The new Martin Clunes crime drama we can't wait to watch
We may only be a few days into the new year, but we've already had some great telly on our screens. From Playing Nice starring James Norton to hit reality game show The Traitors, we're glued to our sofas – and now, ITV are bringing us another gripping drama called Out There.
This must-watch six-part series will explore the criminal underworld of county lines drug-dealing, set against the picturesque Welsh countryside, with Doc Martin star Martin Clunes playing a grieving farmer confronted with "dark forces" threatening his rural community.
Out There is landing soon, so if it sounds right up your street, here's everything you need to know from the release date and cast to the plot and trailer.
Out There: Release date
The new thriller to know has finally got a release date, and it's so soon! Out There was first announced back in September 2023, and now, the six-part series has been confirmed to air on ITV1 and ITVX at 9pm on Sunday 19 January. The second episode will follow one day later, landing at the same time on Monday 20 January.
Out There: Plot
ITV's official synopsis for Out There is as follows: "The drama depicts the surreptitious invasion of the land our farmer cherishes, with devastating consequences, as his livelihood, homestead and family life are threatened by local county lines drugs dealers: urban gangs using the British countryside as a field of operations, moving drugs and money between their inner-city hubs and provincial areas."
Clunes takes the lead role as Nathan Williams, a man "caught in a numbing rhythm of work and grief " two years after losing his wife, Sabine. Alongside running the farm that's been in his family for generations, Nathan is also a single parent to teenager Johnny, played by Louis Ashbourne Serkis.
"Nathan is uniquely placed and possesses enough pent-up energy to take on the gangs that threaten to engulf his son," the synopsis continues. "Consequently, he embarks on a personal journey that will take him ever further out of his comfort zone into a dark alternative world as he fights to protect his family, his homestead and his legacy.
"He’s missed all the clues that the country idyll around him has been fatally compromised, contaminated by waves of criminality spreading and mutating virus-like from the city. Now Nathan must accept that the rustic atmosphere of his childhood is long gone, replaced by something altogether more perilous. And the only way for Nathan to survive in this brave new world is to learn the rules and fight back."
Described by ITV's Head of Drama, Polly Hill, as "a brilliantly compelling drama...full of surprises", Out There also tackles and raises awareness of a serious issue. Ed Whitmore, writer and executive producer, said: "County lines is a particularly vicious and ruthless wave of drug dealing that uses fear and violence to coerce, often vulnerable, young people into working as runners and dealers. It has become a serious and rapidly increasing problem across the whole of the UK, so it felt like an important and timely story to tell.”
We'll definitely be tuning in on Sunday...
Out There: Cast
The main cast of Out There is as follows:
Martin Clunes as Nathan
Louis Ashbourne Serkis as Nathan's son Johnny
Mark Lewis Jones as Nathan's brother Caleb
Carly-Sophia Davies and Gerran Howell as sister and brother, Sadie and Rhys
Natalia Kostrzewa as cleaner Eve
Out There: Trailer
The trailer for Out There dropped on 5 December, and it's jam-packed with drama, tension and suspense. Watch it in full below:
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