"TWISTED" ‘80S-SET TRUE-CRIME DRAMA WITH DAVID TENNANT AND JASON WATKINS GETS NEW UK STREAMING HOME
Des, the 2020 three-part drama starring David Tennant in possibly his darkest role ever as infamous serial killer Dennis Nilsen, has found itself a new streaming home in the UK. As of today (8 November) it is now available to watch via Netflix.
Set in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the show tells the story of how the twisted Nilsen took the lives of a dozen men.
What makes the event truly horrific is the things he did to the bodies after he killed them, and how quickly he admitted to the crimes once arrested.
Alongside Tennant, the drama also stars Daniel Mays and Ben Bailey Smith as police officers trying to get justice, and Jason Watkins as Brian Masters, the biographer who wrote the book the series is based on.
Although Des has just been added to Netflix, it is still available to stream on ITVX (or STV Player in Scotland) and Disney+.
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The show has been acclaimed by both critics and fans, although pretty much everyone agrees that it's not an easy watch.
On IMDb, one fan "highly recommended" the series and described it as one of the best dramas ITV has released "in recent memory".
"Well worth a watch, and rewards you with a twisted insight into the life of a serial killer," wrote another, while a third viewer said: "This is yet another masterclass in acting from Tennant who really can perform any role he is given at an extraordinarily high level."
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Over on Rotten Tomatoes, the show has a 90% positive score from 20 critic reviews.
"Rare it is to watch a drama about a serial killer that leaves you feeling as though the victims have been done a service," The Guardian's review reads. "In the end, perhaps the greatest accolade that can be given this sensitive, finely worked piece is that Nilsen himself, attention-seeking narcissist though he was, would surely have hated it."
The Times wrote: "David Tennant's performance as the titular psychopath, known as Des to his fellow civil servants, was richly detailed and impeccably controlled. Ultimately, however, the show's central strength was Luke Neal's agile screenplay."
Des is available to stream via Netflix, ITVX, and Disney+.
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2025-11-08T10:53:54Z