ITV’s Chilling New Six-Part Serial Killer Drama Sends Outlander Star Into The Scottish Highlands — And The First Look Is Seriously Dark

An eerily staged body is discovered in the beautiful Scottish wilderness.

Somewhere inside the surrounding rural community, police believe a serial killer is hiding in plain sight.

And the detective trying to stop them is beginning to question whether she can even trust her own judgement.

That is the disturbing premise behind ITV’s new six-part thriller The Dark, an atmospheric serial killer drama adapted from G.R. Halliday’s debut novel From the Shadows.

With Laura Donnelly leading the investigation and a masked killer already glimpsed in unsettling first-look images, the series looks set to deliver a tense cat-and-mouse mystery against the isolation of the Scottish Highlands.

A Body Is Found In The Scottish Wilderness

Donnelly, known for Outlander, plays Detective Inspector Monica Kennedy.

The case begins when the body of a young man is discovered on the coast of the Scottish Highlands.

But there is something particularly disturbing about the scene.

The body has been deliberately staged.

Monica immediately fears that this isn’t an isolated killing but the beginning of something much larger.

According to the official synopsis, she suspects the discovery could mark the start of “a terrifying campaign” targeting the heart of the rural community.

As fear begins spreading, the people living there are forced to confront an increasingly frightening possibility.

The killer could be one of them.

Secrets Begin Emerging As Paranoia Takes Hold

The investigation quickly transforms the apparently idyllic surroundings.

Suspicion spreads through the community, while secrets that had remained hidden begin coming into the open.

The official synopsis teases: “As paranoia rises, suspicions and secrets are forced into the light, and the locals start to realise that there is a serial killer hidden amongst them.”

For Monica, the investigation becomes increasingly personal.

Her experience means she is accustomed to confronting some of the darkest sides of human behaviour, but this killer draws her into a dangerous psychological battle.

She soon finds herself caught in an escalating game of cat and mouse with an adversary determined to stay ahead of her.

And unless Monica can stop the killer, there could be more victims.

The Detective Starts Doubting Herself

The threat outside isn’t Monica’s only problem.

As the investigation intensifies, something from her own past begins resurfacing.

That history starts affecting her ability to trust her instincts at precisely the moment she needs them most.

The synopsis warns: “When her own history creeps up on her, she begins to lose trust in her own judgement.”

That adds another layer to the central mystery.

Monica isn’t simply racing to identify a serial killer before another person dies. She must also determine whether the choices she is making are placing herself and her family in danger.

The series ultimately asks whether Monica’s own actions could become the greatest threat of all.

First Look Reveals A Disturbing Masked Killer

ITV’s first images from the drama offer an early glimpse of just how dark the investigation becomes.

Donnelly is shown in action as Monica alongside her new partner, DC Connor Crawford, played by The Last Kingdom star Mark Rowley.

But another image provides a considerably more disturbing tease.

A masked figure believed to be the killer can be seen, offering viewers their first glimpse of the person at the centre of the manhunt without revealing their identity.

The isolated Highland setting only adds to the unease.

Rather than a sprawling city where a killer can disappear anonymously, the investigation unfolds around a rural community where the realization that the murderer could be living among them becomes increasingly terrifying.

Helen Baxendale’s Character Is Pulled Into The Mystery

Cold Feet star Helen Baxendale also has a major role as Bethany Morgan, a distraught mother whose missing son becomes connected to Monica’s investigation.

One first-look image shows Bethany holding a gun as Monica arrives at her doorstep once again.

Exactly how Bethany and her missing son fit into the wider mystery remains part of the intrigue, but her storyline appears set to become closely entangled with the case.

With fear spreading and Monica repeatedly returning for answers, Bethany’s involvement adds another volatile element to an investigation already filled with uncertainty.

Laura Donnelly Leads The Cast

Donnelly takes centre stage as DI Monica Kennedy, bringing another television detective to the rugged Scottish landscape.

She is joined by Mark Rowley as DC Connor Crawford, Monica’s new partner in the investigation.

Rowley is familiar to viewers from The Last Kingdom, while Donnelly’s previous credits include Outlander.

Baxendale, best known for Cold Feet, rounds out the central trio as Bethany Morgan.

Together, their characters become caught up in a mystery involving a staged body, a missing son and a killer whose presence begins poisoning an entire community with suspicion.

A Scottish Thriller Built Around Isolation And Fear

The setting appears crucial to the atmosphere of The Dark.

The Scottish Highlands provide spectacular scenery, but the same landscape also creates isolation.

A body staged against that wilderness immediately disrupts the sense of tranquility, while the knowledge that a killer may be hidden somewhere within the local population turns familiarity into suspicion.

For viewers who enjoy atmospheric crime dramas such as The Pembrokeshire Murders and The Fall, the ingredients will be familiar: a determined investigator, a calculating adversary and a psychological battle that becomes increasingly personal.

But Monica’s own uncertain judgement complicates the usual detective-versus-killer dynamic.

The closer she gets to the truth, the less certain she becomes that she can trust herself.

Six Episodes And One Killer Hiding In Plain Sight

Adapted from G.R. Halliday’s From the Shadows, the drama will unfold across six episodes.

Its mystery starts with one carefully staged body, but the implications quickly extend much further.

A community begins turning suspicious.

Old secrets surface.

A distraught mother becomes linked to the case.

Monica’s past starts interfering with the investigation.

And somewhere among it all is a masked killer who appears determined to continue.

The first images reveal little about who that person might be — and that is precisely where the tension lies.

Monica knows there is a killer somewhere in the Highlands.

Finding them before another victim is claimed is one problem.

Remaining certain that she can trust her own instincts long enough to do it may prove even harder.

The Dark will be released on ITVX and STV Player this summer.