Forget True Detective: This 10-Episode Crime Thriller Miniseries Should Be Your Next Binge

A murder tied to old wounds

Rob Reilly, played by Killian Scott, and Cassie Maddox, played by Sarah Greene, are partners in Dublin. They take charge of a teenage girl’s murder investigation after her body is found in woods outside the city.

The location is deeply personal for Reilly. As a child, when he was called Adam, he entered those woods with two close friends; he returned alone, and the other children were never seen again.

Two detectives seeking answers

Maddox has her own unresolved past: she wants to understand why she survived an accident that killed both her parents. Taking on the murder case gives both detectives a route toward confronting their personal mysteries.

Echoes of True Detective

Dublin Murders opens after its central investigation is underway, using a reflective exchange between Reilly and Maddox to establish its bleak outlook. Reilly asks, “What if the killed are the lucky ones? The chosen? And the rest of us aren’t lucky at all?”

The series also recalls True Detective’s first season, which pairs detectives with contrasting temperaments. Reilly becomes openly emotional, while Maddox grows more restrained as she faces emotional challenges.

Trauma shapes their partnership

Both detectives carry secrets and complications rooted in trauma. They feel romantic affection for one another, but neither is ready to be vulnerable enough to commit. As their stories progress, that vulnerability begins to emerge. The characters’ layered histories give Scott and Greene room to demonstrate their acting abilities.