# The Fall (2013)

> A London detective is brought into Belfast to lead a stalled hunt for a serial killer who hides in plain sight.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/43993

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 17
- Episode runtime: 57 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, thriller, drama
- Created by: Allan Cubitt
- Network: RTÉ One
- Cast: Gillian Anderson, Jamie Dornan, Archie Panjabi, Niamh McGrady, Frank McCusker, John Lynch, Colin Morgan, Ruth Bradley
- TMDB rating: 8.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294189/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: graphic
- Tone: cold, tense, dread-filled, measured, bleak

## What critics say

Viewers broadly rate the series as a positive, intelligent crime thriller, praising its character work and meticulous procedural detail while finding its cruelty hard to watch.

## Synopsis

The Fall (2013-2016) is a British-Irish crime thriller series created by Allan Cubitt for RTÉ One and broadcast across three seasons of seventeen episodes. Gillian Anderson plays Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson, sent to Belfast when local detectives cannot close a case after twenty-eight days. Her task is to drive a stalled investigation into a serial killer terrorising the city, and the tension comes from her pressure on a team that resents an outsider. Jamie Dornan plays Paul Spector, a grief counselor whose ordinary home life runs alongside his hunt for victims, and the series keeps the viewer close to his routines as the police close in. Each episode is built from forensic detail, interview rooms, and quiet domestic scenes rather than spectacle. The mood is cold, measured, and dread-filled, with a sharp psychological edge and a focus on the damage done to victims and families. Fans of Line of Duty, Hannibal, and Broadchurch will find resonance in its procedural rigor and its cat and mouse structure. The show contains graphic violence and sexual content and is intended for mature viewers. Its setting is present-day Belfast, a city shaped by its recent past, and the story moves at a deliberate pace across its run.

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- [We Hunt Together (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/87053)
- [Luther (2010)](https://ember.film/tv/1342)
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- [Above Suspicion (2009)](https://ember.film/tv/15192)

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