# Silk (2011)

> A passionate London defence barrister and her gifted colleague navigate tough cases, demanding clients and the fierce competition of chambers.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/34735

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 18
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama
- Created by: Peter Moffat
- Network: BBC One
- Cast: Phil Davis, Maxine Peake, Rupert Penry-Jones, Neil Stuke, Theo Barklem-Biggs, John Macmillan, Alex Jennings, Frances Barber
- TMDB rating: 8.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1717455/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Tone: sober, tense, cerebral, melancholic, sharp

## What critics say

Audience reception is positive overall, with the later third season rated far above the first two seasons.

## Synopsis

Silk (2011-2014) is a British legal drama series created by Peter Moffat for BBC One. Passionate defence barrister Martha Costello (Maxine Peake) takes on challenging cases and surprising clients in London's criminal bar, where her faith in the justice system is tested again and again. Alongside her, gifted colleague Clive Reader (Rupert Penry-Jones) is called to the bar at the same time, and the two work hard to shape pupils Nick Slade (Tom Hughes) and Niamh Cranitch, knowing that chambers will ultimately take only one of them. Each episode is built around a fresh courtroom case, with the pressure of building a career running alongside the wider story across three seasons of eighteen episodes in total. The tone is sharp, intelligent and sober, with the weight of moral compromise and the cost of advocacy never far from view. The series sits in the tradition of British prestige legal drama and will appeal to viewers who enjoy the character-driven ethics of The Good Wife and the institutional scrutiny of Better Call Saul.

## Shows like Silk

- [Criminal Justice (2008)](https://ember.film/tv/6942)
- [Rake (2010)](https://ember.film/tv/31644)
- [You Don't Know Me (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/115400)
- [Until I Kill You (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/145794)
- [Criminal Record (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/127316)
- [New Blood (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/58684)
- [The Shadow Line (2011)](https://ember.film/tv/34580)
- [Wolfe (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/110028)
- [Showtrial (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/113688)
- [Ligas (2026)](https://ember.film/tv/1105193)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt