittaker
• Neil Maskell as Donald Laing

S4: Lethal White

• Nick Blood as Jimmy Knight
• Robert Glenister as Jasper Chiswell
• Joseph Quinn as Billy Knight
• Sophie Winkleman as Kinvara Chiswell
• Christina Cole as Izzy Chiswell
• Adam Long as Raff Chiswell
• Natalie Gumede as Lorelei Bevan
• Saffron Coomber as Flick Pardue
• Danny Ashok as Aamir Malik
• Robert Pugh as Geraint Winn

S5: Troubled Blood

• Jonas Armstrong as Saul Morris
• Linda Bassett as Joan Nancarrow
• Fionnula Flanagan as Oonagh Kennedy
• Sutara Gayle as Kim Sullivan
• Abigail Lawrie as Margot Bamborough
• Ian Redford as Ted Nancarrow
• Andy de la Tour as Nico 'Mucky' Ricci
• Sophie Ward as Anna Phipps
• Kierston Wareing as Leda Strike
• Michael Byrne as Roy Phipps
• Anna Calder-Marshall as Janice Beattie
• Cherie Lunghi as Gloria Conti
• Carol MacReady as Irene Hickson
• Madhav Sharma as Dr Dinesh Gupta
• Samuel Oatley as DI George Layborn
• Kenneth Cranham as Dennis Creed
• Robin Askwith as Steve Douthwaite
• Christina Cole as Izzy Chiswell

S6: The Ink Black Heart

• Jacob Abraham as Josh Blay
• Ewan Bailey as Nils De Jung
• Kevin Bishop as Wally Cardew
• Ellise Chappell as Kea Niven
• Jack Donoghue as Gus Upcott
• Emma Fielding as Katya Upcott
• Mirren Mack as Edie Ledwell
• Christian McKay as Inigo Upcott
• James Nelson-Joyce as Pez Pierce
• Luke Norris as Phillip Ormond
• David Westhead as Grant Ledwell

Production and development

On 10 December 2014, it was announced that the Cormoran Strike novel series, written by J. K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, would be adapted for television by the BBC, for broadcast on BBC One, beginning with The Cuckoo's Calling. Two years later, it was confirmed that the series would total seven episodes of sixty minutes, with shooting to begin in London in the autumn of 2016. Tom Burke was announced in the role of Cormoran Strike in September 2016, while Holliday Grainger was announced in the role of Robin Ellacott in November 2016.

Ben Richards adapted The Cuckoo's Calling, and Tom Edge adapted The Silkworm, Career of Evil, Lethal White and Troubled Blood. Richards stated that the series is "very different tonally and visually from other crime dramas." He compared Strike to the British detective television show Morse. Similarly, Edge commented that "people use old-fashioned as a pejorative word, but to me that's part of why these books, and, I hope, the TV series, works so well."

Episodes

Series 1: The Cuckoo's Calling (2017)

The Cuckoo's Calling was released on DVD on 27 November 2017.

Series 2: The Silkworm (2017)

The Silkworm was released on DVD on 19 February 2018.

Series 3: Career of Evil (2018)

Career of Evil was released on DVD on 16 April 2018.

Series 4: Lethal White (2020)

Lethal White was released on DVD on 23 November 2020.

Series 5: Troubled Blood (2022)

Series 6: The Ink Black Heart (2024)

Reception

The Cuckoo's Calling received generally positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave it an approval rating of 85%, based on 20 reviews, and an average score of 6.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads "The TV adaptation of C. B. Strike delivers an entertaining detective series that faithfully and effectively adheres to genre tropes." Morgan Jeffery of Digital Spy, who reviewed the first episode, praised both Burke and Grainger's performances, calling Burke's performance "a revelation".

Similarly, the adaptation of The Silkworm was met with positive reviews, with critics again praising Burke and Grainger's performances. However, the first episode was criticised for showing a suicide scene on World Suicide Prevention Day, making some viewers claim that this scene was insensitive.

