Six Four (TV series)

Six Four is a 2023 British crime thriller television series set in Glasgow and Edinburgh starring Kevin McKidd, Vinette Robinson, Alex Ferns and James Cosmo. It is an adaptation of the 2012 novel by Hideo Yokoyama. It was made available on ITVX in the United Kingdom from 30 March 2023.

Synopsis

Chris (McKidd) and Michelle (Robinson) are parents to a missing child, but a wider conspiracy may link the father (Cosmo) of another missing child to Chris' brother, Philip (Whipp).

Cast

• Kevin McKidd as Detective Constable Chris O'Neill
• Vinette Robinson as Michelle O'Neill, Chris's wife and a former undercover officer
• Selin Hizli as Samantha Wishart, an investigative journalist with whom Chris had an affair
• Alex Ferns as Constable Gordon Byrne, a local officer based in Dumfries
• James Cosmo as Jim Mackie, a lawyer and the father of missing woman Julie Mackie
• Andrew Whipp as Assistant Chief Constable Phillip O'Neill, Chris's older brother
• Brian McCardie as Bill Martin, a security contractor and former Special Branch officer
• Richard Coyle as Robert Wallace, the Scottish Justice Minister and SNP leadership candidate
• Alison Peebles as April Mclean, the mother of deceased DC Gary Mclean, the audio recordist involved in the Mackie investigation
• Laura Cairns as Ms Fullerton, a teacher at the private Strathalmond School in Dumfries
• Lorne Macfayden as Stuart Simpson, a maths teacher at the private Strathalmond School
• Toby Stephens as Piers Fields-Turner, former criminal associated with Michelle
• Iona Anderson as Annabel Wallace, the teenage daughter of Robert and Pauline
• Eubha Akilade as Olivia O'Neill, the teenage daughter of Chris and Michelle
• Frances Grey as Pauline Wallace, Robert's wife and Annabel's mother
• Jessica Hardwick as PC McKenzie, an officer based at Glasgow Police Headquarters
• Peter Hannah as Cameron, a member of Wallace's ministerial staff

Episodes

Production

The series is produced by House Productions. Clare Kerr is producer and Ben A. Williams is director. Gregory Burke is script writer executive producer alongside Juliette Howell, Tessa Ross and Molly Bolt. Clare Mcquillan is also a writer on the series. Burke described the series as a “human story about two people under incredible amounts of pressure, who both choose to try and address their pasts. It is a story about how chance can define a lifetime, exploring the corruption that runs through institutions, and examining the secrets and monsters that lurk in every family.” The adaptation moves the setting from Kyoto in Japan to Glasgow, Scotland with the main character’s name changing from Mikami to Chris. Script writer Gregory Burke explained the move by saying “In recent years we have not lacked our own examples of institutional inertia. Our public life and collective health has been jeopardised by corruption. In many of these situations the same dilemma is at their core; to what is the individual within the institution loyal, and does that loyalty inevitably lead to a compromise with the truth.”

Casting

Kevin McKidd and Vinette Robinson were revealed to be cast as Chris and Michelle O’ Neill in May 2022.

Filming

Six Four was filmed in both Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland in the summer of 2022.

Music

Music from the television series was released by Dubois Records on March 30, 2023. The album features a selection of original music for the series by Luke Richards.

Broadcast

The series was available on ITVX in the United Kingdom from 30 March 2023. ITV1 began airing the four episodes weekly, commencing Sunday 22 October 2023.

Reception

Charlotta Billstrom awarded the series four stars in the Evening Standard, saying, "The cast deliver excellent performances" and "It’s tightly plotted too, and filler-free, making for four powerful episodes full of twists and turns."

References

External links