ITV's The Blame Pairs Keegan and Booth as Detectives on Teen Murder Case

ITV will launch The Blame, a six-episode crime drama, on Sept. 20. The series stars Michelle Keegan and Douglas Booth as police partners investigating a murder, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Keegan plays DI Emma Crane. Booth plays DI Tom Radley. ITV confirms both full character names in its programme guide. DI stands for detective inspector, a senior officer who leads investigations.

The story centres on the murder of a teenage skater, as listed by ITV. The drama is adapted from Charlotte Langley's book of the same name. The adaptation keeps the book's title.

The scripts draw on real text messages from Metropolitan Police group chat scandals involving racism, homophobia and sexism, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. The Metropolitan Police is London's largest police force. Those messages sit inside the fictional inquiry.

Viewers can watch on ITV1 and ITVX, according to ITV. ITV1 is the company's main broadcast channel. ITVX is its streaming service, where episodes are available on demand. Filming took place in summer in and around London, as noted in an ITV production update.

ITV commissioned The Blame as a new drama starring Keegan, according to ITV. The order was announced in August 2025. The producer is Quay Street Productions, founded by Nicola Shindler.

Booth spoke about the part in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of transmission. He said playing James Bond would appeal to him. His first lead performance was playing Boy George in Worried About the Boy.

For fans, this means a short, complete story. It runs for six episodes. There is a clear start and finish.