Emma Thompson Is the Spiky Heart of Conspiracy Thriller Down Cemetery Road

Apple TV has found considerable success with Slow Horses, its Emmy-winning espionage drama that wrestles with poignant questions of morality and purpose alongside its scenes of witty banter, black humor, and offbeat camaraderie. But it’s also a largely male-oriented show, and the bulk of its characters and stories (and most especially its humor) tend to reflect that fact. Although the streamer likely doesn’t intend for us to view its new series Down Cemetery Road as an attempt to provide some gender balance in this particular genre space, thanks to its overt focus on female characters and experiences, the comparisons sort of write themselves. 

Down Cemetery Road is also based on a series of books by Mick Herron. The show takes its name from his debut novel, which went on to spawn several sequels, and while the vibes aren’t entirely the same, the general feel is similar enough that it’s obvious why Apple leaped at the chance to adapt it for TV. Featuring familiar acerbic dialogue, dark laughs, and another memorable lead character in the vein of Slough House wrangler Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) but with much less flatulence involved, the Oxford Investigations series doesn’t quite rise to the heights of his Slough House books. Still, it has all the elements to make some seriously quality TV. 

Of course, it certainly doesn’t hurt that the eight-part series is led by Dame Emma Thompson, an actress who could more than go toe to toe with Oldman should the two shows ever find their worlds crossing over with one another. Thompson plays disaffected private investigator Zoë Boehm, who may have even fewer resources at her disposal than the misfits of MI-5, but whose snarky demeanor will feel very familiar to anyone who’s spent any time in the world of Slow Horses. Her cynical attitude masks an unconventional past, and while the character doesn’t technically appear all that much in the book that gives this series its name, the Apple TV+ adaptation understands that she—and the incomparable Thompson — are what viewers are most likely tuning in to see. 

Much like the book it’s based on, Down Cemetery Road initially follows the story of Sarah Tucker (Ruth Wilson), a bored art conservationist with a so-so marriage whose quiet suburban life is rocked by an explosion at a neighbor’s house. When the surviving young daughter (Ivoy Quoi) of her newly deceased neighbors seemingly disappears, Sarah becomes obsessed with the idea of finding her. Stonewalled at the local hospital and convinced that someone is trying to erase Dinah from the media reports surrounding the blaze, she decides to hire a private investigator to help, enlisting the services of Zoë and her try-hard husband Joe Silverman (Adam Godley) to dig into what’s really going on. Zoë and Sarah’s first meeting is contentious, but Joe takes the case, and Sarah’s suspicions of a larger conspiracy suddenly seem to have more truth to them than anyone ever expected. 

What follows is a twisty hunt for the truth, slow-burn style, as Zoë taps a nerdy morgue employee (Joshua James) for hacking help and Sarah finds herself unexpectedly partnering with a former soldier (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) who shares a connection with the missing girl. Their parallel adventures ultimately dovetail in Scotland, where shocking revelations and no small amount of life-threatening danger ensue. (Down Cemetery Road is not shy about its violence, or willingness to off characters viewers might, on a different show, automatically assume to be safe.) 

Sarah makes for an intriguingly unorthodox heroine, her everywoman lifestyle complicated by a traumatic incident from her past and a sense that she’s somehow not turned out to be the woman she once thought she could become. Her obsession with Dinah’s disappearance is less believable as a strict concern for a missing child than as a drive to recapture the idea of the rebellious risk-taker her bohemian roots argue she used to be. Wilson, always an actress who plays three levels of emotion in any given scene, deftly balances Sarah’s various neuroses, repression, and sense of righteousness, giving the character considerably more depth than she has on the page.  Thompson’s Zoë, with her spiky silver hair, leather jacket, and plentiful profanity, ultimately has a more direct reason for her involvement with this case, and her distinct lack of giving a shit about almost everything except those she’s decided to care about is an exhilarating, rarely seen trait in a female character of her age. (Plus, it’s not an accident that Thompson gets all the series’ best lines.)

The plot can occasionally feel overly convoluted, mixing everything from military secrets and government conspiracies with mental health struggles and messy family dynamics. But its deft approach to storytelling and a real willingness to make unexpected choices, narratively speaking, keep the pace moving briskly. Several high-tension set pieces — a late-season chase through a sleeper train is particularly well done—remind us of the very real stakes at play throughout the story, and though Thompson and Wilson don’t become regular scene partners until the series’ back half, the two women crackle whenever they’re onscreen together. Zoë’s seen it all. Cynicism is an excellent foil for Sarah’s more wide-eyed rebellious naivete, but the younger woman’s empathy and instincts often offer crucial insights her new partner seems primed to overlook, as frequently distracted as she is by her own issues.

And while it’s evident that Thompson and Wilson are the primary reasons to tune in, the series’ supporting cast is stacked with talent. Adeel Akhtar provides some welcome comic relief as a hapless middle-manager type tasked with keeping the wheels of government conspiracy turning, Fehinti Balogun is mesmerizing as a sort of gentleman’s assassin with a mission of his own, and Tom Goodman-Hill is clearly having the time of his life as the very wealthy and deeply obnoxious Gerard, a potential client of Sarah’s husband. 

The eight-episode season (all of which were available for review) sags a bit in the middle as the plot meanders about and our leads are kept siloed from one another—in many ways, it feels as though Down Cemetery Road is finding itself as much as Sarah and Zoë are. But the show’s brisk pace and unexpected humor help keep things surprising, and let’s not kid ourselves, we’d all watch actresses of this caliber read the phone book together. If this marks the official start of Apple TV’s Herronverse, I, for one, am all in.

Down Cemetery Road premieres October 29 on Apple TV.

Lacy Baugher Milas writes about TV and Books at Paste Magazine, but loves nerding out about all sorts of pop culture. You can find her on Twitter and Bluesky at @LacyMB

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