Whitechapel (TV series)
| Whitechapel | |
|---|---|
First series titlecard
|
|
| Genre | Drama |
| Written by | Ben Court Caroline Ip |
| Directed by | S.J. Clarkson David Evans John Strickland Richard Clark Jon East Daniel Nettheim |
| Starring |
Rupert Penry-Jones Phil Davis Steve Pemberton |
| Composer(s) | Ruth Barrett |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 18 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Sally Woodward Gentle |
| Producer(s) | Marcus Wilson David Boulter |
| Cinematography | Balazs Bolygo Kieran McGuigan |
| Editor(s) | Liana Del Giudice Anthony Combes |
| Running time | 45 minutes (excluding adverts) |
| Production company(s) | Carnival Films |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV, STV, UTV |
| Picture format | 16:9 1080i |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 2 February 2009 – 9 October 2013 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Whitechapel is a British television drama series produced by Carnival Films, in which detectives in London's Whitechapel district dealt with murders which replicated historical crimes. The first series was first broadcast in the UK on 2 February 2009 and depicted the search for a modern copycat killer replicating the murders of Jack the Ripper.
A second series was commissioned by ITV in September 2009 with the focus on the Kray twins. The first episode of this second series was broadcast on 11 October 2010.
A third series was commissioned by ITV in March 2011, which was extended to six episodes as three two-part stories.
The first and second series were broadcast in the United States on six consecutive Wednesday evenings beginning 26 October 2011 on the BBC America cable network. The third was broadcast in the US starting on Wednesday 28 March 2012, also on BBC America.
On 24 September 2012, ITV renewed Whitechapel for a fourth and final series consisting of six episodes. The first episode was broadcast on 4 September 2013.
On 16 November 2013, lead actor Rupert Penry-Jones confirmed that ITV had decided not to recommission the show.
The first series was written by Ben Court and Caroline Ip. ITV Director of Drama Laura Mackie said "Whitechapel is a very modern take on the detective genre which combines the Victorian intrigue of the original case with the atmospheric backdrop of a contemporary East End of London. This is not simply about bloodthirstily recreating the Ripper murders, but rather focusing on the three main characters at the heart of the story and the black humour that binds the team together."
Whitechapel debuted on 2 February 2009 at 9pm with 8.13 million viewers on the overnight ratings. Series one received positive reviews, and holds a Metacritic score of 75 out of 100, indicating "generally favourable" reviews.
A review in the Leicester Mercury said that it was "Life on Mars, without the time-travel" adding "what Whitechapel lacked in originality, it more than made up for with atmosphere and enthusiasm." After Episode 2 was broadcast on 9 February, Andrew Billen in The Times said that he had warmed to it more and more, adding, "slowly, the show is making Ripperologists of us all, as Jack's 'canonical' murders are separated from the ones he actually committed. It is all in the worst possible taste and bloody good fun." However, The Daily Telegraph was less impressed, writing "The premise was feeble, the script imbecilic, the acting on autopilot, the direction lacking in any glimmer of tension."
...
Wikipedia