From Obscurity to Obsession Overnight — Netflix Just Dropped a Dark British Crime Anthology Starring Sean Bean, Olivia Colman, Stephen Graham, Anna Maxwell Martin & Sheridan Smith, and It’s Already Beating Mindhunter as Viewers Say the Raw Performances Feel Like Watching True Crime Unfold in Real Time!
Nobody saw it coming. With zero fanfare and barely a whisper of marketing, Netflix quietly dropped both seasons of the BBC’s Accused earlier this week. Within days, the dark, twisted anthology skyrocketed into the streamer’s global top charts — now sitting at number two worldwide — and critics are already hailing it as “one of the most haunting dramas Netflix has ever streamed.”
Featuring a powerhouse cast of British talent — including Sean Bean, Olivia Colman, Stephen Graham, Anna Maxwell Martin, and Sheridan Smith — Accused doesn’t just entertain. It devastates. Each stand-alone episode throws viewers into the murky world of ordinary people pushed into extraordinary, often criminal, circumstances. The moral weight is crushing, the choices shocking, and the aftermath unforgettable.
“What Would YOU Do?” — A Premise That Cuts to the Bone
From the mind of veteran writer Jimmy McGovern, the series strips away police procedural tropes and instead places the accused themselves at the center. Each hour-long episode begins with a character walking into a courtroom, awaiting their verdict. But before the gavel falls, the audience is pulled back into the harrowing chain of events that brought them there.
By the time the episode circles back to the trial, the viewer is left grappling with the same impossible question as the jury: guilty or innocent?
A Cast That Redefines Grit
The anthology’s format allowed for some of Britain’s finest actors to deliver career-defining turns:
- Sean Bean plays an English teacher who lives a double life, presenting as Tracie at night. His delicate, heartbreaking performance is being called one of his best.
- Olivia Colman stuns as Sue Brown, a mother caught in a maelstrom of impossible choices.
- Stephen Graham embodies working-class despair with the ferocity that made him a household name.
- Anna Maxwell Martin and Sheridan Smith bring layered humanity to characters society might otherwise discard.
- Guest stars like Christopher Eccleston as a plumber in the middle of a midlife crisis, Mackenzie Crook as a sadistic army officer, and Andy Serkis as an obsessive taxi driver push the anthology into unforgettable territory.
McGovern’s Mission: Drama That Matters
Back when the series first aired on the BBC, McGovern sparked headlines for criticizing shows like Doctor Who and Downton Abbey for being “drama that didn’t matter.” With Accused, he wanted to write stories that dug into the marrow of society — tales of crime and punishment that forced audiences to confront uncomfortable truths.
“I just can’t handle the tongue-in-cheek approach,” McGovern said at the time. “I want to take my writing seriously, and I want to take the audience seriously too.”
Critics & Fans: “It Feels Too Real”
Despite its grim tone, the series has earned glowing acclaim. Accused currently holds a 92% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and a solid 7.9/10 rating on IMDb.
Viewers are flooding social media with reactions. One fan wrote on X: “This feels less like TV and more like true crime unfolding in front of you. Chilling.” Another declared: “This isn’t just good television — it’s an emotional sledgehammer.”
On YouTube, the trailer is drawing comparisons to Mindhunter and Broadchurch, with one viral comment summing it up: “Netflix just gave us Britain’s darkest gift.”
Where to Watch
Both seasons of Accused are now available to stream on Netflix and ITVX. With its raw performances, morally tangled stories, and haunting realism, this once-overlooked anthology has transformed into a global obsession overnight.
For viewers who think they’ve seen it all, Accused dares to ask: What would you do if you were the one on trial?