''The Bay'' is an

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

crime drama series produced by Tall Story Pictures and distributed worldwide by

ITV Studios Global Entertainment ITV Studios is a British multinational television production and distribution company owned by the British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadca ...

that first aired in March 2019. The first two series starred

Morven Christie Morven Christie (born 1 September 1981) is a Scottish actress. She is best known for her roles as Alison Hughes in the BBC drama ''The A Word,'' Amanda Hopkins in the ITV drama ''Grantchester'', and DS Lisa Armstrong in ITV crime series '' The ...

as a detective sergeant family liaison officer.

Marsha Thomason Marsha Lisa Thomason Sykes (born 19 January 1976) is a British television and film actress who is best known for playing Sara Evers in Disney's ''The Haunted Mansion'', Nessa Holt in the first two seasons of the NBC series '' Las Vegas'', Naomi ...

took over the leading role from series three as DS Jenn Townsend. The first series centred around an investigation into teenaged missing twins from a family living in Morecambe. The name of the series derives from

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is a large estuary in northwest England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second larges ...

, which is on the north-west coast of England in the county of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

. The first series received an average of 7.2 million views across the six episodes. A second series of six episodes was confirmed on 4 May 2019 and it was originally planned for it to be broadcast mid-2020 but due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, it was pushed back to early 2021 when in January of that year all six episodes were immediately made available on the

ITV Hub ITVX (formerly ITV Hub) is a British online video-on-demand service operated by ITV plc, ITV. The service offers predominantly features content from ITV1, as well as ITV Digital Channels, ITV Digital channels and some licensed content. The serv ...

, receiving an average of 7.9 million views. A third series was filmed in summer 2021. Christie decided to leave the show following production on the second series and Marsha Thomason was cast as the new lead, DS Jenn Townsend. After the last episode of series 3 was broadcast it was announced that a fourth series was forthcoming and in June 2022 that filming was complete.

Cast

as DS/DC Lisa Armstrong (Series 1–2) *

as DS Jenn Townsend (Series 3—present) * Daniel Ryan as DI Anthony 'Tony' Manning * Erin Shanagher as Sgt./DS Karen Hobson * Andrew Dowbiggin as DS James Clarke *

Simon Manyonda Simon Manyonda (born 1986) is a British actor. Early life Manyonda was born in Lambeth, London, the eldest son of a GP of medicine and a gynaecologist and obstetrician. He is of South African and Zimbabwean descent. Manyonda is the elder bro ...

as DS Alexander Stewart (Series 1–2) *

Thomas Law Thomas John Law (born 17 December 1992) is an English actor. He began his career as a child actor, playing Peter Beale in the BBC One soap opera '' EastEnders'' from 2006 to 2010. He was the fifth actor to reprise the role, followed by Ben H ...

as DC Eddie Martin (Series 2—present) * Taheen Modak as DC/DS Ahmed 'Med' Kharim (Series 1–2) *

Lindsey Coulson Lindsey Coulson (born 13 April 1960) is an English actress, known for her role as Carol Jackson in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. For this role, she won the 2000 British Soap Award for Best Dramatic Performance. Coulson is also well kno ...

as Penny Armstrong (Series 1–2) * Imogen King as Abbie Armstrong (Series 1–2) *

Art Parkinson Art Parkinson (born 19 October 2001) is an Irish actor from Moville in Inishowen, County Donegal, in Ireland. He began his professional acting career at the age of seven. He is best known for his role as Rickon Stark on the HBO series ''Game of ...

as Rob Armstrong (Series 1–2)

Series 1 (2019)

Jonas Armstrong William Jonas Armstrong is an Irish actor known for playing the title role in the BBC One drama series ''Robin Hood''. Career In 2003, Armstrong appeared in ''Quartermaine's Terms'' at the Royal Theatre in Northampton as Derek Meadle. In 2004 ...

as Sean Meredith *

Matthew McNulty Michael Anthony McNulty (born 14 December 1982), known professionally as Matthew McNulty, is a German-born British actor. Early life McNulty was born on 14 December 1982 in Hanover, Lower Saxony, West Germany, and lived in Berlin and Münster ...

as Nick Mooney * Chanel Cresswell as Jess Meredith *

Tracie Bennett Tracie Bennett (born 17 June 1961) is an English singer and stage and television actress. She trained at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in Clapham, London. She played the role of Sharon Gaskell in ''Coronation Street'' from 1982 to 1 ...

as Margaret Foley * Adam Long as Vincent Chapman/Victor Cook *

Philip Hill-Pearson Philip Hill-Pearson is a British actor. He trained at East 15 Acting School, graduating in 2009. Shortly after graduating from the drama school, he was cast as Bruce Donnelly in the comedy drama series '' Shameless''. Following on from this, h ...

as Ryan Foley *Martina Laird as Bernie Ward *Richard Huw as Tom Hayes *Jordan Mifsúd as Krzysztof Babakowski *Ellie Duckles as Hanna Babakowski * Ciaran Griffiths as Lee Ward *

