The Ink Black Heart: Strike season six release date, cast and plot as J.K. Rowling's private detective returns

In 2022 the last series, Strike: Troubled Blood, averaged an impressive 8.4 million viewers during its run.

That was the fifth season of the drama starring Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger, following on from The Cuckoo's Calling in 2013, The Silkworm (2014), Career of Evil (2015), and Lethal White (2018).

Here’s everything you need to know about the sixth story.

Who is in the cast of The Ink Black Heart?

Tom Burke (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, The Souvenir) as Cormoran Strike and Holliday Grainger (The Capture, Animals) as Robin Ellacott lead a cast of acclaimed British actors including David Westhead (Enola Holmes 2, Bodyguard), Christian McKay (Rivals, Dangerous Liaisons), Emma Fielding (Sanditon, Van der Valk), Tupele Dorgu (The Full Monty, Ridley) and James Nelson-Joyce (Time, Industry) amongst others.

Ruth Sheen (Unforgotten, It’s A Sin) is returning as Pat, Strike’s office manager, alongside fellow returning cast members Jack Greenlees (The Trial of Cristine Keeler, Payback) as Sam Barclay, Natasha O’Keeffe (Peaky Blinders, The Wheel of Time) as Charlotte, and Caitlin Innes Edwards (Hanna, Black Mirror: Smithereens) as Isla.

What’s the plot of The Ink Black Heart?

When frantic, desperate Edie Ledwell appears in the office begging to speak to her, private detective Robin Ellacott doesn't know quite what to make of the situation. The co-creator of a popular cartoon, The Ink Black Heart, Edie is being persecuted by a mysterious online figure who goes by the pseudonym of Anomie. Edie is desperate to uncover Anomie's true identity.

Robin informs Edie that the agency is too busy to take on her case and thinks nothing more of it until a few weeks later, when she reads the shocking news that Edie has been tasered and then murdered in Highgate Cemetery, the location of The Ink Black Heart.

Robin and her business partner Cormoran Strike become drawn into the quest to uncover Anomie's true identity. But with a complex web of online aliases, business interests and family conflicts to navigate, Strike and Robin find themselves embroiled in a case that stretches them to their limit.

Who are the team behind the camera of The Ink Black Heart?

Sue Tully is directing once again, after helming the previous instalment. Her credits include Too Close, Strike - Lethal White, Line Of Duty, Tin Star, The A Word and The Musketeers. She’s still perhaps best known for her roles in front of the camera - as Suzanne Ross in Grange Hill and Michelle Fowler in BBC soap opera EastEnders

The Ink Black Heart is adapted for the screen by writer Tom Edge (Vigil, You Don’t Know Me) who also adapted previous Strike instalments Troubled Blood, The Silkworm, Career of Evil and Lethal White. Jenny van der Lande (Too Close, You Don’t Know Me) is story producer and Alex Rendell returns as producer. Executive producers are J.K. Rowling (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Strike, The Casual Vacancy), Neil Blair (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Midwich Cuckoos) and Ruth Kenley-Letts (Stonehouse, Joan) alongside Nick Lambon for the BBC.

When can I watch The Ink Black Heart?

The firt two parts of the six part series will premiere on BBC One across two consecutive nights: Monday, December 16 and Tuesday, December 17, at 9pm. If you can’t wait for future episodes and prefer a binge-watch all the episodes will be available to watch on the BBC iPlayer.

How many books are left in the series?

There is only one more completed book left to be adapted, called The Running Grave, although J.K. Rowling has confirmed she is currently working on the eighth book, entitled The Hallmarked Man.