Murder (2002 TV series)

GenreCrime drama

Written byAbi Morgan

Directed byBeeban Kidron

StarringJulie Walters
Roland Manookian
Nicola Reynolds
Paul Higgins
Jason Done
Robert Glenister
David Morrissey
Imelda Staunton
Aaron McCusker

Murder
Om Puri and Julie Walters as Akash Gupta and Angela Maurer
Genre	Crime drama
Written by	Abi Morgan
Directed by	Beeban Kidron
Starring	Julie Walters Roland Manookian Nicola Reynolds Paul Higgins Jason Done Robert Glenister David Morrissey Imelda Staunton Aaron McCusker
Composer	Nina Humphreys
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	4
Production
Executive producer	Greg Brenman
Producer	Rebecca De Souza
Cinematography	Ian Wilson
Editor	Paul Tothill
Running time	50 minutes
Production company	Tiger Aspect Productions
Original release
Network	BBC Two
Release	29 May (2002-05-29) – 19 June 2002 (2002-06-19)

Murder is a British television crime drama series, first broadcast between 29 May and 19 June 2002, that ran for a total of four episodes on BBC Two.^[1] The series starred Julie Walters as Angela Maurer, a mother who seeks help from a local journalist after her son, Christopher, is killed the day after his 21st birthday. Each episode focuses on a different character who is somehow linked to the story through Angela, including the journalist, a shopkeeper, a police detective and a witness to the crime itself. The serial was written by playwright Abi Morgan, and directed by Beeban Kidron.

Producer Rebecca de Souza said of the series: "Unless we've had a personal experience of murder we think we understand it because we've all seen investigations on TV or read about them in the newspapers. They are generally presented in a particular way. The focus tends to be on the victim and the police investigation. We wanted to explore the idea that, alongside the immediate family, many people are affected by murder – some in surprising ways." Writer Abi Morgan said of her inspirations for the series. "Their stories were so incredible, there was a strong sense that they had been touched by madness. I wanted to capture the intensity of what they were living through as well as the odd normality of it. Their experiences had a surreal sense about them, but at the same time they had to carry on with their lives. What keeps Angela going is her drive to find out who did it, but, once the investigation is over, there really is nowhere else to go. You just have to live with it."^[2]

Walters was awarded a BAFTA television award in 2003 for Best Actress for her role as Angela Maurer.^[3] The series averaged around 3 million viewers, with the first episode notably beating ER in the ratings.^[4] Notably, the series has never been released on VHS or DVD.