Louis Greatorex Louis Greatorex (born 30 December 1996) is a British actor from Duffield, Derbyshire. His television credits include the BBC1 drama series ''Last Tango in Halifax'', in which he has played Lawrence Elliot since 2012. Life and career Greatorex i ...

as Sam Hesketh *Roger Barclay as Councillor Hesketh *

Darci Shaw Darci Louise Shaw (born 17 April 2002) is an English actress. Early life Shaw was born in Liverpool and grew up in the suburb of Mossley Hill. She attended the Belvedere Academy. She took Saturday acting classes at the Liverpool Institute for P ...

as Holly Meredith *Noah Valentine as Dylan Meredith *Lucy Hillyard as Kelly Meredith *Liam McCheyne as Jake Meredith

Series 2 (2021)

Joe Absolom Joe Absolom (born 16 December 1978) is an English actor known for his roles as Matthew Rose in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' and Al Large in the ITV comedy drama '' Doc Martin''. Early life Absolom was born in Lewisham, London. A former ...

as Andy Warren *

James Cosmo James Ronald Gordon Copeland , known professionally as James Cosmo (b. 1947), is a Scottish film and television actor known for his appearances in films including ''Highlander'', ''Braveheart'', '' Trainspotting'', ''Jagame Thandhiram'', ''Tro ...

as Bill Bradwell *

Stephen Tompkinson Stephen Phillip Tompkinson (born 15 October 1965) is an English actor, known for his television roles as Marcus in ''Chancer '' (1990), Damien Day in '' Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1998), Father Peter Clifford in '' Ballykissangel'' (1996– ...

as Stephen Marshbrook *

Sharon Small Sharon Small is a Scottish actress known for her work in film, radio, theatre, and television. Perhaps best known for her portrayal of Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers in the BBC television adaptation of '' The Inspector Lynley Mysteries'' b ...

as Rose Marshbrook *

Amy James-Kelly Amy James-Kelly (born 15 November 1995) is a British actress. She gained prominence through her role as Maddie Heath in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2013–2015). She has since starred in the Netflix series ''Safe'' (2018) and t ...

as Grace Marshbrook * Jack Archer as Jamie Marshbrook *

Steven Robertson Steven Robertson (born 1 January 1977) is a Scottish actor who stars as Detective Sandy Wilson in the BBC One adaptation of Ann Cleeves's ''Shetland'', filmed near where Robertson was born and brought up. He portrayed Michael Connelly, a young ...

as Mark Bradwell *

Sunetra Sarker Sunetra Sarker (born 25 June 1973) is an English actress and presenter, known for her roles as Nisha Batra in '' Brookside'', Anji Mittel in ''No Angels'', Zoe Hanna in '' Casualty'' and Kaneez Paracha in ''Ackley Bridge''. In 2014, she took p ...

as Stella Bradwell *

Steven Elder Steven Elder is an English actor and screenwriter, known for his roles in the feature films ''Good'' (2008) and '' The King'' (2019), and the BBC television series '' Apple Tree Yard'' (2017). Filmography Films Television Audio drama ''H ...

as DCI Pearson *Adam Hussain as Josh Nubhai *Arian Nik as Theo Anvari * Wendy Kweh as Lyn Chee *

Sian Breckin Sian Breckin (born 1982) is a British film, television and theatre actress. '' Donkey Punch'' directed by Olly Blackburn was Breckin's feature film debut; she starred alongside Jaime Winstone, Nichola Burley, Tom Burke and Julian Morris. Subs ...

as Madeline Hookway *

Kerrie Taylor Kerrie Taylor (born 1973) is a British actress from Romsey, Hampshire. Career Taylor is best known for the role of Beth Enright/Beresford on the ITV family drama '' Where the Heart Is'', a role she played for four years, leaving in 2005. S ...

as Ellen Manning *

Zaraah Abrahams Zaraah Clover Abrahams (born 7 January 1987) is an English actress and voiceover artist. She is known for her roles as Magda in '' Girls in Love'' from 2003 to 2005, Michaela White in the BBC school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' from 2 ...

as DS Emma Ryan *Jade Greyul as Lateesha Kharim * Owen McDonnell as Frank Mercer

Series 3 (2022)

* Georgina Scholes as Erin Fischer *

Barry Sloane Barry Sloane (born Barry Paul Sloan;''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005''; at ancestry.com 10 February 1981) is an English actor. He has appeared in numerous television shows, and in the BAFTA Award–winning telev ...

as Chris Fischer * David Carpenter as Conor Townsend * Emme Hayes as Maddie Townsend *

Mark Stanley Mark Robert Speight, known professionally as Mark Stanley, is an English actor. He portrayed Grenn in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''. He is also known for his roles in the films ''Kajaki'' and '' Our Kind of Traitor'', and the series ''Dic ...

as Warren Pryce *

Vincent Regan Vincent Regan (born 16 May 1965) is a British film and television actor, best known for his roles in ''300'', ''Troy'', '' Unleashed'', '' Clash of the Titans'' and '' Lockout''. Early life Regan was born on 16 May 1965 in Swansea, Glamorgan, ...

as Ray Conlon

Series 4 (2023)

Karl Davies Karl Davies (born 6 August 1982) is an English actor, and voice actor, who portrayed Lyle Anderson in the TV series '' Kingdom''. Previously he had portrayed Robert Sugden in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Career Davies took over the role ...

as Carl MacGregor

Episodes

Series 1 (2019)

Detective Sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...

