Michelle Keegan's "superb" and "twisty" crime thriller breaks impressive record for ITV

Michelle Keegan’s "superb" and "twisty" crime thriller The Blame has broken streaming records for ITV. The police drama follows Keegan as DI Emma Crane as she investigates the disappearance of a 16-year-old girl.

According to an ITV press release, The Blame is tracking as the UK’s biggest new drama across any channel or streaming platform in 2026, based on 14 days of viewing.

Since its release on the platform on 20 September, the six-part series has been the top title of the month on ITVX, with an average of 6.6 million viewers for the launch episode. Viewership continues to rise.

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Joining Keegan in the cast is Douglas Booth, who plays her colleague, DI Tom Radley. The show follows the pair as they investigate the mystery and tragic death, which forces Crane to take a closer look at her own team.

Based on the novel by Charlotte Langley, the drama was written for television by Megan Gallagher and features several recognisable British actors.

Among them are Ian Hart, Matilda Freeman, Nathan Mensah, Nigel Boyle, Joe Armstrong, Gavin Spokes, Josh Bolt and Ceallach Spellman.

The logline reads: "How do you catch a killer when the killer is one of your own? Twisty thriller starring Michelle Keegan and Douglas Booth. A teenager's murder draws detectives down a dark path."

The series was popular with audiences, who took to IMDb to share their thoughts, with one fan writing: "Twist after twist and Michelle Keegan Superb! Loved this up there with one of the best series I've seen in [a] long time."

Related: ITV responds to reports that Michelle Keegan has exited drama with Doctor Who star replacing her

They continued: "Great story, great twists, it had absolutely everything. Michelle and her co star were brilliant. Had me on the edge of my seat from episode 1 to the final episode. Please guys get this watched, this is fantastic and will certainly not disappoint."

Another said: "The Blame blends a twisty investigation with secret WhatsApp groups, systemic failure, and made-up narrative that barely plays out convincingly, including scenes 'based on a true events'. While not subtle, kinda effective enough to keep you guessing."

The Blame is streaming on ITVX.

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Reporter, Digital Spy

Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy. 

A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre. 

In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.