# Dark Angel (2016)

> A two-part dramatization of Victorian serial poisoner Mary Ann Cotton, who marries into families and kills them for their money while society refuses to suspect her.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/59697

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 2
- Episode runtime: 62 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Network: ITV1
- Cast: Joanne Froggatt, Mark Underwood, Alun Armstrong, Jonas Armstrong, John Bowler, Sam Hoare, John Hollingworth, Thomas Howes
- TMDB rating: 6.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4742700/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: bleak, unsettling, sombre, claustrophobic, dread-filled

## Synopsis

Dark Angel (2016) is a British-American period true crime miniseries broadcast on ITV1 and presented as a two-episode limited series. Joanne Froggatt stars as Mary Ann Cotton, a real Victorian poisoner who travels through the North East of England, insinuating herself into unsuspecting families by marrying into them, then killing her new relatives, taking their money and moving on. Her husband Fred Cotton (Mark Underwood) and a cluster of other men orbit her schemes, while the investigative pressure builds around her quietly undetected crimes. The engine of the story is the gap between what the community sees and what is happening inside its homes: a respectable widow whose methods leave no visible scars, in a society that cannot imagine a woman capable of such cruelty. Set in nineteenth-century England, the drama is grounded and claustrophobic, with domestic interiors, muddy northern streets and a steady dread that grows with each new marriage. The tone is bleak, quiet and unsettling, a sober dramatization of real crimes rather than a flashy thriller. Fans of Ripper Street and The Frankenstein Chronicles will find resonance in its period atmosphere and grim true crime focus.

## Shows like Dark Angel

- [Until I Kill You (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/145794)
- [The Ripper (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/94492)
- [The Long Shadow (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/149477)
- [The Salisbury Poisonings (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/87495)
- [Doctor Foster (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/56649)
- [Rillington Place (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/60347)
- [The Frankenstein Chronicles (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/57005)
- [Des (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/81533)
- [The Lizzie Borden Chronicles (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/55384)
- [The Sixth Commandment (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/147867)

---

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