'Code of Silence' Keeps July Release on BritBox Quiet

When people look back at the 2020s, chances are they will consider the moment CODA won the Oscar for Apple TV+ as the watershed moment for deaf representation. (The title CODA is taken from the deaf community acronym for "[Hearing] Children of Deaf Adults.") However, Deaf representation has been slowly building on TV for the better part of a decade. All Creatures Great & Small's Rachel Shenton, for example, starred in The Silent Child, based on her own experiences as a child of a deaf parent; James Caverly made headlines for his POV episode of Only Murders in the Building, and Alaqua Cox starred as Maya Lopez in the Disney+ series, Echo.

Rose Ayling-Ellis (Ludwig) is one of the best-known deaf actors in the U.K., due to her years-long run on the popular soap EastEnders in the early 2020s, punctuated by her competing on (and winning) Strictly Come Dancing in the show's 2021 edition. (She was the first-ever deaf contestant on the series.) At the age of 30, she's already been awarded an MBE by the Crown, putting her on track to reach Damehood in the next decade.

And yet, it's still a surprise to see ITV give a deaf actor the lead role in a run-of-the-mill police procedural. It's a natural progression, especially in light of the 21st-century tendency to give Sherlock-style detectives official (or semi-official) diagnoses as neurodivergent or on the autism spectrum. Having a deaf investigator "who reads lips to solve the crime" as the hook fits the cozy-crime-style mystery so well that it's amazing that no one ever thought to try it before.

The series only just debuted in the U.K. in mid-May 2025, and the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. The Guardian, The Evening Standard, and The Independent all agreed in their reviews that Ayling-Ellis is an absolute standout, even if the mystery itself was deemed "silly." However, with so much press, it's not surprising details are spilling out, some of which are being missed by the public, like the show's U.S. release date. 

In a recent interview with the cast, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the series plans to arrive on BritBox in "July 2025." That tracks as a ~60-day exclusivity window for ITV before crossing the pond, a typical grace period for series to move from one country's platform to the next. We reached out to BritBox for confirmation. We will update you if and when we hear back.

Here's the show's synopsis:

At the heart of the series is Alison Brooks, a smart and determined Deaf woman. Having spent years working in a police canteen and secretly observing conversations, her life takes an unexpected turn when her exceptional lip-reading skills catch the attention of DS Ashleigh Francis and DI James Marsh. Recruited for a covert operation, Alison is tasked with surveilling a dangerous gang as they plot a high-stakes heist, thrusting her into a world of crime, deception, and risk like never before.

As she deciphers their secret exchanges, Alison becomes an invaluable asset to the case, but the deeper she gets, the more perilous her role becomes. When she crosses paths with Liam Barlow, the gang’s newest recruit, an unexpected and dangerous bond forms between them, one that threatens to expose her true identity while pulling her further into the criminal world. Juggling the pressures of undercover work, family struggles, and the fallout of a long-term relationship, Alison must navigate a world of deception and danger, testing her resilience and ultimately reshaping her life forever.

Rose Ayling-Ellis (Ludwig) leads the cast as Alison Brooks, costarring with Charlotte Ritchie (Grantchester) as DS Ashleigh Francis, Andrew Buchan (Broadchurch) as DI James Marsh, and Kieron Moore (Masters of the Air) as Liam Bayne. The supporting cast includes Nathan Armarkwei Laryea (The Witcher), Joe Absolom (Doc Martin), Beth Goddard (The Serpent Queen), Andrew Scarborough (Downton Abbey), Fifi Garfield (Deaf Funny), and presenter Rolf Choutan, making his acting debut.

The series was conceived by Catherine Moulton (Baptiste), who drew on her experiences with lip-reading and hearing loss. Moulton wrote four of the series' six episodes, with writers Will Truefitt and Benji Walters penning the other two. Diarmuid Goggins (Kin) and Chanya Button (World on Fire) split directing duties across the show's six episodes with Joe Shrubb producing. Ayling-Ellis and Moulton executive produce alongside Bryony Arnold & Damien Timmer for Mammoth Screen and Robert Schildhouse & Stephen Nye for BritBox.

Code of Silence continues weekly on ITV1 through mid-June. It will follow on BritBox in the U.S. and Canada in July 2025.