The series will explore the crimes of Peter Sutcliffe.

By Katelyn Mensah

Published: Wednesday, 13 September 2023 at 13:39 PM


ITV has confirmed that new true crime drama The Long Shadow will air on Monday 25th September at 9pm on ITV1, and will be made up of seven episodes.

The new drama will explore the desperate five-year hunt for serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, more commonly known as The Yorkshire Ripper. Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attempting to murder seven others between 1975 and 1980.

The Long Shadow was originally meant to be titled The Yorkshire Ripper in reference to Sutcliffe’s name in the press at the time, but in a recent Q&A for the show, writer George Kay explained why a change to the title was made.

He explained: “Well, we started by calling it The Yorkshire Ripper when we announced it. And we had a very respectful approach as a team throughout, but even at the beginning we hadn’t learned, which we did over the time of making the show, that that moniker, that name that people use to describe Peter Sutcliffe, which obviously began before anyone knew his real name but then continued after people knew his real name, was disrespectful in many ways.”

A trailer for the series was released earlier this month, offering a first look at detectives visiting crime scenes and listening to women give witness testimonies.

Watch the trailer below: