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The Cuckoo's Calling – C.B. Strike

Play trailer Poster for The Cuckoo's Calling – C.B. Strike Aug 2017 Crime Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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85% Tomatometer 20 Reviews 93% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Based on the best-selling novels by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling), Tom Burke ("The Musketeers") stars as private detective Cormoran Strike, a former war veteran now working out of a cramped London office. Together with his assistant, Robin Ellacott, Cormoran tackles cases that have, so far, baffled the police. Though struggling with the psychological and physical toll that combat have wrought on him, Cormoran is well-equipped to delve into complex conundrums thanks to his background as a Special Investigation Branch investigator.
C.B. Strike — The Cuckoo's Calling

What to Know

Critics Consensus

The TV adaptation of C.B. Strike delivers an entertaining detective series that faithfully and effectively adheres to genre tropes.

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Critics Reviews

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Johanna Schneller Toronto Star 07/02/2018
The seven hours are pleasingly old-school, too: no gratuitous violence, a lot of character development and the crimes wrap up like tidy parcels. Go to Full Review Steve Greene IndieWire 06/04/2018
B-
It makes for some steady, dependable viewing, but it always feels like there's more for these two to explore. Go to Full Review Inkoo Kang The Hollywood Reporter 05/31/2018
The seven-part Cinemax miniseries is certainly handsome and well acted. It's also brutally tedious. Go to Full Review Melissa Camacho Common Sense Media 02/15/2023
4/5
Ultimately, C.B. Strike is formulaic, and approaches investigations using old-fashioned smarts. But while it's not the most action-packed, it delivers an engaging adaptation of J.K. Rowling's stories that fans of good crime-solving tales will enjoy. Go to Full Review Ani Bundel WETA 03/07/2019
It's hilariously delightful, decently written, and well acted. Go to Full Review Malcolm Hopwood The Post NZ 03/07/2019
JK Rowling creates wonderful names and, writing as Robert Galbraith, she's inspired a fascinating series. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Alain E @AlainE Feb 2 The first season was brilliant, expertly managing to balance story elements about the two protagonists and the cases they were solving. Accompanied by intelligent cinematography and good music selection. Unfortunately the recipe didn’t hold. I started and abandoned seasons 2 and 3. Your mileage may vary, as many in the audience fell in love with C.B. and Robinson and continued watching. See more Tom W @TexOracle Jan 2 Very enjoyable thru all seasons to and including 2025. Love the characters, story, and quality all around. After all seasons, the audience tease of romantic entanglement of the two leads is absurd. Reminds me of JK’s (as I recall) regrets for not putting Harry and Hermione together, which was a no brainer to everyone in the audience as an expectation. Get on with it, it’s now almost too far gone to bring the two together, and that would be a distracting failure in writing, most dissatisfying. Just shy of 5 stars to me because it’s not quite to the Gold standard of either the Brit or Swedish versions of Wallander, or the Swedish version of Dragon Tattoo films. And maybe the unsatisfying unnatural tease of the romantic disconnect unfulfilled is the missing key to 5 stars, and only then if remedied to satisfying delivery. See more Karen D @RT20862311 01/19/2025 Finally a show I love with great characters. I get bored easily but this is brilliantly acted great characters and plots. JK thank I devoured all episodes and series with hubby. Now we are waiting patiently for series 7. Best detective series I've seen. Love it! See more Stuart B @RT86010329 12/28/2024 I enjoyed the previous Strike series , however this one left me cold and flat. The two main characters are good actors but in this series even Strike looks bored. See more Andrei D @RT74856639 11/30/2023 Decent dar pe alocuri fortat See more Russell W @RT54721649 03/14/2023 Loved the character interaction between Cormorant and Robin. Story is a bit cliche but still fun to watch. See more Read all reviews
C.B. Strike — The Cuckoo's Calling

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Cast & Crew

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Tom Burke

Cormoran Strike

Holliday Grainger

Robin Ellacott

Martin Shaw

Tony Landry

David Avery

Nico Kolovas-Jones

Leo Bill

John Bristow

Tara Fitzgerald

Tansy Bestigui

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Aug 27, 2017 The Cuckoo's Calling Cormoran Strike, an injured war veteran turned P.I., and secretary Robin Ellacott seek the truth surrounding the mysterious death of supermodel Lula Landry. Details Episode 2 Aired Aug 28, 2017 The Cuckoo's Calling Strike discovers that Lula was murdered and makes a breakthrough about how it was done; Robin is offered a permanent job in HR but is reluctant to take it. Details Episode 3 Aired Sep 3, 2017 The Cuckoo's Calling Long-buried secrets are revealed, putting Strike and Robin in danger as they close in on the killer. Details

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C.B. Strike — The Cuckoo's Calling

C.B. Strike C.B. Strike C.B. Strike Photo Credit: Courtesy of BBC View more photos

Season Info

Director
Michael Keillor
Executive Producer
J.K. Rowling, Ben Richards, Neil Blair, Ruth Kenley-Letts
Screenwriter
J.K. Rowling, Ben Richards
Network
BBC
Rating
TV-MA
Genre
Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
British English
Release Date
Aug 27, 2017