''Kiri'' is a four-part British television crime drama miniseries starring

Sarah Lancashire Sarah-Jane Abigail Lancashire (born 10 October 1964) is an English actress from Oldham, England. She graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1986 and began her career in local theatre, whilst teaching drama classes at the ...

. It aired on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

from 10 to 31 January 2018.

Plot

The series is set in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. It centres on the abduction of Kiri Akindele (Felicia Mukasa), a nine-year-old black girl. Kiri lives with her foster parents Jim and Alice Warner (

Steven Mackintosh Steven Mackintosh (born 30 April 1967) is an English actor and narrator. He is perhaps best known for his role as Andreas Tanis in the action horror films '' Underworld: Evolution'' (2006) and '' Underworld: Rise of the Lycans'' (2009). Mack ...

and

Lia Williams Lia Williams (born 26 November 1964) is an English actress and director, known for stage, film, and television appearances. She is noted for her role as Wallis Simpson in ''The Crown''. Theatre career Williams's breakthrough performance came ...

) and their teenage son Simon (Finn Bennett). The Warners are a middle-class white couple who fostered her at age four and are about to adopt her. Miriam Grayson (

) is a disorganised middle-aged social worker. Kiri is in her care. Her boss is Julie Burnett (

Claire Rushbrook Claire Louise Rushbrook (born 25 August 1971) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Roxanne in '' Secrets & Lies.'' Early life Claire Louise Rushbrook was born on 25 August 1971 in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. She attended Fearnh ...

). Kiri has been taken to the house of her paternal grandfather Tobi Akindele (

Lucian Msamati Lucian Gabriel Wiina Msamati (born 5 March 1976) is a British-Tanzanian actor. He played Salladhor Saan in HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', and was the first black actor to play Iago in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2015 production of ''Othel ...

) and his second wife for supervised visits once a month by Miriam, who has been investigated in relation to previous cases in which her decisions have resulted in negative outcomes. Kiri's father is 28-year-old Nathanial ( Paapa Essiedu). He is a violent, drug dealing ex-convict from Peckham, London who has a history of grievous bodily harm and is not allowed to have contact with Kiri.

Cast and characters

*Felicia Mukasa as Kiri Akindele, a girl aged 9 who disappears in the first episode *

as Miriam Grayson, a social worker caring for Kiri *

as Tobi Akindele, Kiri's grandfather *

Andi Osho Yewande "Andi" Osho (born 27 January 1973) is a British stand-up comedian, actress and television presenter. Life and career Osho was born in Plaistow, East London,In an interview for BBC Radio 4 Extra's ''MacAuley & Co'' in 2011 at the Ed ...

as Rochelle Akindele, Tobi's second wife * Paapa Essiedu as Nathaniel Akindele, Kiri's father *

Wunmi Mosaku Oluwunmi Mosaku (born 1986) is a Nigerian-born British actress. She is known for her roles as Joy in the BBC Two miniseries ''Moses Jones'' (2009) and Holly Lawson in the ITV series ''Vera'' (2011–2012). She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best S ...

as Detective Inspector Vanessa Mercer, police officer leading the investigation into Kiri's disappearance *

as Alice Warner, Kiri's foster-mother and prospective adoptive mother *

as Jim Warner, Kiri's foster-father and prospective adoptive father *Finn Bennett as Simon Warner, son of Alice and Jim *

as Julie Burnett, Miriam's boss *

Cara Theobold Cara Louise Theobold (born 8 January 1990) is an English actress who trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Her first acting role was Ivy Stuart in the third and fourth series of television period drama ''Downton Abbey'' and is also ...

as Lucy Maxwell, a younger social worker who Miriam has mentored * Sue Johnston as Celia Grayson, Miriam's elderly mother

Episodes

According to Channel 4's stats released to Digital Spy on 9 February 2018, "An average of 2.1 million watched the show go out live, and it has become the biggest ever drama on All4, taking in half a million views per episode. Kiri was watched on average by 4.9 million viewers with an 18.7% audience share (including on catch-up).

Music

The music for the series was scored by the British artist

Clark Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...

. His work for the series was recompiled in his album ''Kiri Variations''.

Reception

It was well received by television critics. However, it attracted criticism from some social workers; they perceived the programme as having a negative portrayal of their profession and said that an incompetent rule-breaker such as Miriam would not have kept her job for as long.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiri (Tv Series) 2018 British television series debuts 2018 British television series endings 2010s British crime drama television series 2010s British mystery television series 2010s British television miniseries Kidnapping in television Channel 4 crime television shows Channel 4 miniseries Channel 4 television dramas English-language television shows Murder in television Race and ethnicity in television Television series about dysfunctional families Television shows set in Bristol Child abduction in television