To secure a conviction, what does the legal system ask of a victim of harassment? We know she must be someone who has a flawless memory of the incident and reports it straight away – ideally on the same day. She has to cut off contact with her abuser as soon as the abuse takes place. She must dress modestly, hardly drink, and she has definitely never, ever, lied. In fact, in her personal life, she will never have put a toe out of line. She is an attentive mother, girlfriend, daughter. In short, she doesn’t exist.
Beneath the veneer of a straightforward crime thriller, it is the dismantling of this pervasive myth that lies at the heart of Paramount+’s new six-part series The Killing Kind. Ingrid Lewis (Emma Appleton, Everything I Know About Love) is a young, high-flying, defence barrister – a pant-suited London girlboss who flits between court, exercise classes and the pub.
We first meet Ingrid two years after she successfully defends her client John Webster (Colin Morgan, Merlin) after the latter was accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend Emma. Through a series of flashbacks, we see Ingrid clinically dismantle Emma in the witness stand, calling into question her memory and her complicity. Simultaneously, the relationship between John and Ingrid (who is engaged) becomes ever-more personal.
The pair are drawn to one another, and, after the case is closed, Ingrid gives in to temptation and they tumble into an affair. But when Ingrid decides they must stop seeing each other, John can’t let her go, and Ingrid’s life implodes as he begins to obsessively harass her. Despite a plethora of evidence, she refuses to go to the police – “I know how hard it is to get harassment cases like this prosecuted”, she tells her fiancée (Elliot Barnes-Worrell).
Fast-forward two years, and Ingrid is rebuilding her life after the ordeal. So, when John gets back in touch with Ingrid out of the blue to warn her that her life is in danger, her instinct is to ignore him. But when tragedy strikes and a friend of Ingrid’s is killed in a car accident on the same day as John reaches out, an increasingly paranoid Ingrid starts to suspect foul play. As the body count rises and Ingrid herself becomes the target, she is increasingly unsure who she can trust. Is John a hero or villain this time around?
For any fans of Jodie Comer’s barnstorming 2022 one-woman stage show Prima Facie, this should be right up your street. The underlying themes are similar: state-educated bright-spark barrister defends predatory man and psychologically dismantles vulnerable women until the tables are turned on her (The Killing Kind, though, is based a novel by Jane Casey, which was released before Prima Facie). It is about the limitations of the justice system, and the law as a blunt tool in sexual harassment cases.
But, even without this incisive depth, The Killing Kind would still be a pretty flawless crime thriller. Excellently-paced and satisfyingly unpredictable, the combination of Ingrid and John’s fatal attraction-esque relationship and the plot’s incessant twists and turns makes for a proper hold-your-breath affair. Much of the story is told through flashbacks, and, while this at first might feel a bit clunky, it actually serves as a useful change of pace throughout – and a chance to exhale.
Despite the action being obviously highly improbable, the drama is grounded in a refreshing realism; all the characters are relatable, authentic and flawed.
None more so than Ingrid, a role Appleton embodies effortlessly. The show hinges around her paranoia and rapidly unravelling mental state, but Appleton shows no sign of strain. She delivers a captivating performance, expertly flitting between the show’s high-octane moments and the lighter, intimate ones that pop up in the flashback scenes. Morgan too, is impeccable as the frustratingly unreadable Webster. Equal parts creepy and magnetic, he makes the pair’s dynamic impossible to take your eyes off.
I don’t know how the show ends (I only had access to the first three episodes), but if they are anything to go by, viewers are in for a compelling ride. Just don’t forget to breathe.
