# Deceit (2021)

> A female undercover officer is ordered to become sexual bait for a suspected killer in 1990s London.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/108147

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 4
- Episode runtime: 47 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, crime
- Created by: Emilia di Girolamo
- Network: Channel 4
- Cast: Niamh Algar, Sion Daniel Young, Harry Treadaway, Eddie Marsan, Rochenda Sandall, Nathaniel Martello-White, Charlie Carter, Anna Tierney
- TMDB rating: 6.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12994306/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Tone: tense, claustrophobic, uneasy, bleak

## Synopsis

Deceit is a British-American true events drama miniseries created by Emilia di Girolamo for Channel 4. Its four episodes dramatize the 1992 London police investigation into the murder of a young mother, following undercover officer Lizzie James (Niamh Algar), who is ordered to become sexual bait for the suspect Colin Stagg (Sion Daniel Young). Harry Treadaway plays Keith Pedder and Eddie Marsan plays the psychologist Paul Britton, with the investigation's obsession with a man who may be innocent driving the drama. Each episode tightens the pressure as the operation grows more manipulative and morally compromised. Set in early 1990s London, the story examines the sexual politics and social attitudes of the era with a claustrophobic, uneasy tone. The series is a grounded, restrained piece of British true crime drama, and fans of Broadchurch, When They See Us and Making a Murderer will find resonance in its pursuit of institutional failure and real-life injustice.

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