--- title: "Save Me" year: 2018 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/save-me" fi1m_id: "save-me" imdb_id: "tt6538034" tmdb_id: 75789 wikidata_id: "Q54999850" fi1m_score: 84 critics_score: 86 critics_reviews: 4 published: "2026-10-07T18:27:25.850709+00:00" updated: "2026-10-07T18:27:26.222938+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Save Me (2018) Created by Lennie James · 50m · MPA TV-MA · Drama, Crime, Mystery ## Identity Save Me - **Canonical:** https://film.one/tv/save-me - **Type:** Series - **Fi1m ID:** save-me - **IMDb ID:** tt6538034 - **TMDB ID:** 75789 - **Wikidata ID:** Q54999850 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6538034/, https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/75789, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q54999850 **Fi1m score: 84** · Critics 86 (early) from 4 reviews *In a sentence:* We expected to worry about a missing daughter, not half the supporting cast as well > Lennie James gives *Save Me* the human weight its missing-daughter premise needs. Some of the mystery feels familiar, but the patient character work and Suranne Jones’s restraint make this a series we recommend warmly. ## Synopsis Nelson “Nelly” Rowe (Lennie James) searches for his daughter and is determined not to stop until he finds her. Around that search, the drama follows a wider group of characters, including Claire McGory (Suranne Jones), Fabio “Melon” Melonzola (Stephen Graham) and Tam (Jason Flemyng). DS Shola O’Halloran (Nadine Marshall) is also part of the story. The six-episode first series follows Nelly’s pursuit of his daughter, with the mystery unfolding alongside the experiences of the people drawn into it. ## Review *Save Me* is a compelling crime drama with a familiar mystery and people worth spending time with. Nelson “Nelly” Rowe is searching for his daughter, and Lennie James makes that determination convincing without letting it become the only thing we notice about him. The danger with this sort of story is that concern for the missing daughter does all the work of keeping us interested. Here, the adults sustain our attention too, even when the plotting offers less to surprise us. Lennie James created the series and writes alongside Daniel Fajemisin-Duncan and Marlon Smith. His performance has the variety that a long search needs: Nelly does not feel like a man reduced to a single urgent feeling. We can understand his determination without feeling that understanding him is a finished job. That is also the strength of the ensemble, which includes Stephen Graham as Fabio “Melon” Melonzola and Jason Flemyng as Tam. The supporting characters remain interesting even when our immediate concern is Nelly. Suranne Jones gives the drama another reason to hold our attention. Her restrained performance as Claire McGory moved us more than we expected, precisely because the grief is not presented as a demonstration of how much an actor can do. We felt that distress without needing it underlined. This quieter approach is particularly valuable in a story where the subject matter could so easily encourage everyone to compete at suffering. Nick Murphy directs, with cinematography by Chas Bain and production design by Melanie Allen. The series is strongest when it gives the ensemble room, and its attention to people feels proportionate to the attention it gives the mystery. That may sound a modest virtue, but crime dramas can be strangely impatient with anyone who cannot supply an answer. Here, the supporting roles have enough substance for us to take an interest beyond their immediate usefulness to the search. Oral Norrie Ottey is the editor, while Bryan Senti and Dustin O’Halloran provide the music. The balance between an urgent search and patient character work is difficult, and for much of the series it holds. The actors give the drama its most persuasive emotional weight, and the six-episode first series has room to let our concern spread beyond Nelly. We want the search to advance, but the programme earns much of the time it spends attending to the surrounding characters. The reservation is that the mystery does not always feel as particular as the characters. Familiar crime-drama patterns are still recognisable, and during those stretches the writing has to work harder to keep the search personal. That stops *Save Me* being a recommendation for anyone who needs a crime series to keep inventing new ways of wrong-footing them. We recommend it warmly to those who can accept some familiar plotting in return for sustained attention to people. Give the quieter performances as much attention as the search itself. *Fi1m score 84, published 7 October 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is Save Me worth watching?** *Save Me* is worth watching for its patient character work and persuasive performances, and we score it 84 out of 100. Lennie James makes Nelly’s search compelling, while Suranne Jones gives the grief a moving restraint. We recommend it warmly to anyone who values people over plot surprises, though the mystery follows some familiar crime-drama patterns. **How long is Save Me, and what is it rated?