---
title: "Vigil"
year: 2021
kind: "series"
canonical: "https://film.one/tv/vigil"
fi1m_id: "vigil"
imdb_id: "tt11846996"
tmdb_id: 126167
wikidata_id: "Q106771241"
fi1m_score: 70
critics_score: 76
critics_reviews: 11
published: "2026-09-23T13:29:38.363068+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-23T13:29:49.017901+00:00"
region: "LT"
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."
---

# Vigil (2021)

Created by Tom Edge · 58m · Drama, Crime

## Identity

Vigil

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/tv/vigil
- **Type:** Series
- **Fi1m ID:** vigil
- **IMDb ID:** tt11846996
- **TMDB ID:** 126167
- **Wikidata ID:** Q106771241
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11846996/, https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/126167, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q106771241

**Fi1m score: 70** · Critics 76 from 11 reviews

*In a sentence:* A murder on a nuclear submarine, and the Navy would honestly rather nobody asked

> Tom Edge’s series sets a murder inquiry aboard a nuclear submarine and, for three episodes, the setting does the work. The plot it builds down there is sillier than the setting deserves, but Suranne Jones keeps it honest.

## Synopsis

A member of the crew has died aboard a nuclear submarine, and the death is being treated as murder. DCI Amy Silva (Suranne Jones) is the detective who goes aboard to investigate it, working the case in the boat’s passageways among the people who run it. Her questions go to Commander Newsome (Paterson Joseph), Lt Commander Mark Prentice (Adam James) and Elliot Glover (Shaun Evans). Ashore, DS Kirsten Longacre (Rose Leslie) works the same case from the other end, reporting to DSU Colin Robertson (Gary Lewis). The two women have a history together that the case keeps disturbing. The story runs in two strands, one under the sea and one on land, and what one strand asks the other begins to answer.

## Review

Tom Edge’s idea is a good one and he knows it. A death on a nuclear submarine cannot be investigated the usual way: the boat is on patrol, the patrol is the point of the boat, and the Navy will not bring it up for anybody. So the detective goes down to the crime, and once there she cannot leave, cannot phone home and cannot trust the only people who can tell her anything. That is the first three episodes and it is enough. *Vigil* is a good series with a silly second half, worth a Sunday evening or two if a whodunit with the hatch shut is your sort of thing.

Mark Leese’s submarine set is the best thing in it. The ceilings make Suranne Jones duck through the hatches, the passageways are one person wide, and every wall is pipes and painted steel, so the camera can never get far enough back to give anyone room. Matt Gray, Nic Lawson and Ruairí O’Brien shoot the boat in the red night lighting it runs on, which makes every face look feverish. Afterhere’s score is a low hum and the odd ping, and stays out of the way. The moment that got us came early. Silva is lowered from a helicopter onto the hull in open sea, the boat rolling under her, and Jones plays a woman deciding not to be sick. We were more frightened then than the series managed to make us again, and it had shown us nothing but water.

Jones is good at being the least welcome person in a room. Silva is stiff, tactless and usually right, and Jones does not soften her: she asks the wrong question, notes it was the wrong question, and asks it again. Shaun Evans, as the coxswain Elliot Glover, assigned to mind her, is helpful in a way you cannot tell from obstruction, and gives her a proper opponent. Paterson Joseph’s Commander Newsome and Adam James’s Lt Commander Prentice run the boat as two men who disagree only in private, and Anjli Mohindra’s medical officer, Tiffany Docherty, explains what a body can and cannot tell you with some tartness. Connor Swindells, Jonathan Ajayi and Chris Jenks fill out the younger crew, sketched fast but distinguishable by the second episode, which on a boat where everyone dresses alike takes some doing.

Ashore, Rose Leslie’s DS Kirsten Longacre works the case in the rain: the dead man’s flat, the base, the peace camp at its gates. Richard Cox and Michael Harrowes cut between the strands so that a question asked under the sea is answered on land a scene later, and for three episodes it runs cleanly. Gary Lewis’s Robertson and Romola Garai’s Eliza Russell mostly tell Longacre what she may not know. Where the land strand goes soft is in Silva’s past. Edge gives her a loss she has not got over and returns to it in flashback every episode, always the same way, and by the fourth visit we had the point.

