The Bay (TV series)

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The Bay
File:The Bay TV Series - Title Card.jpg
Genre Crime drama[1]
Created by Daragh Carville
Richard Clark
Written by Daragh Carville
Sally Tatchell
Kate O'Riordan
Furquan Akhtar
Directed by Lee Haven Jones
(series 1, episodes 1–3)
Robert Quinn
(series 1, episodes 4–6, series 2 episodes 1–3)
Julia Ford
(series 2, episodes 4–6) [2]
Starring <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Theme music composer Samuel Sim
Opening theme The Bay – Samuel Sim (Feat. Storme)
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 3
No. of episodes 18
Production
Executive producer(s) Catherine Oldfield[2]
Running time 45 minutes
Production company(s) Tall Story Pictures
Distributor ITV Studios Global Entertainment
Release
Original network ITV
Original release 20 March 2019 (2019-03-20) –
present
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]
Production website

The Bay is an ITV crime drama series produced by Tall Story Pictures and distributed worldwide by ITV Studios Global Entertainment that first aired in March 2019.[3] Morven Christie plays a detective sergeant family liaison officer called in on an investigation into missing twins from a family living in Morecambe. The name of the series derives from Morecambe Bay, which is on the north-west coast of England in the county of Lancashire.

The first series received an average of 7.2 million views across the six episodes. A second series of six episodes was confirmed on 4 May 2019 and it was originally planned for it to be broadcast mid-2020 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was pushed back to early 2021 when in January of that year all six episodes were immediately made available on the ITV Hub, receiving an average of 7.9 million views.[3]

A third series was filmed in summer 2021.[4] Christie decided to leave the show following production on the second series. On 15 February 2021, Marsha Thomason was cast as the new lead, DS Jenn Townsend.[5] After the last episode of series 3 was broadcast it was announced that a fourth series was forthcoming.

Cast

  • Morven Christie as DS/DC Lisa Armstrong (Series 1–2)
  • Marsha Thomason as DS Jenn Townsend (Series 3—present)
  • Daniel Ryan as DI Anthony 'Tony' Manning
  • Erin Shanagher as Sgt./DS Karen Hobson
  • Andrew Dowbiggin as DS James Clarke
  • Simon Manyonda as DS Alexander Stewart (Series 1–2)
  • Thomas Law as DC Eddie Martin (Series 2—present)
  • Taheen Modak as DC/DS Ahmed 'Med' Kharim (Series 1–2)
  • Lindsey Coulson as Penny Armstrong (Series 1–2)
  • Imogen King as Abbie Armstrong (Series 1–2)
  • Art Parkinson as Rob Armstrong (Series 1–2)
  • Georgina Scholes as Erin Fischer (Series 3—present)
  • Barry Sloane as Chris Fischer (Series 3—present)
  • David Carpenter as Conor Townsend (Series 3—present)
  • Emme Hayes as Maddie Townsend (Series 3—present)

Series 1 (2019)

Series 2 (2021)

[6][7]

Episodes

Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 6 20 March 2019 (2019-03-20) 24 April 2019 (2019-04-24)
2 6 20 January 2021 (2021-01-20) 24 February 2021 (2021-02-24)
3 6 12 January 2022 (2022-01-12) 16 February 2022 (2022-02-16)

Series 1 (2019)

Detective Sergeant Lisa Armstrong (Morven Christie) is the mother of two children and working for the fictional West Lancashire Police Service as a Family Liaison Officer (FLO). She is called out on the case of two missing children only to find the married stepfather of the twins is someone with whom she had sex in an alley behind a pub on the night the twins disappeared whilst out on a friend's hen do. As an FLO, Armstrong is trained not to become emotionally involved with cases she is working on, but her sexual encounter with Sean (Jonas Armstrong) threatens to compromise the investigation.[8][9] Although she can prove that he is not responsible for their disappearance, Armstrong deletes the CCTV footage of them having sex rather than coming clean and admitting to the one-night stand and providing Sean with an alibi.[10]

