Emma Thompson is a snarky lo-fi private eye in Down Cemetery Road trailer

Ruth Wilson co-stars in the new Apple TV+ crime drama, premiering October 29.

By Mary Kate Carr | September 29, 2025 | 10:37am

Photo courtesy Apple TV+

TV News Down Cemetery Road

Emma Thompson is a snarky lo-fi private eye in Down Cemetery Road trailer

Knowing Emma Thompson and knowing the staples of the British crime drama, you probably won’t be surprised by the actor’s snarky, disaffected private eye persona in the Down Cemetery Road trailer. The Apple TV+ series—premiering October 29—is another Mick Herron adaptation to follow the streamer’s success with Slow Horses. But Zoë Boehm (Thompson) has even fewer resources than MI5’s most neglected division, forced to rely on her nose for mystery in her dry wit. “Our tech doesn’t have the capability” to zoom in on convenience store security footage, she’s told in the trailer, “but we can zoom in with our eyes.” To which Zoë sassily replies: “Were you almost a comedian?”

Down Cemetery Road is not all laughs, of course. Zoë is engaged by Sarah Trafford (Ruth Wilson) to find a young girl who disappeared from her neighborhood after an explosion. Together, the unlikely duo find themselves embroiled in a major conspiracy, which includes “a massive government cover-up,” as Zoë explains to Sarah in the trailer. Soon, both of their lives are in danger—but there is still time for some laughs, after all. “So you think you’re gonna keep doing the private investigator thing when you get back?” Sarah asks. “No, I thought I might start a modeling agency,” Zoë replies. “Really?” Sarah says with surprise. “No,” Zoë replies.

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Speaking with TV Insider, Wilson said she was attracted to Down Cemetery Road for the opportunity to work with Thompson. “As soon as we got together, it was like, OK, this is where the show is. It’s this dynamic, these two women, they’re hilarious. She’s such a good energy on set. She’s so brilliant. She’s kind of playful and easy, and everything is just fun,” Wilson gushed. “I’ve loved her work for so long, so, managing to work alongside her and be with her and find some really quirky dynamic between the two characters was really fun. What we’d built [is] interesting because we’d built our own journeys prior to that. The two characters worked so well. I loved it.”