Lisa Armstrong (

) is the mother of two children and working for the fictional West Lancashire Police Service as a Family Liaison Officer (FLO). She is called out on the case of two missing teenagers only to find the married stepfather of the twins is someone with whom she had sex in an alley behind a pub on the night the twins disappeared whilst out on a friend's

hen do A bachelorette party (United States and Canada) or hen night (United Kingdom, UK, Republic of Ireland, Ireland and Australia) is a party held for a woman (the bride or bride-to-be) who will soon be Marriage, married. While Beth Montemurro conclud ...

. As an FLO, Armstrong is trained not to become emotionally involved with cases she is working on, but her sexual encounter with Sean (

) threatens to compromise the investigation. Although she can prove that he is not responsible for their disappearance, Armstrong deletes the CCTV footage of them having sex rather than coming clean and admitting to the one-night stand and providing Sean with an alibi.

Series 2 (2021)

Lisa's suspension is over but she has been demoted, whilst Med has been promoted. A solicitor is shot on his doorstep. The team investigate. To complicate Lisa's life further, her ex-husband Andy (

) reappears in Morecambe.

Series 3 (2022)

DS Townsend (

) is immediately thrown into the deep end when a body is found in the bay on her first day in the job. She must get under the skin of a grieving and complicated family if she has any chance of solving the premature death of an aspiring young boxer.

Series 4 (2023)

Production

The series has been labelled the "Northern ''Broadchurch''", or the "New ''Broadchurch''" after a similar British crime drama called

Broadchurch ''Broadchurch'' is a British crime drama television series broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV for List of Broadchurch episodes, three series between 2013 and 2017. It was created by Chris Chibnall, who acted as an executive producer and wrote a ...

starring Olivia Colman and

David Tennant David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show '' Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...

. The writer of the series,

Daragh Carville Daragh Carville (born in Armagh in 1969) is an Irish playwright, screenwriter and educator. He is best known for co-creating and writing the ITV crime drama '' The Bay'', first broadcast on ITV in 2019, attracting an average audience of over seve ...

, is originally from Northern Ireland, but wanted to set something in where he now lives. The series was shot in and around Morecambe, particularly on the beaches and in the Winter Gardens, where writer Daragh Carville stated that the people of Morecambe took quite an interest in the show and were keen to see that they, and their town, were not misrepresented on screen. Other scenes were also shot in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It i ...

and

Grange-over-Sands Grange-over-Sands is a town and civil parish located on the north side of Morecambe Bay in Cumbria, England, a few miles south of the Lake District National Park. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,042, increasing at the 2011 ...

Reception

Series 1 (2019)

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' rated the first and second episodes in the series with three stars out of five, and whilst acknowledging the lead character's portrayal, described the series as "Lancashire's riposte to/total rip-off of Broadchurch". ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' also awarded it three stars out of five, labelling the series as having texture, but that the characterisation of the conundrum faced by DS Armstrong as being "cold". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' was more positive and gave it four stars out of five stating "Suspects and police officers with shared secrets? Check. Information wilfully withheld by the writer? Check. Will you be hooked? Check." Katrina Williams, writing in the ''Glasgow Guardian'', highlighted the high standard of production amidst the formulaic setting of the crime drama and noted that "I wasn't desperate for the next episode, but the first episode still managed to strike my interest".

Series 2 (2021)

Dominic Maxwell, reviewing for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', gave the first episode of the second series four stars out of five commenting that the episode was "a solid, finely crafted detective thriller" and it "could just be the downbeat yet propulsive distraction we need right now". Rachel Sigee, reviewing for the newspaper '' i'', also gave it four stars praising Christie and suggesting "This engrossing first episode scattered enough clues ..to set up an intriguing thriller". Anita Singh, reviewing for ''

'', rated the first episode three stars out of five calling it "a refreshing return for this bracing seaside cop show", while Sean O'Grady for ''

'' was more critical commenting that "though the actors put in some commendable performances, they are all lumbered with carelessly constructed, barely two-dimensional characters" and gave it two stars.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bay, The 2019 British television series debuts 2010s British crime drama television series 2010s British mystery television series 2020s British crime drama television series 2020s British mystery television series British detective television series English-language television shows ITV crime dramas Television series by ITV Studios Serial drama television series Television shows set in Lancashire 2020s British drama television series Family saga television series ITV television dramas Television series about dysfunctional families Television shows about death