No.
overall		 No. in
season		 Directed by Written by Original air date U.K. viewers
(millions) [11]
1 1 Lee Haven Jones Daragh Carville 20 March 2019 (2019-03-20) 7.43
After a girls' night out, Detective Sergeant Lisa Armstrong returns to work the day after, investigating the disappearance of the Meredith twins, Dylan and Holly. She discovers that the stepfather, Sean Meredith, is the man with whom she had a one-night stand the previous night in the alley behind The Royal pub. After learning from the twin's biological father, Lee Ward, that Sean unexpectedly entered their lives, the police make him their primary suspect and subsequently place him under arrest after berating Armstrong. The police also stress that he lacks an alibi for almost an hour of the night of the twins' disappearance, but they can't hold him further without any evidence. Dylan's body washes up at the beach.
2 2 Lee Haven Jones Daragh Carville 27 March 2019 (2019-03-27) 7.40
The Meredith family identify Dylan's body. Lisa is charged with finding out what Sean did for the missing hour in his account of the night in question. Sean had been at a friend's house, where the friend's wife confirms he was 'with with' her. This gives Sean an alibi and he is released on bail. The investigation turns to Nick Mooney, a man who is carer to his disabled mother, who was seen in the background of a picture at the youth club with Dylan. Mooney arrives at the Meredith residence, where Lisa and Med are. Mooney runs off but is chased and arrested by Lisa. Despite evidence that he was present at the youth club, the police don't have anything that ties him to the twins' disappearance. Meantime Lisa's 15 year old daughter, Abbie, becomes involved with Vincent, a man in his 20s but Vincent holds off kissing her. At the same beach where Dylan's body was found, Holly's rucksack is also discovered washed up. Sean Meredith drives Nick Mooney off the road.
3 3 Lee Haven Jones Daragh Carville 3 April 2019 (2019-04-03) 7.23
Abbie is asked to pass on a packet of drugs to Wilco, a boy at school. Since Abbie is suspended she gives the packet to her previous boyfriend, Sam, to pass on. Main suspect Nick goes missing. The investigation discovers an £8,000 loan made by Sean's brother-in-law Ryan to the family, and the police take DNA samples from All of them. Holly's bag is revealed to contain bags of cash, train tickets and clothing, indicating she had planned to run away. In a boathouse, Sean, Ryan and Krzysztof attempt to question Nick Mooney about Holly's whereabouts, but he refuses to talk. CCTV from the train station shows that Holly met another man outside after having bought tickets. His head is not shown in the CCTV footage but he has distinctive trainers. The police triangulate Holly's phone after it's revealed that she had tried to call the police. The location near the beach reveals a blood spill and is sent for testing. This is identified as Dylan's blood. DNA from under Dylan's fingernails is found to belong to Holly, not the new suspect Ryan (who has trainers like the man in the CCTV footage). Mooney is freed and dropped off outside the hospital bloodied and in a critical condition.
4 4 Robert Quinn Daragh Carville 10 April 2019 (2019-04-10) 6.81
