# The Jetty (TV series)

The Jetty is a British crime drama television series, created and written by Cat Jones, directed by Marialy Rivas, and produced by Firebird Pictures. It stars Jenna Coleman. The series was released for streaming on 15 July 2024 on BBC iPlayer; it started broadcasting the same day on BBC One.

## Synopsis

Detective Manning (Coleman) investigates a fire in a holiday home in a scenic Lancashire town and its connection to an old missing person case.

## Cast

* Jenna Coleman as Ember Manning
** Connie Jenkins-Greig as young Ember Manning
* Tom Glynn-Carney as Malachy "Mack" Granger, Ember's late husband
* Bo Bragason as Amy Knightly
* Laura Marcus as Caitlin "Kitty" Owen, Amy's friend
** Lorna Nickson Brown as present Caitlin Owen
* Ruby Stokes as Hannah Granger, Ember's daughter
** Effy Buckles Jones as young Hannah Granger
* Weruche Opia as Riz Samuel, a true crime podcaster
* Archie Renaux as Simon "Hitch" Hitchson, Ember's colleague
* Amelia Bullmore as Sylvia, Ember's mother
* Ralph Ineson as DI Morgan
* Dominic Coleman as Brad, a local suspect
* Niamh Blackshaw as Rosie, a podcast interviewee
* Philip Hill-Pearson as Rob, who works at the boat hut
* Elliot Cowan as Russell Knightly, Amy's father
* David Ajala as Casey, Ember's therapist
* Matthew McNulty as Arj, Malachy's best friend
** Joshua Gannon as young Arj

### Supporting

* Shannon Watson as Miranda Ashby, a pregnant teenager
* Georgina Rich as Sheena, Miranda's mother
* Arthur Hughes as Liam Ashby, Miranda's step-uncle
* Nina Barker-Francis as Chloe, Hannah's close friend
* Miya Ocego as Jules, Hannah's close friend
* Clare Calbraith as Joan Owen, Caitlin's mother
* Rick Warden as Martin, Caitlin's father
* Anna Wilson-Jones as Imogen, Amy's mother
* Eleanor Nawal as Lawley, Ember's colleague
* Adam Astill as Mr Ryan, who owns the boat hut
* Ruaridh Mollica as Troy, a boy from Hannah's school and her love interest
* Jonny Fines as Joe, half brother of Malachy
** Ryan Dean as young Joe
* Peter Sullivan as Blake, a private detective
* Philip Whitchurch as Superintendent Needham, a retired detective
* Amer Nazir as Ali, a witness
* Natalie Gumede as Nina, a GP

## Production

Produced by Firebird Pictures, the series is set in Lancashire. In August 2023, Marialy Rivas was added to the project as director. Jones, Coleman and Rivas also act as executive producers alongside Elizabeth Kilgarriff, Sarah Wyatt and Jo McClellan. In November 2023, Ruby Stokes, Ralph Ineson and Amelia Bullmore were added to the cast.

### Filming

Between September and December 2023, filming took place in Calderdale, West Yorkshire and Rochdale, Greater Manchester with filming locations including Ripponden, Littleborough, Sowerby Bridge and Todmorden.

## Episodes

| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | UK viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "Beautiful Places" | Marialy Rivas | Cat Jones | 15 July 2024 (2024-07-15) | 5.82 |
| 2 | "Naive Prey" | Marialy Rivas | Cat Jones | 16 July 2024 (2024-07-16) | 4.56 |
| 3 | "Angry not Mad" | Marialy Rivas | Cat Jones | 21 July 2024 (2024-07-21) | 4.36 |
| 4 | "Ghosts" | Marialy Rivas | Cat Jones | 22 July 2024 (2024-07-22) | 4.15 |

## Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 53% of 15 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "The Jetty serves as a solid showcase for Jenna Coleman's dramatic chops and has interesting insights into abuse, but its execution is too on the nose to excel."
Dan Einav of the Financial Times gave the show a score of three out of five, praised Coleman's performance but concluded that: "These challenging issues might have been better served by a straight drama rather than an uneven mystery yarn littered with clichés, contrivances, clunky exposition and thrillerish flourishes." Similarly, in the Irish Times, Ed Power writes: "Coleman does her best to locate a trace of charisma in the unappealing Ember. Sadly, she is up against a plot that barely gets going in its first two hours, and dialogue so creaking you can almost hear it shudder like a tree line in a gale. There’s enormous potential for a serial killer drama that explores the gaslighting and victimisation of vulnerable teenagers. Alas, The Jetty fumbles a great idea and condemns itself – and the viewer – to wandering about in the gloom." The Daily Telegraph's critic, Anita Singh, gave the show two out of five stars, writing: "There’s an interesting story here about teenage girls and grooming, but it’s buried underneath a hackneyed, by-numbers thriller."
Lucy Mangan of The Guardian awarded the show four out of five stars, describing it as 'a dark, funny and moving look at how women navigate the brutally male world.'
Ben Dowell of The Times gave it four stars, calling it 'a thoughtful #MeToo thriller with a smart twist.'
Emily Baker of i newspaper also awarded four stars, finishing her review by saying: 'I can't remember the last time a BBC crime series gripped me this much.'
The Standard's Vicky Jessop awarded four stars and says that the series delivers 'a message that feels all too relevant today; the show doesn't offer any easy answers, but the end result is electric.'
Nick Hilton of The Independent gave it three out of five stars, describing it as 'a compulsive mystery that wears its politics confidently and opaquely.'