Strike – The Ink Black Heart is the sixth in the Strike series consisting of four 60-minute episodes and was first released in the UK on 16th December 2024 on BBC One and iPlayer.
This instalment sees Strike and Robin investigate the murder of Edie Ledwell, a co-creator of a popular cartoon who was persecuted online by an anonymous troll by the name of Anomie.
Release
On 5th November 2024, three promotional “first look” images were released from the BBC as well as revealing that it would air in December.

Strike – The Ink Black Heart premiered with the first episode on BBC One on 16th December 2024; episode two aired the next day, 17th December; episode 3 aired on 23rd December; and episode 4 aired on 24th December. All four episodes were released on BBC iPlayer on 16th December.
Filming and Production
Filming for The Ink Black Heart began in February 2024 and wrapped in April 2024.
Filming Locations | |
Filming Timeline (coming soon) |
Image Gallery
Reception
Like the novel, The Ink Black Heart TV adaptation received a very mixed response from general audiences. It was criticised by some for being harder to follow than the previous seasons. However, many fans agree it is their favourite of the adaptations so far, especially with so many of the iconic scenes and details from the book being included.
The series had an average UK viewer count of 5.25 million, which is lower than the previous seasons. The previous season, Troubled Blood, had an average UK viewer count of 6.92 million.
The Ink Black Heart has a 51% approval rating from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes based on 20 reviews.