With Nick seriously injured in hospital, Lisa seeks out Sean, who admits that he abducted Nick. He stresses that Nick knows something about the twins but is unwilling to speak out. Sean turns himself in for the abduction of Nick and reveals information about Ryan's temper. Ryan and Krzysztof are arrested regarding the abduction. The police find rolls of cash in Ryan's room, bagged the same way as the cash in Holly's rucksack. Abbie is in trouble with Vincent as Sam did not pass the drugs packet to Wilco, and therefore had no money to hand on to Vincent. Abbie's brother, Rob, has become involved in a filmed shop-lifting dare via his phone, but after a while he is blackmailed over the footage. After Mooney wakes up from his coma, he sings a song from a summer camp he once attended, now abandoned, prompting the police to search the camp for Holly. Lisa finds her alive in the basement of one of the camp's buildings.
5 5 Robert Quinn Kate O'Riordan & Daragh Carville 17 April 2019 (2019-04-17) 6.82
Holly Meredith is treated at the hospital and is later brought to a hotel for a temporary stay. However, she soon escapes in an attempt to meet up with her boyfriend, but she is brought back by the police. The investigation goes back to Mooney, who eventually admits that Holly had contacted him after Dylan's death. Mooney is temporarily arrested for having perverted the course of justice. Despite the evidence of her packed rucksack, Holly denies having planned to leave for Manchester with her so far unknown boyfriend. She reveals to her mother that she's pregnant. Rob pawns his grandmother's rings to pay off the blackmailer. Holly tells the police to search her step-dad's boat - where the police find evidence of smuggling. Abbie has a violent experience when trying to collect money from some drug-dealers and narrowly escapes with help from Sam. Vincent comforts her and then threatens Sam outside school. Rob's misdeeds are found out and he agrees to apologise and re-pay what he owes. Holly confesses to killing Dylan (to protect her boyfriend?). Med searches for the missing CCTV footage from The Royal. He sees the original footage and confronts Lisa over her actions. She later confesses to Manning and is removed from the case and suspended.
6 6 Robert Quinn Daragh Carville 24 April 2019 (2019-04-24) 7.52
Knowing Abbie isn't at home, Lisa calls a police officer who had previously seen Abbie in the West End to get a more exact location. Lisa goes there and brings Abbie to safety taking down Vincent's license plate. Abbie opens up about her dealings with Vincent, which Lisa asks Med to investigate. Vincent is revealed to be a notorious drug smuggler whose real name is Victor Cook. His connection also ties in with Sean and Ryan's drug dealings and how they had so much cash. Sean then refuses to talk to anyone but Lisa when asked to give up names higher up the chain. An anonymous tip saying Holly did not kill Dylan leads the police to Councillor Hesketh's office as his phone was used. Lisa learns Sam has been acting strange all week, so she visits him on the pretext of returning the £200 he had given Abbie to try and pay back Vincent. Noticing his hands shaking and his shoes matching the suspect's, Lisa suggests Sam knew Holly. Sam admits he and Holly were running away and Dylan tried to stop them. Sam punched Dylan, making him fall and hit his head, resulting in his death. Holly ran away from him and dropped her rucksack. Sam then pushed Dylan and the rucksack into the sea. Lisa is praised by Manning for her assistance, and she later talks to Sean, who gives up the names of the gang. The charges against Nick (obstruction) are dropped (presumably because of his nuerodivegence or learning difficulties). Holly returns home and Med says it is likely the CPS will not prosecute her for obstruction as it isn't in the public interest. Sam may face 7-8 years in prison or fewer as the death of Dylan was an accident.

