''Wild Bill'' is a British television

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

series which premiered on

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 ...

on 12 June 2019. The series stars executive producer

Rob Lowe Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and podcast host. He made his acting debut at the age of 15 with ABC's short-lived sitcom ''A New Kind of Family'' (1979–1980). Following numerous television roles in ...

, and six episodes were commissioned in October 2018.

Premise

Chief Constable Bill Hixon, a widowed former US police chief, moves from

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Boston, Lincolnshire Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Boston is north of London, north-east of Peterborough, east of Nottingham, south-east of Lincoln, south-southeast of Hull ...

with his fourteen-year-old daughter Kelsey, after being sacked from the American police force for assaulting a boy who had uploaded sexual images of his daughter. Although he makes an immediate impact on his colleagues, none appear too pleased to have an American officer around, aside from eager young trainee detective Muriel Yeardsley, with whom Bill forms an affinity after a slightly rocky initial start.

Cast

as Chief Constable Bill Hixon; head of the East Lincolnshire Police Force * Bronwyn James as DC Muriel Yeardsley; a trainee CID detective toward whom Bill takes a particular shine *

Rachael Stirling Rachael Atlanta Stirling (born 30 May 1977).. is an English stage, film and television actress. She has been nominated twice for the Laurence Olivier Award for her stage work. She played Nancy Astley in the BBC drama ''Tipping the Velvet'', and ...

as Lady Mary Harborough; a local crown court judge with whom Bill has an affair *

Anjli Mohindra Anjli Mohindra (born 20 February 1990) is a British stage, screen and voice-over actress and writer. She is best known for playing aspiring journalist Rani Chandra in the ''Doctor Who'' spin-off series ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' (2008–2011) ...

as Deputy Chief Constable Lydia Price; Bill's second in command *

Tony Pitts Anthony Pitts (born 10 October 1962) is an English actor, most notable for playing Archie Brooks in the long-running British soap ''Emmerdale Farm'' between 1983 and 1993. Early life Pitts was born in Sheffield, England. His family was wor ...

as the police and crime commissioner Keith Metcalfe; Bill's manager *

Anthony Flanagan Anthony Flanagan (born 11 April 1972) is an English actor most widely known for his portrayal of policeman Tony in Channel 4's comedy-drama series '' Shameless''. Biography Flanagan was born in Stockport, Cheshire. At school he was called Anth ...

as PC Sean Cobley; a disillusioned beat cop determined not to accept Bill's new regime *

Divian Ladwa Divian Ladwa is an English actor best known for appearing in the Oscar nominated Best Picture '' Lion'', the BAFTA winning comedy series ''Detectorists'', and the Marvel Studios film ''Ant-Man and the Wasp''. Career TV and film Divian La ...

as PC Troy Drakes; PC Cobley's bumbling beat partner * Aloreia Spencer as Kelsey Hixon; Bill's teenage daughter *

Angela Griffin Angela Mellissa Griffin (born 19 July 1976) is a British actress and television presenter who has been active on British television since the early 1990s. She is best known for portraying the roles of Fiona Middleton in the ITV soap opera '' ...

as Lisa Cranston; a local journalist assigned to oversee Bill's tenure as Chief Constable *

Vicki Pepperdine Vicki Pepperdine (born 1961) is an English comedy actress and writer. She was nominated for two BAFTA TV Awards for co-writing the BBC sitcom '' Getting On'' (2009–12), and was also nominated for a British Comedy Award for her portrayal of D ...

as Broadbent; the force's resident pathologist *

Steffan Rhodri Steffan Rhodri (born 1 March 1967) is a Welsh film actor, best known for portraying Dave Coaches on ''Gavin & Stacey'', Reg Cattermole in ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1'' and as the voice of Drippy in '' Ni no Kuni: Wrath of ...

as DS Alex Blair; DC Yeardsley's immediate superior * Aleksandar Jovanovic as Oleg Kraznov; a dangerous Russian businessman attempting to build a criminal empire on Bill's turf

Episodes

Production

The series stars executive producer

, and six episodes were commissioned in October 2018. Filming began in November 2018, with

and

confirmed to be among the cast. Aloreia Spencer, who plays Hixon's fourteen-year-old daughter Kesley, made her on-screen debut in the series.

Cancellation

On 13 November 2019, ITV announced the series was cancelled after a single series.

Broadcast

On 29 May 2019,

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

announced it was picking up the show, then began broadcasting it 9 March 2020. On 4 August 2020, BritBox North America announced it would release the series for the US market, then began releasing it weekly from 4 August 2020.

Reception

The series received mixed reviews, with

Lucy Mangan Lucy Katherine Mangan''England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007'' (born 1974) is a British journalist and author. She is a columnist, features writer and TV critic for ''The Guardian''. A major part of her writing is related t ...

of ''

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 ...

'' awarding the series' premiere episode three stars, writing: ''

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 ...

''s two-star review described it as "grim and a bit cheapo", a "howling letdown", and "dreary".

Home media

The series was released on DVD on 29 July 2019.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wild Bill (Tv Series) 2019 British television series debuts 2019 British television series endings 2010s British crime drama television series 2010s British comedy-drama television series 2010s British police procedural television series 2010s British television miniseries ITV television dramas Television series by ITV Studios English-language television shows Television shows set in Lincolnshire