The Tunnel is a British/French crime drama television series adapted from the Danish/Swedish series The Bridge and set against the backdrop of Europe in crisis which follows two detectives working together to find a serial killer who left the upper-half body of a French politician and the lower-half of a British prostitute in the Channel Tunnel, at the midpoint between France and the UK.
They later learn that the killer — who comes to be nicknamed the "Truth Terrorist" — is on a moral crusade to highlight many social problems, terrorising both countries in the process.
When a prominent French politician is found dead on the border between the UK and France, detectives Karl Roebuck (Stephen Dillane) and Elise Wassermann (Clémence Poésy) are sent to investigate on behalf of their respective countries. The case takes a surreal turn when a shocking discovery is made at the crime scene, forcing the French and British police into an uneasy partnership.
As the serial killer uses ever more elaborate and ingenious methods to highlight the moral bankruptcy of modern society, Karl and Elise are drawn deeper into his increasingly personal agenda.
Joining stars Stephen and Clemence are Joseph Mawle, who plays social worker Stephen Beaumont, and Tom Bateman as UK journalist Danny Hillier, who unintentionally becomes caught in the serial killer's web, while Ashes To Ashes' Keeley Hawes and the venerable Liz Smith (The Royle Family) join them from episode two.
Tobi Bakare, Jeanne Balibar, Thibault de Montalembert, Mathieu Carriere, Angel Coulby and Jack Lowden also star, with Ben Richards (Spooks, Outcasts, Party Animals) heading up an Anglo-French writing team behind the 10-part series.
Inspired by Scandinavian drama The Bridge, it's an original production for Sky Atlantic HD and the result of an entente cordiale with France's CANAL+.