Then the series has to say what the death was for, and this is where it lets go of the rope. We will not describe the second half, except that the story stops being about a body in a bunk and becomes a story about governments, and the mechanism it settles on needs several sensible people to do things nobody sensible would do underwater. There is a fight near the end that we laughed at, and we were not meant to. The makers can still frighten us when they choose; there is a sequence, some way in, where Silva is shut in a space the size of a coffin with water coming in, and we held the arm of the sofa for the whole of it. The romance between Silva and Longacre, meant to be the warmth under the steel, is written in the past tense and played at arm’s length, and we never quite believed either woman had missed the other.

The comparison most critics made was [*Line of Duty*](https://film.one/tv/line-of-duty), and Martin Compston in the first episode invites it. The difference is that *Line of Duty* trusts its interviews and *Vigil* trusts its corridors. Six episodes, each a little under an hour, with a 15 certificate; a second series arrived in December 2023. See it for the set and the first three episodes. Stay for the rest if you have forgiven this kind of thing before; we have.

*Fi1m score 70, published 23 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics like Vigil, and the praise clusters in one place: the submarine. Nearly every review credits the confined setting with lifting what several concede is a familiar police procedural, and the cutting between the boat and the investigation on land is repeatedly named as what keeps the tension up. Suranne Jones’s lead performance is admired across the board, and her pairing with Rose Leslie comes up more than once as the emotional centre of the series.

The reservations are few and mostly small. Empire finds the backstory laid on a little thickly, and one or two reviews note that beneath the setting this is a standard prestige cop drama. The spread is narrow apart from one loud dissent: The Telegraph rates it one star, finding the plot incoherent, the central romance lifeless and the reveals farcical. No other review comes close to that verdict.

## Straight answers

**Is Vigil worth watching?**

*Vigil* is worth watching for anyone who likes a whodunit with the hatch shut, and we scored it 70. The submarine setting carries the first three episodes and Suranne Jones keeps the detective honest throughout, but the second half turns into a story about governments that needs sensible people to do foolish things underwater.

**How long is Vigil, and what is it rated?**

*Vigil* has episodes of about 58m. It is a drama and crime series.

**Where can I watch Vigil in Lithuania?**

*Vigil* is not on any streaming or rental service in Lithuania at the moment. It is available in 15 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

**How violent or frightening is Vigil, and is it suitable for children?**

*Vigil* carries a 15 certificate and is not suitable for children. The violence is a murder on a submarine and a fight late on, but the fear comes from confinement: a detective lowered onto a rolling hull in open sea, and a sequence in a flooding space the size of a coffin that had us gripping the sofa. Claustrophobic viewers should be warned.

**How does Vigil compare to Das Boot?**

*Vigil* is a murder inquiry set aboard a nuclear submarine, while [*Das Boot*](https://film.one/film/das-boot) is a war film about a U-boat crew waiting to be attacked, and the earlier film is the stronger of the two. Petersen's is gripping and humane; *Vigil* has the better set and a good detective but lets its plot go silly. Choose *Vigil* for a whodunit, *Das Boot* for the strain.

**What should I watch after Vigil?**

After *Vigil*, try [*Das Boot*](https://film.one/film/das-boot) (1981, Fi1m 89): Petersen’s U-boat crew, and the waiting is worse than the depth charges. Then [*The Hunt for Red October*](https://film.one/film/the-hunt-for-red-october) (1990, Fi1m 82): Cold War submarines and a script that explains the sonar without stopping the film.

