Yorkshire Ripper Drama 'The Long Shadow' Lands A-List Cast

ITV has just announced a brand new series, The Long Shadow, which has already been cast, filmed, and completed, coming to its network and streaming on ITVX for autumn 2023. The true crime drama is based on the real story of the hunt for "The Yorkshire Ripper," serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, a five-year ordeal to identify and bring him to justice that finally ended with his arrest in 1981. During the period when he was active, from 1975-1980, Sutcliffe murdered 13 women and injured seven more in the areas of Manchester and North Yorkshire.

The Long Shadow is the latest in a slew of docudramas based on famous serial killers during the late 20th century that has dominated streaming services in both the U.K. and the U.S. Several of these have been deeply controversial, with critics accusing productions of sexualizing these psychopathic killers or treating their victims like so many refrigerated women. ITV's press release takes pains to spell out that this drama will not be one of them:

The Long Shadow is the definitive depiction of the desperate five-year hunt for serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, sensitively focussing on the lives of the victims who crossed his path and those of the officers at the heart of the police investigation. With the victims, their families and the survivors at the heart of this series, The Long Shadow brings a new perspective to a well-documented story.