THE BEAST MUST DIE
Based on the novel of the same name by Cecil Day-Lewis, “The Beast Must Die” is a British thriller television series that centers on a mother’s grief for her son who was killed in a car accident. She takes matters into her own hands by posing as a novelist to ingratiate herself into the family of the man whom she believed to be responsible for her son’s death, the first season of which premiered in the UK on January 17, 2021, and in the US on Monday, July 12, 2021, at 10:00 P.M ET on AMC.
Following the death of her son in a hit and run, all Frances Cairnes wants is to hunt down and kill the man she believes is responsible. When she finally tracks him down, she tricks her way into his house and plots his murder from within.
Frances Cairns (Jumbo) details her intentions in the opening minutes of the series: “I’m going to kill a man.” She doesn’t know who the man is or where he lives, but his days are numbered. Said man ran over her six-year-old son, Marty, in a hit-and-run, leaving Frances to pick up the pieces of a life left utterly broken. Having received a letter that the case has grown cold, Frances confronts the new chief of police for the Isle of Wight, Nigel Strangeways (Billy Howle).
Like Frances, Strangeways is also dealing with grief. His predecessor has killed himself and Strangeways suffers from PTSD due to a yet-untold traumatic event. When he meets Frances, he’s struck by how cold and callous he can be. He literally feels nothing and is shocked that a woman who has lost her child is able to feel at all. This crossroads puts the pair on separate paths to achieve the same aims: close a case and, hopefully, gain some resolution to their own damaged spirits.
Series creator and screenwriter Gabby Chiappe and director Dome Karukoski form a series that’s contemplative when necessary while never devolving into being cold or overly artistic. Frances gets fleeting glimpses of little Marty, but never so much that the audience assumes she’s mentally deteriorating.
WHERE CAN I WATCH “THE BEAST MUST DIE”?
Exclusively available for streaming on AMC and BritBox.