** *Save Me* has episodes of about 50m and is rated TV-MA by the MPA in the US. It is a drama and crime series. **Where can I watch Save Me in the US?** *Save Me* is streaming on BritBox, The Roku Channel and Amazon Prime Video in the US. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Save Me, and is it suitable for children?** *Save Me* carries a UK 15 certificate and a US TV-MA rating, making it unsuitable for children and aimed at older teenagers and adults. Its missing-daughter story and the grief conveyed by the performances make for distressing viewing. We cannot specify the level of violence or graphic detail from the certificate alone. **How does Save Me compare to The Vanishing?** *Save Me* is the stronger choice for patient ensemble drama, while we recommend [*The Vanishing*](https://film.one/film/the-vanishing) for a colder, more frightening disappearance mystery. We find the series most persuasive in its concern for the people surrounding the search, despite familiar plotting. The film offers a more exact thriller, though its middle section drags. **What should I watch after Save Me?** After *Save Me*, try [*The Vanishing*](https://film.one/film/the-vanishing) (1988, Fi1m 88): A disappearance mystery for those willing to follow obsession into colder territory. Then [*The Night Of*](https://film.one/film/night-of-the-living-dead) (2016, Fi1m 88): A crime series whose attention to supporting characters makes its injustices harder to dismiss. ### Reviews we read (4) - **Evening Standard**, Lucy Hunter Johnston (90/100, inferred): The critic finds the series dark, compelling and difficult to stop watching. She particularly praises Lennie James’s performance and the story’s fresh, poignant take on bereaved parenthood. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/save-me-review-spellbound-by-the-gritty-adventures-of-nelly-deptford-s-answer-to-casanova-a3801631.html) - **IndieWire**, Steve Greene (A-): Greene finds Season 2 an excellent, patient mystery that deepens the series’ character work without losing its balance. He especially praises Lennie James’s richly nuanced performance and writing. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/shows/save-me-peacock-review-season-2-lennie-james-1234597119/) - **The Guardian**, Rebecca Nicholson (75/100, inferred): Nicholson finds the series gripping and familiar in places, but says clever layers give it a distinct identity. She particularly praises Suranne Jones’s subtly restrained portrayal of Claire’s grief. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/feb/28/save-me-review-suranne-jones-drama-benidorm) - **Den of Geek**, Louisa Mellor (90/100, inferred): Mellor finds the series absorbing, fresh, and unusually nuanced despite its grim subject matter. She especially praises Lennie James’s performance and the richly drawn ensemble of characters. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/save-me-review-an-absorbing-character-based-thriller/) ## Details - **Created by:** Lennie James - **Creator:** Lennie James - **Director:** Nick Murphy - **Writer:** Lennie James, Daniel Fajemisin-Duncan, Marlon Smith - **Cinematography:** Chas Bain - **Editor:** Oral Norrie Ottey - **Music:** Dustin O'Halloran, Bryan Senti - **Production design:** Melanie Allen - **Costume design:** Sam Perry - **Producer:** Patrick Schweitzer - **Cast:** Lennie James as Nelson "Nelly" Rowe; Suranne Jones as Claire McGory; Stephen Graham as Fabio "Melon" Melonzola; Jason Flemyng as Tam; Lesley Manville as Jennifer Charles; Jimmy Walker as Marky; Kerry Godliman as Teens; Camilla Marie Beeput as Zita - **Runtime:** 50m - **Certificate (MPA):** TV-MA - **Release (the US):** 28 February 2018 - **Genres:** Drama, Crime, Mystery - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAAHU_UD43Y ## Where to watch in the US - BritBox: streaming, hd - The Roku Channel: add-on, hd - Amazon Prime Video: add-on *Checked 2026-10-07.* Also available in: AU, CA, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The Killing* (2007): Another patient investigation that gives grief and ordinary working lives their proper weight. - *The Missing* (2014): For another missing-child mystery that treats parental determination as something troubling. - *Mother* (2009): A parent’s search for answers becomes an unsettling study of certainty. - *The Vanishing* (1988), Fi1m 88: A disappearance mystery for those willing to follow obsession into colder territory. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-vanishing.md) - *The Night Of* (2016), Fi1m 88: A crime series whose attention to supporting characters makes its injustices harder to dismiss. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/night-of-the-living-dead.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/save-me