Karen Pirie (2022)

A cold case show with a sharp modern hook. In the first series, a popular true-crime podcast stirs up the 25-year-old murder of a barmaid in St Andrews, and young DS Karen Pirie is handed the job of reexamining it. Lauren Lyle plays her with real wit, and adapter Emer Kenny keeps the tone brisk. It is based on Val McDermid's novels, and each series so far is a single story told in three long episodes. The second, adapting A Darker Domain, aired in summer 2025, and ITV has commissioned a third. Some reviewers found the pace stretched in places, so treat it as a weekend binge rather than a weekly watch.