OLIVIA COLMAN AND DAVID THEWLIS STAR IN A CHILLING TRUE-CRIME DRAMA ABOUT TWO BODIES HIDDEN FOR 15 YEARS — AND THE MARRIED COUPLE WHO KEPT AN UNBELIEVABLE SECRET
Two bodies buried in a Nottinghamshire garden. Fifteen years of deception. And a seemingly ordinary married couple whose private world concealed a horrifying truth. Starring Olivia Colman and David Thewlis, the critically acclaimed four-part British drama Landscapers transforms one of Britain’s strangest real-life m*rder cases into an extraordinary story of love, lies and psychological manipulation. With a remarkable 98% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, this unsettling miniseries proves that sometimes the truth is far stranger than fiction.
Based on the real case of Susan and Christopher Edwards, the 2021 production explores how a couple maintained an elaborate deception for more than a decade while living inside a world shaped by secrecy, devotion and fantasy.
But unlike a conventional crime drama, Landscapers is not simply interested in discovering what happened.
It asks a far more disturbing question — how can two people construct an alternative reality so convincing that they begin to live inside it?
Two Bodies Buried in a Garden for 15 Years
At the centre of the story is a shocking discovery in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.
The remains of Patricia and William Wycherley were found buried in the garden of their former home after remaining hidden for approximately 15 years.
The discovery exposed a deception that had continued for more than a decade.
During that time, their daughter Susan Edwards and her husband Christopher maintained the appearance that the elderly couple were still alive.
The circumstances surrounding their disappearance would eventually lead investigators towards a deeply unsettling family secret.
In 2014, Susan and Christopher were convicted of m*rdering Patricia and William.
Yet the extraordinary facts of the case represent only one part of the story told in Landscapers.
The drama explores the relationship between the convicted couple and the elaborate explanations they constructed around their lives.
What makes the case especially disturbing is not only how long the bodies remained undiscovered, but how an apparently ordinary marriage became connected to such an extraordinary deception.
Olivia Colman Plays a Woman Living Between Truth and Fantasy
Olivia Colman portrays Susan Edwards, a former librarian whose relationship with reality becomes one of the drama’s central themes.
Susan is presented as a quiet, emotionally vulnerable woman who retreats into an imagined world inspired by classic Hollywood cinema.
Her fascination with old films offers an escape from the painful circumstances surrounding her life.
But as the investigation progresses, the distinction between memory, fantasy and reality becomes increasingly complicated.
Colman’s performance is both restrained and deeply unsettling.
Rather than presenting Susan as a conventional true-crime villain, she portrays a woman whose apparent fragility exists alongside the disturbing allegations surrounding her.
The result is a character who remains difficult to understand even as more details emerge.
And that uncertainty becomes one of the drama’s greatest strengths.
David Thewlis Portrays a Husband Bound by Loyalty and Secrecy
David Thewlis plays Christopher Edwards, Susan’s husband and closest companion.
A former accountant, Christopher is portrayed as a man whose devotion to his wife shapes nearly every aspect of his behaviour.
Their marriage appears affectionate and unusually close.
They depend on one another emotionally, sharing routines and a private understanding of the world that outsiders struggle to penetrate.
But beneath that apparent tenderness lies a deeply troubling history.
As investigators begin examining the couple’s actions, their relationship takes on an increasingly sinister dimension.
Thewlis brings a quiet intensity to Christopher, portraying a man caught between loyalty, fear and the consequences of decisions made years earlier.
Together, Colman and Thewlis create a relationship that feels simultaneously intimate, tragic and disturbing.
Their performances leave viewers questioning how love and loyalty can become entangled with deception on such an extraordinary scale.
A True-Crime Drama Unlike Anything Else on British Television
What separates Landscapers from conventional true-crime television is its highly unusual storytelling style.
Instead of following a straightforward investigation from beginning to end, the series moves between police interviews, reconstructed events and imaginative sequences inspired by Susan’s fascination with classic cinema.
At times, the drama resembles a romantic Hollywood film.
At others, it becomes a bleak psychological study of two people confronting the consequences of their past.
These shifts are deliberate.
The series uses visual fantasy to explore the stories its central characters tell themselves and the uncomfortable distance between those stories and the available evidence.
Moments of tenderness sit alongside disturbing revelations.
Dark humour interrupts scenes of emotional devastation.
And familiar true-crime conventions are repeatedly challenged.
The result is a drama that feels almost dreamlike, even while remaining rooted in a real criminal case.
The Marriage That Became the Centre of a Police Investigation
When the truth surrounding the Wycherleys’ disappearance begins to emerge, Susan and Christopher’s carefully maintained existence starts to collapse.
Investigators examine the couple’s financial circumstances, their accounts of past events and the extraordinary length of time during which Susan’s parents were believed to be alive.
The inquiry exposes a series of contradictions that become increasingly difficult to explain.
