Strike
A war veteran turned private detective operates out of a tiny office in London’s Denmark Street. Although wounded both physically and psychologically, his unique insight and background as a military police investigator prove crucial in solving complex crimes that have baffled the police. Based on the bestselling novels written by J.K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.
Why watch Strike
Tom Burke embodies the bruised, brilliant detective archetype with the gravitas of a prestige HBO drama—a war veteran whose shattered body and fractured mind become his greatest investigative assets. Strike isn't your polished procedural; it's a slow-burn character study wrapped in London noir, where every case peels back another layer of psychological damage and hard-won wisdom.
The show moves with deliberate, atmospheric precision, favoring long silences and meaningful glances over exposition dumps. It shares DNA with the methodical craftsmanship of Mindhunter and the intimate character work of The Fall, letting you marinate in the murky spaces between clue and conclusion. Holliday Grainger's partnership with Burke crackles with unspoken tension—two damaged people learning to trust each other one investigation at a time.
Based on J.K. Rowling's Robert Galbraith novels, Strike proves that crime fiction thrives on constraint: a cramped Denmark Street office, limited resources, and a detective who limps through London's underbelly solving cases the Met couldn't crack. It's for anyone who craves mystery with psychological depth, where the real puzzle is understanding why people do what they do.
Watch tonight and you'll find yourself rewinding scenes to catch the micro-expressions that reveal everything.
— The What2Watch desk · US
Where to watch
The story
A war veteran turned private detective operates out of a tiny office in London’s Denmark Street. Although wounded both physically and psychologically, his unique insight and background as a military police investigator prove crucial in solving complex crimes that have baffled the police. Based on the bestselling novels written by J.K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.
