ITV’s new drama The Long Shadow has had one fan threatening to throw coffee at the television "in anger" after continuing the story of the hunt for the serial killer Peter Sutcliffe or 'the Yorkshire ripper', who murdered 13 women before being apprehended.
The show, which looks at the failings of the police during the investigation, had fans take to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their thoughts. One person wrote: "#TheLongShadow is so good at portraying the [expletive] show of male policing towards female victims that I'm resisting throwing my mug of coffee at the tele in anger."
Another person added: "#TheLongShadow This has me sobbing and raging through the tears at the misogyny, sexism and racism which contributed to the horrific death toll. It is heartbreaking to watch the ineptitude of the police investigation. Systemic racism and sexism. They allowed him to go on killing."
A third person wrote: "Fantastic drama #TheLongShadow shame on West Yorkshire Police. Absolutely failed those poor women. More so, Marcella eventually received £17.5k in her injuries compensation but as a result lost her health and social benefits while useless Ronald Gregory sold his story for £40k." Another viewer simply wrote: "#TheLongShadow the attitude of men in this is making my blood boil."
Daniel Mays, who plays Sydney Jackson in the series, also shared his thoughts, writing: "A huge thank you for all your comments on here regarding #TheLongShadow. The idea that such an emotionally charged, controversial & infamous episode in our recent criminal history has resonated with so many is incredibly gratifying. Privileged to have made a small contribution."
So what is The Long Shadow all about? The official synopsis reads: "One murder has the power to cast a long shadow and this case plunged a whole society into darkness. For every victim, there were friends and loved ones. For every police officer, there was the burden of failure - of near misses and guilt – and the knowledge that as they failed to find their man, more women continued to suffer. The impact on the lives of those who live on after the death of their loved one remains to this day.
"Those who cannot escape what happened, who must sit with their incomprehensible trauma for decades after, enduring their own life sentences. With people today holding to account the institutional foundations that foster misogyny, racism, and violence against women, The Long Shadow will speak to the societal issues of the past whilst highlighting alarming parallels between these terrible crimes and tragic events in our more recent history."
The show is airing weekly on ITV, with all episodes available to watch on ITVX.