A 'Mesmerising' Mystery Drama Is Creeping Up Netflix's Top 10

Content note: the following contains descriptions of the abuse associated with Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries.

As of the time of writing, the top series on https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/netflix/">Netflix UK is https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/i-will-find-you-reviews-cast_uk_6a32b3bbe4b07b79d93ca8e3">Harlan Coben adaptation I Will Find You – a https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/avatar-the-way-of-water-reveals-are-out-and-critics-are-divided_uk_63998ebee4b0c28146485908">Sam Worthington and https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/severance-britt-lower-acceptance-speech-hidden-message_uk_68c7c8f3e4b081f17e8e0cac">Britt Lower thriller that hit the streamer last month. 

But going strong at number six is the 2023 https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/bbc/">BBC drama, The Woman In The Wall, which was “https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/tv/exceptional-northern-irish-bbc-crime-34358091" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">quietly” added to the site’s catalogue recently.

Starring Ruth Wilson as Lorna Brady and Daryl McCormack as Detective Colman Akande, the six-parter has been described by critics as “https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/aug/27/the-woman-in-the-wall-review-ruth-wilson-is-mesmerising-in-this-beautifully-made-gothic-mystery" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mesmerising” and “https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/the-woman-in-the-wall-review-ruth-wilson-daryl-mccormack-1235786024/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">harrowing”.

The Woman In The Wall is a gothic mystery that follows Lorna, a survivor of one of Ireland’s brutal Magdalene Laundries. 

These largely church-run institutions were https://www.britannica.com/topic/Magdalene-laundry" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ostensibly created to rehabilitate “fallen women”, but in reality, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21345995" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">they were hotbeds of abuse, exploitation, and unpaid labour. 

Ireland’s Mother and Baby Homes and Magdalene Laundries, which sometimes took in pregnant teenagers, https://www.ulster.ac.uk/news/2021/january/report-on-mother-and-baby-homes-and-magdalene-laundries-in-northern-ireland" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">have been associated with unfit birthing conditions and high rates of infant mortality.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-55814592" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tens of thousands of women were admitted to these institutions.

And they continued long into the 20th century: the last Mother and Baby institution https://www.ulster.ac.uk/news/2021/january/report-on-mother-and-baby-homes-and-magdalene-laundries-in-northern-ireland" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">closed in 1990, while the last Magdalene Laundry shut in 1984. 

Lorna, who lives in the fictional town of Kilkinure, gave birth aged 15 to a child (Agnes) who was taken from her.

Years later, she wakes to find a dead body in her home. 

And for what appear to be completely different reasons, Detective Colman Akande is on her case, too. 

“As Colman searches for a murderer and Lorna searches for her daughter, their paths collide in ways they could never have anticipated,” https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/the-woman-in-the-wall" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the BBC said.

“Lorna’s search for Agnes will take her deep into her own past and to the heart of Kilkinure’s darkest secrets, as she and Colman seek the answers they each so desperately need.”

The Woman In The Wall has gotten an impressive 77% critic’s score and 80% audience rating from https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_woman_in_the_wall" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">review aggregation site RottenTomatoes.

All six episodes of season one are available to stream on Netflix UK now.

The show’s creator, Joe Murtagh, seems on the fence about whether there’ll be a second season. 

“If you take the question whether we should do a second season or not, I think there are really strong arguments on both sides.

We cut to black at the moment we do, because it’s the end of Lorna’s story,”https://screenrant.com/the-woman-in-the-wall-season-2-joe-murtagh-response/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> he said.

“I think it’s a really satisfying moment to do so.

That said, as we’re trying to get out in the final episode, there’s a hell of a lot more to get into.”