Series 2 (2021)

Lisa's suspension is over but she has been demoted, whilst Med has been promoted. A solicitor is shot on his doorstep. The team investigate. To complicate Lisa's life further, her ex-husband Andy (Joe Absolom) reappears in Morecambe.

No.
overall		 No. in
season		 Directed by Written by Original air date U.K. viewers
(millions) [11]
7 1 Robert Quinn Daragh Carville 20 January 2021 (2021-01-20) 7.86
After dealing with the consequences of the case involving the missing twins from last year, the now Detective Constable Lisa Armstrong is brought back into the fold to assist with the murder investigation in Morecambe of prominent solicitor Stephen Marshbrook. Marshbrook was murdered at his own doorstep with his 10-year-old son Oliver being the sole witness. Facing trauma from his experience, Oliver is too traumatised to talk, and is looked after by social care. The investigation turns to the family law firm, in which Lisa suspects everything is not as it seems. Early clues including CCTV footage, point the police in the direction of a black van with stolen vehicle number plates. Eventually recovering from his trauma, Oliver draws a tattoo depicting a bird with two heads which he saw the killer have on his arm. Abbie gets a job at a local restaurant, and Lisa's ex-husband Andy, reappears in Morecambe.
8 2 Robert Quinn Daragh Carville 27 January 2021 (2021-01-27) 7.85
Lisa is determined to ignore her ex-husband Andy's unexpected arrival the night before and throws herself into the case, uncovering a significant lead from her sole eyewitness. Oliver reveals he saw a boy on a bike leaving the scene before the shooting happened. The alleged boy, is later revealed to actually be a girl, Cassie, who was tasked with delivering the gun and retrieve it afterwards. When brought in, she refuses to give up information while also berating the police. Lisa and her children attempt to shield themselves from her ex-husband, but he manages to talk to Rob and a reluctant Abbie. The investigation reveals that Stephen Marshbrook had hired an accountant, Chris McGregor, to investigate some suspicious transactions. McGregor also reveals that Marshbrook had suspected it was someone in his own family who was responsible.
9 3 Robert Quinn Daragh Carville 3 February 2021 (2021-02-03) 7.79
As the team press on with the investigation, Lisa and Med dig deeper into the family and discover not all relationships with the victim were amicable. Lisa reluctantly lets her ex-husband Andy back into her's and her children's lives, with protest from her mother. Questioning of Cassie finally leads to her revealing that she never met the man who had asked her to deliver the gun, and that she had received the orders over the phone. When family recollections of Stephen Marshbrook don't add up, Lisa returns to question his daughter, Grace, who notably reveals she took the blame for a car theft that Jamie actually had committed, and that she had been ordered to do by her father to protect Jamie's record. Ahmed investigates unused housing properties after a lead discovered by Lisa. They all share a common owner, Breakwater, which one construction worker reveals no knowledge of, other than orders to barricade a building's windows. Simultaneously as Lisa, Bill Bradwell and Rose Marshbrook discover that Jamie has gone missing, Ahmed is hit by a vehicle and left seriously injured.
10 4 Julia Ford Daragh Carville 10 February 2021 (2021-02-10) 7.96
Paramedics declare Med dead on scene, and Manning places Lisa in charge as family liaison to the Marshbrook family. The team are forced to accept the help of a new unit from the Greater Manchester Police, who conducts their own investigation into Med's death while the team continues the investigation into the Marshbrook case. The team's investigation dig deeper into who the mystery woman Stephen Marshbrook met at a hotel, with members conducting a surveillance operation until she shows up. The mystery woman turns out to be Madeleine Hookway, who reveals that Oliver is her son. The investigation further uncovers that Hookway had been discredited as a terrible mother, and that Stephen had taken care of Oliver's birth certificate. Jamie Marshbrook turns up explaining that he and his boyfriend just needed time away from Morecambe. Jamie is also questioned about his apparent presence in Morecambe despite the claim he was still abroad until Stephen's death.
11 5 Julia Ford Sally Tatchell 17 February 2021 (2021-02-17) 7.92
Bill Bradwell is brought in for questioning regarding Breakwater and Comber Development, and that the deals were signed knowing what they regarded. Manning confronts Bradwell with papers signed by him that acknowledges Liam Spoldon as Breakwater's CEO, despite the fact that the real Spoldon died sixteen years ago. Bradwell's expresses disapproval of how the papers were obtained, causing his attorney to end the questioning. Bradwell then tells the family that the law firm was in trouble and he had to take desperate measures to save it. He also explains that he kept Mark out of the loop to save him. In a desperate attempt to legally clarify the document's usage from Lyn Chee's flash drive, Lisa attempts to convince her to testify anonymously about the documents, but she refuses. Rob's friend, Josh, confesses that he has feelings for him. Manning attempts to drink away his sorrow, due to his wife wanting a divorce; and the man with the distinctive tattoo is arrested in Manchester.
12 6 Julia Ford Daragh Carville 24 February 2021 (2021-02-24) 8.38
The Russian, Viktor Zima, admits to killing Stephen. He further explains that he was paid by a man in his 20s–40s in a bar. Further investigation reveals that man is Frank Mercer, who, along with Grace, Rose and Mark Marshbrook, are brought in for further questioning. Grace reveals that she got her job at the scrapyard via Rose, who had put in a good word with Mercer. Rose reveals that she was having an affair with Mercer, but that she never would leave Stephen. She also explains that Frank had ideas of them and Oliver moving away, something she brands as a fantasy on his side. Mercer admits to ordering the hit on Stephen during questioning and that he had urged Rose to break up with Stephen. While Mercer is charged for ordering the hit on Stephen, Rose is issued a caution after admitting having made the suspicious transactions at Bradwell and Marshbrook. After some convincing, she decides to testify regarding the company's documents. Lisa's mother, Penny, makes a discovery about Andy, which she confronts him about. It's revealed that he had remarried and fathered another child after moving away from Morecambe. But instead of being willing to explain it to Rob and Abbie, he decides to leave Morecambe.

Series 3 (2022)

DS Townsend (Marsha Thomason) is immediately thrown into the deep end when a body is found in the bay on her first day in the job. She must get under the skin of a grieving and complicated family if she has any chance of solving the premature death of an aspiring young boxer.

No.
overall		 No. in
season		 Directed by Written by Original air date U.K. viewers
(millions) [11]
13 1 Faye Gilbert Daragh Carville & Furquan Akhtar 12 January 2022 (2022-01-12) 6.46
14 2 Faye Gilbert Story by: Daragh Carville & Furquan Akhtar
Teleplay by: Daragh Carville		 19 January 2022 (2022-01-19) 5.51
15 3 Faye Gilbert Story by: Daragh Carville & Furquan Akhtar
Teleplay by: Daragh Carville		 26 January 2022 (2022-01-26) TBD
16 4 Nicole Volavka Story by: Daragh Carville & Furquan Akhtar
Teleplay by: Furquan Akhtar		 2 February 2022 (2022-02-02) N/A
17 5 Nicole Volavka Furquan Akhtar & Daragh Carville 9 February 2022 (2022-02-09) N/A
18 6 Nicole Volavka Story by: Daragh Carville & Furquan Akhtar
Teleplay by: Daragh Carville		 16 February 2022 (2022-02-16) N/A

Production

The series has been labelled the "Northern Broadchurch",[1] or the "New Broadchurch" after a similar British crime drama called Broadchurch starring Olivia Colman and David Tennant.[12][13] The writer of the series, Daragh Carville, is originally from Northern Ireland, but wanted to set something in where he now lives. <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

I wanted to write something that's set where I have lived for the last 10 years. It's an interesting place and beautiful but it's also a place with problems. It's suffered a great deal with austerity.[8]

The series was shot in and around Morecambe, particularly on the beaches and in the Winter Gardens, where writer Daragh Carville stated that the people of Morecambe took quite an interest in the show and were keen to see that they, and their town, were not misrepresented on screen.[14] Other scenes were also shot in Manchester, Whitehaven and Grange-over-Sands.[15]

Reception

Series 1 (2019)

The Daily Telegraph rated the first and second episodes in the series with three stars out of five, and whilst acknowledging the lead character's portrayal, described the series as "Lancashire's riposte to/total rip-off of Broadchurch".[16] The Independent also awarded it three stars out of five, labelling the series as having texture, but that the characterisation of the conundrum faced by DS Armstrong as being "cold".[17] The Guardian was more positive and gave it four stars out of five stating "Suspects and police officers with shared secrets? Check. Information wilfully withheld by the writer? Check. Will you be hooked? Check."[18]

Katrina Williams, writing in the Glasgow Guardian highlighted the high standard of production amidst the formulaic setting of the crime drama and noted that "I wasn't desperate for the next episode, but the first episode still managed to strike my interest".[19]

Series 2 (2021)

Dominic Maxwell reviewing for The Times gave the first episode of the second series four stars out of five commenting that the episode was "a solid, finely crafted detective thriller" and it "could just be the downbeat yet propulsive distraction we need right now".[20] Rachel Sigee reviewing for i also gave it four stars praising Christie and suggesting "This engrossing first episode scattered enough clues [...] to set up an intriguing thriller".[21] Anita Singh reviewing for The Daily Telegraph rated the first episode three stars out of five calling it "a refreshing return for this bracing seaside cop show",[22] while Sean O'Grady for The Independent was more critical commenting that "though the actors put in some commendable performances, they are all lumbered with carelessly constructed, barely two-dimensional characters" and gave it two stars.[23]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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