‘Hooked from the beginning’: Stephen Graham is superb as detective in riveting crime drama you can stream now

If you've reached max capass on summer socialising (same), then an evening (or several) spent sprawled on your sofa with a binge-worthy TV series might be just what you need to recharge your batteries before the weekend.

In our own state of exactly that, we recently rediscovered a gripping crime drama on Netflix, so we're passing on the intel. Here's everything you need to know about Bodies – an eight-part limited series, starring Stephen Graham – including what it's about and why it deserves a spot on your 'watch list'.

Set on Longharvest Lane in Whitechapel, East London, Bodies follows four detectives across different periods in time who all discover the exact same body. Mindboggling, right? Across eight episodes, each detective unravels a mystery spanning decades in their quest to catch the missing killer.

If that plot sounds familiar to you, it might be! Bodies is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Si Spencer. "Doing justice to author Si Spencer's incredible premise was seriously daunting," show creator Paul Tomalin told Netflix's Tudum. "We just had to throw our hearts and minds in wholesale and get freaky together, staying true to as many of the maddening tentpoles and spirit of the graphic novel as possible."

As mentioned, Bodies stars Stephen Graham (read: Britain's official national treasure, second only to David Attenborough), but there are also plenty of other familiar faces in the stellar cast.

Scroll on for details about the lead cast of Netflix's Bodies...

• Amaka Okafor (Greatest Days, Black Rabbit, The Responder) as Shahara Hasan, a detective sergeant living in 2023
• Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (Midas Man, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Three Musketeers) as Charles Whiteman, a detective sergeant living in 1941
• Kyle Soller (Andor, The Keeping Room, Poldark) as Alfred Hillinghead, a detective inspector living in 1890
• Shira Haas (Unorthodox, Shtisel, Captain America: Brave New World) as Iris Maplewood, a detective living in 2053
• Stephen Graham (Adolescence, This is England, Snatch, The Irishman, Boardwalk Empire) as Elias Mannix/Julian Harker, founder of authoritarian group The Executive
• Tom Mothersdale (Brian and Maggie, Culprits, War of the Worlds, Peaky Blinders) as Gabriel Defoe, a leader in quantum gravity theory... or, for us non-science folk, time travel

Need a review for Netflix's Bodies? Don't just take our word for it! The show has an impressive 81% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with plenty of positive comments from viewers and critics alike.

"The intricate, propulsive plot invites unstoppable bingeing," a critic from ScreenHub – who also branded the show "genius" – said in their Rotten Tomatoes review. "Awesome show. I can't believe more people aren’t talking about this," someone else said in their own five-star review. They continued: "Captivating stories, a mind-warping mystery, moving scripting, and excellent performances. Cried three times in the last episode. Strongly recommend."

All eight episodes of Bodies season one are available to stream on Netflix in the UK.

If the ending of Netflix's Bodies had you on the edge of your seat, then you're probably wondering if and when a second season might be released. Sadly, it seems that's unlikely... but not totally out of the question.

Speaking to HELLO!, creator and writer Paul Tomalin revealed his intentions for Bodies to be released as a limited series. "We went to Netflix like 'This is one series, this is a one and done, we wanna close this off'," he said. "Because I think when you have such an amazing concept up front, you [expletive] your audience off if you don't solve it."

Tomalin went on: "As the viewer, I hate it when you get this amazing thing. And at the end it's like, 'Duh, duh, duh', and you're like 'Right so I've got to wait a year and a half'."

Nonetheless, in a chat with Cosmopolitan UK, Tomalin teased the potential for a season two. "The characters were brought to an end," he began. "But that being said, if it's a ridiculous hit and people are storming Netflix [for more], we left that ellipsis just in case, with a very exciting idea that does justice to the set up and develops it further."

Here's hoping!