### Reviews we read (11)

- **The i Paper**, Emily Watkins (87/100, inferred): The critic praises the classy, claustrophobic submarine-set thriller as unpredictable and gripping from the start, with strong casting and elegant direction making the police procedural feel fresh. They single out the oppressive use of the submarine's labyrinthine setting and expert cinematography for praise. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/vigil-bbc-one-review-suranne-jones-martin-compston-1171739)
- **The Times**, Ben Dowell (★★★★☆): The confident and clever opening episode makes for an autumn drama hit with smart detective work amid a tense confined setting. The critic singles out the strong premise, forensic details and promising cast for praise. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/vigil-review-murder-beneath-the-waves-in-tense-thriller-t3wv7qz86)
- **The Guardian** (81/100, inferred): The series is a sharp, claustrophobic submarine thriller that delivers solid old-fashioned entertainment with a dense, sharply written script about a murky unseen world. The critic singles out the dense plotting and human elements amid international affairs for praise. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/aug/29/vigil-review-suranne-jones-sharp-submarine-thriller-bbc-martin-compston)
- **IndieWire**, Steve Greene (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the twisty conspiracy thriller with strong performances from Suranne Jones and Rose Leslie, noting the submarine setting adds tension to the investigation. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/vigil-tv-series-peacock-rose-leslie-1234689821/)
- **Radio Times**, Patrick Cremona (4/5): The critic finds the series one of BBC One's best new thrillers, with riveting pacing, major revelations, and superb weaving of land and sea strands keeping tension high. They single out the unique submarine memorial scene and Suranne Jones's performance in a tense confrontation for praise. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/vigil-episode-3-review/)
- **Empire**, Beth Webb (78/100, inferred): The review calls it a relentless conspiracy drama with strong performances and tension that lives up to 'Line of Duty underwater' expectations through propulsive pacing and airtight cast work. They single out the sumptuous visuals and character-driven doubt-planting for praise while noting minor issues with backstory layering. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/tv/reviews/vigil-2/)
- **The Telegraph**, Ed Power (1/5): The series squanders a gripping premise and stellar cast with a nonsense story, lifeless romance, wasted potential and farcical reveals. The critic singles out the incoherent plot, poor chemistry between leads and squandered tension for complaint. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/everything-wrong-vigil-sinking-subplots-drippy-villains-lifeless/)
- **Den of Geek**, Louisa Mellor (89/100, inferred): The critic calls it a perfect Sunday night drama with a strong cast, intricate plot, and fresh submarine setting that twists the classic murder mystery format. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/vigil-episode-1-review-a-top-twist-on-the-trid-ent-tested-murder-mystery/)
- **Collider**, Jen Vestuto (87/100, inferred): The critic praises Vigil for flipping the traditional British detective drama by setting the investigation in high-stakes, isolating environments like a nuclear submarine, which heightens tension and provides a fresh take. They single out the electric on-screen chemistry between Suranne Jones and Rose Leslie, along with the layered personal storylines and performances, as the beating heart of the series that elevates it beyond standard procedurals. [Read](https://collider.com/vigil-tv-show/)
- **Digital Spy**, Abby Robinson (78/100, inferred): The critic finds it a solid thriller with Suranne Jones well-cast as the lead, benefiting from the split land/sea narrative and familiar faces in the ensemble. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a37370576/vigil-review-line-of-duty/)
- **The Ringer**, Michael Baumann (75/100, inferred): The critic sees Vigil as a largely standard prestige cop drama elevated by its claustrophobic nuclear submarine setting, which heightens tension and revives the submarine thriller genre for the 21st century. The standout praise is for the innovative use of the submarine environment itself, which makes everything more dramatic through constant activity, claustrophobia, and timeless isolation. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2022/01/11/tv/vigil-tv-show-bbc-submarines-cold-war-thriller)

## Details

- **Created by:** Tom Edge
- **Creator:** Tom Edge
- **Director:** Andy De Emmony, James Strong, Isabelle Sieb, Joss Agnew
- **Writer:** Tom Edge, James Smythe, Ryan O’Sullivan, Ed MacDonald, Maryam Hamidi, Matilda Wnek, Chandni Lakhani
- **Cinematography:** Nic Lawson, Ruairí O'Brien, Matt Gray
- **Editor:** Michael Harrowes, Richard Cox
- **Music:** Afterhere
- **Production design:** Mark Leese
- **Producer:** Marcus Wilson, Angie Daniell
- **Cast:** Suranne Jones as DCI Amy Silva; Rose Leslie as DS Kirsten Longacre; Shaun Evans as Elliot Glover; Romola Garai as Eliza Russell; Anjli Mohindra as Tiffany Docherty; Martin Compston as Craig Burke; Gary Lewis as DSU Colin Robertson; Paterson Joseph as Commander Newsome
- **Runtime:** 58m
- **Release (Lithuania):** 29 August 2021
- **Genres:** Drama, Crime
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja74lUBNIQ8

## Where to watch in Lithuania

Not streaming, renting or buying in Lithuania at the last check.

Also available in: AT, AU, BE, CA, CH, DE, DK, FI, FR, GB, IN, NO, PT, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Das Boot* (1981), Fi1m 89: Petersen’s U-boat crew, and the waiting is worse than the depth charges — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/das-boot.md)
- *Line of Duty* (2012): Interview rooms, acronyms and a bent copper somewhere; Compston at his most buttoned-up
- *The Hunt for Red October* (1990), Fi1m 82: Cold War submarines and a script that explains the sonar without stopping the film — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-hunt-for-red-october.md)
- *Happy Valley* (2014): Sarah Lancashire’s sergeant in the Calder Valley, where every case follows her home
- *The Wolf's Call* (2019): A French sonar operator who hears too much; the listening scenes alone earn it

---
© 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/vigil