Viewers were given two separate warnings on the content of Karen Pirie as the chilling new ITV drama kicked off on Sunday night.
After weeks of adverts teasing its arrival on screen, the new three part series finally made its debut this weekend, following hot on the heels of Line of Duty star Adrian Dunbar's drama Ridley. ITV are of course experts on the Sunday night drama, going back to the 90s hey day of Heartbeat and then, of course, Vera, which has now been on television for over a decade and high octane Vicky McClure thriller Trigger Point which had people on the edges of their seats earlier this year.
Now it's the turn of Karen Pirie to have the nation hooked as we all look for something to get stuck into now the nights are drawing in. Three part murder series Karen Pirie is NOT a true story, as many viewers may have assumed; instead, it is based on the best selling novel of much loved crime writer Val McDermid.
Anyone who's ever read one of Val's books, will now their subject matter can be somewhat grisly and series one of Karen Pirie is based on her novel The Distant Echo. It deals with the murder of teenage barmaid Rosie Duff, who was apparently found by three students, having been assaulted and left for dead.
The fictional murder happens in July 1996 but, having gone unsolved at the time, raises its head once again 25 years later, when it becomes a hot topic on a true crime podcast.
ITV were very up front about the fact that Karen Pirie wasn't in the same cosy realms of the likes of Heartbeat and Where The Heart Is, with an announcer issuing a warning before opening titles rolled. Addressing viewers, they said: "With moderate language from the start and throughout and crime scenes that some viewers may find upsetting, here's Karen Pirie."
It didn't taken long for viewers to start loving Karen Pirie, with one taking to Twitter to post: " #KarenPirie got me hooked already… this is how you know its autumn, c**p weather and great series." Echoing those sentiments, a second tweeted: "I'm loving #KarenPirie It's so gripping."
Karen Pirie's next two episodes will air on Sunday, October 1 and Sunday, October 8 respectively, both at 9pm and each lasting two hours.
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