Olivia Colman and David Thewlis Star in a Gripping Four-Part True-Crime Drama With 98% on Rotten Tomatoes — Based on an Extraordinary Real-Life Case
Olivia Colman and David Thewlis deliver remarkable performances in Landscapers, a four-part British crime drama that transforms a disturbing real-life murder case into something far more unusual than a conventional thriller. With a reported 98% Rotten Tomatoes score, the acclaimed HBO and Sky miniseries combines psychological drama, dark humour and surreal cinematic fantasy.
Written by Ed Sinclair and directed by Will Sharpe, the 2021 series explores how an apparently ordinary married couple became involved in one of Britain’s most extraordinary criminal cases.
A Quiet Couple With a Terrifying Secret
Landscapers follows Susan and Christopher Edwards, played by Colman and Thewlis, a seemingly unremarkable British couple living a modest life in France.
They share a passion for classic Hollywood films and memorabilia, finding comfort in the glamorous fictional worlds they admire.
However, their quiet existence begins to unravel when a telephone conversation draws attention to a disturbing family secret.
Susan’s parents had been buried in the garden of their Mansfield home for years, while their pensions continued to be collected.
As investigators begin examining the circumstances surrounding the deaths, Susan and Christopher face the collapse of the carefully constructed life they have maintained.
Rather than presenting the case as a straightforward mystery, the series examines the couple’s relationship and the stories they tell themselves about their past.
Olivia Colman and David Thewlis Deliver Extraordinary Performances
Colman brings vulnerability and emotional complexity to Susan, portraying a woman who appears increasingly disconnected from the reality surrounding her.
Thewlis plays Christopher as a devoted husband whose determination to protect their shared version of events becomes central to the drama.
Their performances give the couple an unsettling mixture of tenderness, desperation and denial.
The supporting cast includes Kate O’Flynn as DCI Pollard and Samuel Anderson as DS Lange, whose investigations gradually expose the contradictions within the couple’s account.
Through these contrasting characters, Landscapers explores the distance between personal fantasy and the reality of criminal justice.
A True-Crime Thriller Unlike Almost Anything Else
What distinguishes Landscapers from conventional crime dramas is its extraordinary visual storytelling.
Director Will Sharpe repeatedly blurs the boundaries between reality and imagination, allowing the couple’s fascination with classic cinema to shape how viewers experience their story.
Black-and-white Westerns, romantic films and old-fashioned detective dramas become part of the narrative.
At times, the production deliberately reveals its own studio sets, while changes in visual style transform ordinary scenes into elaborate cinematic fantasies.
These techniques reflect the characters’ attempts to escape difficult memories and reinterpret their lives.
Instead of relying on conventional police investigations or dramatic action sequences, the series builds tension through psychological uncertainty and emotional conflict.
The Real-Life Crime Behind Landscapers
The miniseries draws inspiration from the case of Susan and Christopher Edwards, who were convicted of murdering Susan’s parents in Nottinghamshire.
The remains were discovered buried in the garden of the family’s Mansfield property after years of concealment.
The couple’s unusual relationship, financial circumstances and fascination with Hollywood memorabilia became central elements of the resulting investigation.
Landscapers uses this disturbing case as the foundation for a fictionalised exploration of love, denial and the human desire to escape reality.
Its unusual approach challenges viewers to consider how people can become trapped within stories of their own making.
Why Landscapers Deserves More Attention
Across just four episodes, Landscapers offers an intense viewing experience supported by two exceptional central performances.
The series combines the suspense of true crime with the emotional complexity of a character-driven drama, while its unconventional filmmaking gives the story a distinctive identity.
For viewers who appreciate British crime television but want something beyond familiar detective formulas, the miniseries offers a compelling alternative.
With Olivia Colman and David Thewlis at the centre of an unsettling true story, Landscapers proves that some of the most disturbing mysteries are not simply about what happened, but about the extraordinary lengths people go to in order to avoid confronting the truth.