Created by Francesca Brill and Luke Watson, and starring Jill Halfpenny, Jonas Armstrong, Rupert Penry-Jones, and Deborah Findlay, “The Drowning” is a British four-part television thriller drama miniseries that first broadcast on Channel 5 on February 1, 2020.
The miniseries debuted in the US on Thursday, May 6, 2021, on Sundance Now.
Jodie Walsh is a woman grieving for her child, Tom, who drowned nine years ago at the age of four, during a family day out. His body was never recovered from the park lake. One day, on her way to a make-or-break pitch for a commission for her struggling gardening business, Jodi sees a teenage boy who looks exactly like him – right down to the little half-moon scar under his eye – and becomes convinced it is Tom.
Nobody believes her. Not the police, who think she is wasting their time. And not her now-ex-husband, Ben (Dara Devaney). He has moved on with his life and has a new partner, Kate, who’s understandably suspicious of Jodie hanging around. Ben tells her he kept seeing Tom in the days after the disappearance, too, but it’s time to let go.
Frustrated, Jodie takes things in hand, precipitating a kind of psychological thriller Mrs. Doubtfire. She applies to become a music tutor at Daniel’s school, using fake documents, and immediately shows a special interest in him. At a parent-teacher evening, she meets his father, Mark (Rupert Penry-Jones), a tall, straight-backed, and instantly suspicious posho. Hoping for an opportunity to snoop on Daniel’s home life, she tells Mark she thinks his son has real potential, but he’ll need a lot of one-on-one tuition.
Where can I watch “The Drowning”?
Exclusively available for streaming on Sundance Now and Channel 5. You can also watch the show on online streaming services My5 and Amazon Prime (cancel anytime).