Yet the drama does not treat the investigation merely as a puzzle to be solved.
Instead, it examines how the couple respond when the world they have constructed begins falling apart.
Their conversations and recollections reveal different perspectives on events that have remained concealed for years.
And as police work towards establishing the facts, the audience is left to consider how much of the couple’s shared story can be trusted.
The Disturbing Role of Hollywood Fantasy
One of the series’ most memorable elements is the way it incorporates classic Hollywood imagery.
Susan and Christopher’s interest in cinema becomes more than a background detail.
It helps explain the emotional world they inhabit.
The production moves through stylised sets, cinematic transitions and moments that blur the boundary between performance and reality.
These sequences give the story a strange, theatrical quality.
Rather than offering a straightforward explanation for the couple’s actions, they invite viewers to consider how fantasy can become a refuge from unbearable circumstances.
But the series never allows that imagined world to erase the seriousness of the crimes.
The contrast between romantic illusion and grim reality becomes increasingly uncomfortable.
Behind the cinematic fantasies lies a real case involving two victims whose disappearance remained unexplained for 15 years.
A Remarkable 98% Rotten Tomatoes Critics’ Score
Despite its unusual subject matter and unconventional structure, Landscapers received widespread critical acclaim.
The series holds a 98% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 47 reviews, according to the figures cited for the production.
Its audience score is listed at 76%, reflecting a somewhat more divided response among viewers.
Critics particularly praised the performances of Olivia Colman and David Thewlis.
The Guardian awarded the drama five stars, highlighting the emotional conviction of the two lead performances.
Much of the acclaim also centred on the show’s willingness to approach true crime from an unexpected perspective.
Instead of concentrating exclusively on the investigation, the production explores emotional dependence, isolation and the stories people construct to justify their actions.
That approach makes Landscapers both distinctive and occasionally challenging.
It asks viewers to engage with deeply uncomfortable characters without losing sight of the reality behind the case.
The Creative Team Behind the Four-Part Drama
Landscapers was created and written by Ed Sinclair, the husband of Olivia Colman, and directed by Will Sharpe.
The series originally premiered in December 2021, airing on HBO in the United States and Sky Atlantic in the United Kingdom.
Across four episodes, the creative team constructs a story that moves between intimate domestic drama and unsettling true-crime reconstruction.
Sharpe’s distinctive direction gives the production an almost theatrical atmosphere.
The shifting visual styles reinforce the contrast between the couple’s imagined world and the facts emerging from the investigation.
Meanwhile, the screenplay places considerable emphasis on the relationship between Susan and Christopher.
Their devotion becomes both a source of emotional complexity and a central part of the mystery.
Four Episodes That Leave a Lasting Impression
With only four episodes, Landscapers offers a complete story without requiring a lengthy commitment.
Its relatively compact format allows the drama to concentrate on the central relationship and the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the case.
Yet its emotional and psychological complexity gives it the weight of a much longer production.
The series is not a conventional fast-paced detective thriller.
Viewers expecting constant action or a straightforward sequence of clues may find its surreal approach surprising.
But those drawn to character-driven crime stories will discover a production that explores the darker aspects of loyalty, memory and self-deception.
The performances alone make it worth watching.
Colman captures Susan’s vulnerability and evasiveness with remarkable subtlety, while Thewlis gives Christopher a troubling combination of tenderness and desperation.
Together, they create one of the most unusual married couples in modern British crime television.
Where to Watch Landscapers
Landscapers originally aired on HBO in the United States and Sky Atlantic in the United Kingdom.
The four-part series has also been listed through streaming and digital platforms including HBO Max, NOW and Apple TV, although access may differ depending on location, subscription and current licensing arrangements.
Viewers should check their regional streaming catalogues for the latest availability.
A British True-Crime Story Almost Too Strange to Believe
Two bodies hidden in a garden.
Fifteen years during which their disappearance remained concealed.
And a married couple whose relationship became inseparable from one of Britain’s most extraordinary criminal investigations.
Landscapers takes these remarkable facts and transforms them into a haunting psychological drama.
Rather than sensationalising every detail, it explores the emotional contradictions at the heart of the case.
Love exists alongside deception.
Fantasy becomes a refuge from reality.
And the stories people tell themselves begin to collide with evidence that cannot be ignored.
For viewers who enjoy British true-crime dramas such as The Pembrokeshire Murders, Des and The Sixth Commandment, this four-part production offers something markedly different.
With Olivia Colman and David Thewlis delivering outstanding performances and a 98% Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score, Landscapers is a disturbing reminder that the most unbelievable crime stories are sometimes the ones that actually happened.
Landscapers (2021) is a four-part British-American true-crime drama created by Ed Sinclair and directed by Will Sharpe. It stars Olivia Colman and David Thewlis and is inspired by the real case of Susan and Christopher Edwards.