When a dead body appears in the streets of London, it seems like business as usual for the detective working the case. Unbeknownst to her, that same victim shows up in the same spot across three other points in time: in 1890, during the Victorian era; 1941, some of Britain’s darkest days of World War II; and 30 years in the future. As the investigations converge, they reveal a sinister conspiracy that threatens London.
Created by Paul Tomalin and based on the graphic novel by Si Spencer, Bodies is part sci-fi, part murder mystery, part period drama, and part police procedural. The series stars Amaka Okafor, Emmy nominee Shira Haas, Olivier Award winner Kyle Soller, and SAG Award winner Stephen Graham.
So what’s the vibe? It’s “mind-snapping,” Tomalin told Netflix. “It’s a police-procedural show that shifts and transforms from moment to moment, so you never know what’s coming next… This is a kinetic, ambitious thrill ride — a wolf in [a] detective drama’s clothing.”
“When I heard that [directors] Marco Kreuzpaintner and Haolu Wang were combining to do the series, that sold it for me,” Graham, who plays a sinister authoritarian leader in the series, told Netflix. “Writers Paul Tomalin and Danusia Samal did an amazing job of keeping it fresh and exciting.”
Watch all eight episodes on Netflix now.
Check it out at the top of this article.
Shira Haas as Iris Maplewood and Stephen Graham as Elias Mannix in ‘Bodies’
“I felt an immediate connection to the story and to this character for so many reasons,” Haas told Netflix about what drew her to the show. “I found myself being really moved by it and also really laughing because it’s so witty and funny. I was anxious and excited and I wanted to keep on reading more and more. It’s such a different character and story than anything I’d done before, which I always find fascinating and exciting as an actress.”
In present-day London, Detective Sergeant Shahara Hasan encounters a suspicious teen during a protest. Realizing he’s armed, she chases him through the city’s alleyways until she’s stopped in her tracks: He’s pointing his gun right at her, and a naked body lies motionless beside him. When the teen flees, Shahara realizes she didn’t hear his gun go off. As she investigates the man’s death, her journey toward the truth parallels three other investigations across multiple timelines — each of them involving different detectives but the same victim. As the four detectives attempt to solve the case, they unravel a mystery that could put hundreds of thousands of lives at stake.
“Each detective is going through very different things, but each of them starts to work out that this is no ordinary cadaver,” Fortune-Lloyd — who plays Detective Sergeant Charles Whiteman during the Blitz — told Netflix. “There is something very dark and menacing behind its appearance in these different time periods.”
Okafor, who plays Detective Sergeant Hasan in present-day London, says she was immediately drawn to the plot. “I saw the script for the first episode and I was like ‘I have to do this,’ ” she told Netflix. “I really like stories where you’re watching people make quite difficult decisions but under pressure, with the sort of human messiness that everybody can identify with.”
[Want to know how Bodies ends? Check out this Ending Explainer to find out, but beware, spoilers abound!]
Yes, it’s based on the graphic novel of the same name by Si Spencer. “Doing justice to author Si Spencer’s incredible premise was seriously daunting,” Tomalin told Netflix.
“We just had to throw our hearts and minds in wholesale and get freaky together, staying true to as many of the maddening tentpoles and spirit of the graphic novel as possible,” Tomalin added. “In the end, it was the pulse of the story that defined our road map… Being on the other side of the show now feels like coming out of a three-year trance.”
The series takes place in Whitechapel, London. It was filmed primarily in Leeds, England.
“The sets they built and the locations, not just in Leeds but also in places like Bradford and Rotherham, were amazing,” Soller told Netflix. The actor’s scenes, for his character Detective Inspector Alfred Hillinghead, were set in the late 19th century. “It really felt like we were stepping into Victorian England, which must have been pretty grim. I don’t think I’d have survived back then,” Soller added.
“The sets on this show are magnificent, and… the intricacies and the attention to detail are phenomenal,” Graham, who plays Elias, told Netflix. “You walk on set and you’re there in that world because they create it so beautifully.”
