# Des (2020)

> A three-part British drama dramatizing the Dennis Nilsen murders through the men pulled into his orbit.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/81533

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 3
- Episode runtime: 48 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Lewis Arnold, Luke Neal
- Network: ITV1
- Cast: David Tennant, Daniel Mays, Jason Watkins, Ron Cook, Faye McKeever, Barry Ward, Ben Bailey Smith, Alex Bhat
- TMDB rating: 7.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11656892/

## Ember's analysis

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

## What critics say

Audiences rated the miniseries positively, admiring its grim true-crime account of the Dennis Nilsen case and the lead performance, while the show's tone is widely seen as bleak and unrelenting.

## Synopsis

Des (2020) is a British true crime miniseries created by Lewis Arnold and Luke Neal for ITV1. Over three forty-eight-minute episodes it dramatizes the case of serial killer Dennis Nilsen, played by David Tennant, whose quiet, sociable manner masked a string of murders in London. The story unfolds through three men who come into contact with him: detective chief inspector Peter Jay (Daniel Mays), whose investigation drives the procedural thread, writer Brian Masters (Jason Watkins), who becomes entangled in Nilsen's world, and the wider police team around them. Rather than a conventional whodunit, the series concentrates on the personal and professional toll of proximity to a man like Nilsen, with each episode tightening the pressure on the men who find themselves unable to look away. Set in 1980s London, it is a limited series with a grounded, austere look, its tone dark and unsettling, with dread built from the ordinariness of everyday settings. Fans of Mindhunter, The Fall and Dahmer will find resonance in its study of a killer and the people circling him. Its bleak, carefully paced treatment makes it a sobering, unflinching watch.

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