Career of Evil holds an 88% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 8 reviews, and an average score of 7/10.

Lethal White holds a 73% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 11 reviews, and an average score of 5.6/10.

Troubled Blood holds a 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 26 reviews.

The Ink Black Heart holds a 44% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 20 reviews.

References

1. Sommers, Kat (November 2016). "First Look: Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger in 'Cormoran Strike'". BBC America. Archived from the original on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
2. "Buy cinema tickets for TV Preview: Strike: The Cuckoo's Calling + discussion | BFI Southbank". whatson.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
3. ^ Furness, Hannah (7 September 2016). "Confirmed: Tom Burke to play Cormoran Strike in BBC's JK Rowling dramas". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
4. Griffiths, Emmy (29 November 2022). "BBC's hit crime show Strike confirms season 5 airdate - and it's sooner than you might think". Hello!. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
5. "Troubled Blood coming to BBC One this December". Robert Galbraith. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
6. "Strike The Ink Black Heart cast and creatives on Robin and Strike's relationship, online anonymity, and bringing books to life on screen". BBC. 13 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
7. Anop, Nirat (9 October 2017). "Cinemax 2018 Programming Lineup". SpoilerTV.com. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
8. "CB Strike (HBO)". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
9. Roush, Matt (20 January 2021). "Worth Watching: Strike Is Back in 'Lethal White,' Inauguration Day & 'Celebrating America,' CW's Wednesday Returns". TV Insider. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
10. "Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger return in BBC's Strike - The Ink Black Heart". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
11. "Tom Burke to play JK Rowling's Cormoran Strike on BBC One". BBC News. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
12. "Holliday Grainger joins Tom Burke for major BBC One drama". BBC Media Centre. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
13. Hughes, Sarah (13 August 2017). "Witty, not gritty: JK Rowling's gentle TV detective is a return to the era of Morse". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
14. "Strike: The Cuckoos Calling". 27 November 2017. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2018 – via Amazon.
15. ^ "Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Archived from the original on 15 December 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2017. (User must select "BBC1" in the Channel field and then select the appropriate year, month and week to retrieve the figure for each episode)
16. "Strike: The Silkworm". 19 February 2018. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2018 – via Amazon.
17. "Strike: Career Of Evil". 16 April 2018. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2018 – via Amazon.
18. "Strike: Lethal White". Amazon UK.
19. ^ Weekly top programmes on four screens (from Sept 2018) Archived 2 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine at barb.co.uk
20. "C.B. Strike: The Cuckoo's Calling". Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2019 – via Rotten Tomatoes.
21. Jeffery, Morgan (27 August 2017). "Strike - 'The Cuckoo's Calling' episode 1 review: This could be the next great detective drama". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
22. Power, Ed (11 September 2017). "Strike – The Silkworm, part one, review – an entertaining and disturbing peek into the darker side of JK Rowling's imagination". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
23. Wollaston, Sam (11 September 2017). "Strike: The Silkworm review – necrophilia, cannibalism and literary London". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
24. Fleming, Molly (11 September 2017). "Strike the Silkworm shows intense suicide scene on World Suicide Prevention Day". Metro. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
25. "C.B. Strike: Career of Evil". Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2019 – via Rotten Tomatoes.
26. "C.B. Strike: Lethal White". Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020 – via Rotten Tomatoes.
27. "C.B. Strike: Troubled Blood". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
28. "C.B. Strike: The Ink Black Heart". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 25 December 2024.

External links

• Strike at BBC Online
• Strike at epguides.com
• Strike at IMDb

• 2017 British television series debuts
• 2010s British crime drama television series
• 2010s British mystery television series
• 2020s British crime drama television series
• 2020s British mystery television series
• Adaptations of works by J. K. Rowling
• BBC high definition shows
• BBC crime television shows
• BBC mystery television shows
• BBC television dramas
• British detective television series
• British English-language television shows
• Television shows based on British novels
• Television shows set in London
• Cinemax original programming