Vodzilla has posted a lovely review for Dark Heart, and Tom Riley's performance as DI Will Wagstaffe. Episodes 1 and 2 of the 6 part series are available to catch up on the ITV Hub. Episodes 3 and 4 will broadcast this Wednesday 7th November and Thursday 8th November at 9pm on ITV. Viewers in Africa can catch the series from tomorrow on ITV Choice, while viewers in the US and Canada can watch via BritBox on Wednesday. 

Chris Lang switches things up for this new thriller, which ditches the enjoyable camaraderie of Unforgotten for a darker kind of drama – and that much is clear from the opening sequence, which goes into graphic, disturbing territory, as a man is mutilated and murdered by an anonymous killer. Enter DI Will Wagstaffe (Tom Riley), a troubled cop who suspects that there might be more to this – not least because another man with something nasty in common with the victim also turns up dead. So far, so sinister, and Da Vinci’s Demons director Colin Teague doesn’t waste the chance to make that clear, as London is portrayed as a gritty, grotty city, one where train carriages are bluntly lit and rooms are dank. But it’s Riley who makes this worth the watch, as his Wagstaffe walks the familiar walk of a rogue detective who knows how to crack a case. That’s not because of his no-nonsense interactions with his team, or his smarts on spotting a pattern, but because he brings a convincing realism to his personal life – Wagstaffe, we learn, is still mourning the loss of his parents, but is also close to his sister, Juliette (Charlotte Riley), and his nephew, and the warmth of their scenes together are just enough to keep the darkness at bay for a few minutes. If that delicate balance can continue, Dark Heart’s six-part series (which avoids things getting too intense by splitting the run into three separate two-part cases) could be your new favourite weeknight crime drama.

This website has also shared reviews for the first 2 episodes of Dark Heart, and enjoyed it!