Hard Cases is a British television crime drama series, based upon a 1987 novel by John Harvey and Laurence James, that aired on ITV between 18 January 1988 and 29 August 1989.[1] Based around a group of officers from the crime probation service in Nottingham,[2][3] the cast was initially led by John Bowe, supported by Gil Brailey, Eric Deacon and Barry Jackson.[4] The series was one of the first British seasonal dramas to feature multiple lead characters and multiple, entwined stories, rather than reading an individual story in each episode.
Hard Cases | |
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Genre | Crime drama |
Created by |
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Written by | John Harvey |
Directed by | Richard Standeven |
Starring |
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Theme music composer | Tom Robinson |
Opening theme | "Hard Cases" |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 2 |
No. of episodes | 13 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer | Ted Childs |
Producers |
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Production location | Nottingham |
Editors |
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Running time | 50 minutes |
Production company | Central Independent Television |
Distributor | ITV Studios |
Release | |
Original network | ITV |
Picture format | 4:3 |
Audio format | Stereo |
Original release | 18 January 1988 (1988-01-18) – 29 August 1989 (1989-08-29) |
The series notably featured Jimmy McGovern and Patrick Harbinson as its script editors, both of whom went on to have very successful careers as lead writers.[5] Graham Nicolls, a then-serving officer in the Nottingham CPS, acted as an advisor.[6] The series was accompanied by its own theme, written and performed by Tom Robinson, which was issued as a single by Robinson in 1988.[7] Notably, neither series has been repeated since broadcast, nor is available on any form of home media.
Episode | Title | Director | Writer | Original airdate |
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1 | TBA | Richard Standeven | John Harvey | 18 January 1988 (1988-01-18) |
2 | TBA | Richard Standeven | John Harvey | 25 January 1988 (1988-01-25) |
3 | TBA | Richard Standeven | John Harvey | 1 February 1988 (1988-02-01) |
4 | TBA | Richard Standeven | John Harvey | 8 February 1988 (1988-02-08) |
5 | TBA | Richard Standeven | John Harvey | 15 February 1988 (1988-02-15) |
6 | TBA | Richard Standeven | John Harvey | 22 February 1988 (1988-02-22) |
Episode | Title | Director | Writer | Original airdate |
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1 | TBA | Michael Brayshaw | Robert Kingsley | 18 July 1989 (1989-07-18) |
2 | TBA | Michael Brayshaw | Robert Kingsley | 25 July 1989 (1989-07-25) |
3 | TBA | Michael Brayshaw | Robert Kingsley | 1 August 1989 (1989-08-01) |
4 | TBA | Anthony Garner | Nick Whitby | 8 August 1989 (1989-08-08) |
5 | TBA | Anthony Garner | Robert Kingsley | 15 August 1989 (1989-08-15) |
6 | TBA | Andrew Morgan | Harry Duffin | 22 August 1989 (1989-08-22) |
7 | TBA | Andrew Morgan | Nick Whitby & Tim Whitby | 29 August 1989 (1989-08-29) |