# Karen Pirie (2022)

> A Scottish detective reopens a 25-year-old St Andrews murder after a true-crime podcast stirs the case, and soon suspects are under attack.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/121068

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 6
- Episode runtime: 88 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Emer Kenny, Gareth Bryn
- Network: ITV1
- Cast: Lauren Lyle, Chris Jenks, Zach Wyatt, Emer Kenny, Rakhee Thakrar, Ariyon Bakare, Michael Shaeffer, Stuart Bowman
- TMDB rating: 7.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11725900/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: intense, brooding, melancholic, tense, rain-soaked

## What critics say

Audiences rate the series positively, valuing its cold case mystery and the lead's determined investigation, though its ratings are moderate.

## Synopsis

Karen Pirie (2022-2025) is a British crime drama series created by Emer Kenny and Gareth Bryn for ITV1, adapted from a novel. Lauren Lyle plays DS Karen Pirie, a dogged Scottish detective tasked with reviewing a 25-year-old murder in St Andrews after a provocative true-crime podcast revives public interest in the case. Chris Jenks appears as her colleague DC Jason Murray, and Zach Wyatt as DS Phil Parhatka, while Emer Kenny plays River Wilde and Rakhee Thakrar plays Bel Richmond. The engine of the show is Karen's patient digging through old files, interviews and forgotten evidence, which uncovers a fresh lead and a possible perpetrator. When suspects begin coming under attack, the quiet archival review becomes a dangerous live manhunt. The series runs for two seasons of three feature-length episodes each, with each season built around its own cold case and a continuing thread of the detective's personal stakes. Set in the windswept Fife coast of modern Scotland, it has a brooding, rain-soaked atmosphere, a measured pace and a grounded procedural texture. Fans of Shetland, Broadchurch and The Missing will find resonance in its intense, character-driven investigations.

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