David Tennant's gripping true crime drama Des aired on ITV in the UK earlier in the month to almost universal acclaim and netting the channel its biggest drama ratings this year. Also starring Daniel Mays and Jason Watkins, the three part series documents the arrest and trial of Dennis Nilsen, one of the UK's most notorious serial killers. Known to his colleagues and acquaintances as Des, the unremarkable civil servant Nilsen encouraged at least a dozen vulnerable young men and boys back to his flats where he murdered them before dismembering their bodies for disposal.
Now North American audiences will have a chance to watch the series when it streams on Sundance Now, with the first episode dropping on 15th October, with the remaining episodes following over the next two weeks.
Sundance Now is a subscription streaming service available via iOS, Apple TV, Android, Roku, Chromecast or the web at a cost of $6.99 a month or $59.99 for an annual membership. A free seven-day trial is also available. To sign up click here.
Des
The new three part drama Des is based on Killing For Company, the biography of Nilsen written by Brian Masters which includes conversations with the killer who would go by the name of 'Des'.
Nilsen murdered boys and young men in his flat from 1978 to
1983. He was undetected for five years, and it was only when DCI Peter Jay was
called to 23 Cranley Gardens on 9 February, 1983, to investigate human
fragments of flesh and bone clogging the drains, that the police realised they
had a serial killer on their hands.
Dennis Nilsen was arrested and convicted at the Old Bailey
of six counts of murder and two of attempted murder. He was sentenced to life
imprisonment, which was replaced by a whole life tariff in 1994. He died in May
2018.
Told from both the police and Masters’ point of view, Des will explore how a man like Nilsen was able to prey on the young and vulnerable in 1980s Britain. The series will not only highlight the police investigation and trial but also the effect of the media coverage on public perceptions of the victims at the time, raising questions of just how far have we really come since then?
Additional cast include Ron Cook, Faye McKeever, Chanel
Cresswell, Barry Ward, Tony Way, Bronagh Waugh, Laurie Kynaston, Ross Anderson,
Ben Bailey Smith, Jay Simpson, Silas Carson, Stuart McQuarrie, Jamie Parker,
Lex Shrapnel, Gerard Horan, Joel Morris, Jonathan Coy, Amy Booth-Steel, Ken
Bones, Andrew Woodall and Amaka Okafor.
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