Strike series 6: Ink Black Heart release date and cast with Holliday Grainger in BBC JK Rowling adaptation

Strike series six is now officially in production at the BBC, with series stars Holliday Grainger and Tom Burke returning to film the adaptation of JK Rowling’s novel The Ink Black Heart.

The sixth instalment of the popular detective series, which has sold over 11 million copies so far across all the novels, follows investigative team Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott as they dig into another grim murder.

Troubled Blood, the latest series adapted by the BBC in 2022, was watched by an average audience of over 8 million, and The Ink Black Heart is expected to perform just as well when it hits TV screens in the UK. 

What is the plot of Ink Black Heart?

The sixth Strike novel sees private detective Robin Ellacott take on the case of cartoon publisher Edie who is being persecuted by a mysterious online figure.

When Robin learns that Edie has been murdered in London, she and Strike are drawn into an investigation to uncover the identity of the anonymous troll who had made her life hell, hoping that in doing so, they will unmask Edie’s killer.

Who is in the cast of Ink Black Heart?

• Holliday Grainger as Robin Ellacott
• Tom Burke as Cormoran Strike
• Ruth Sheen as Pat Chauncey
• Jack Greenlees as Sam Barclay
• Natasha O'Keeffe as Charlotte Campbell 
• Caitlin Innes Edwards as Ilsa
• David Westhead
• Christian McKay 
• Emma Fielding 
• Tupele Dorgu 
• James Nelson-Joyce

Where is Ink Black Heart being filmed?

The Strike novel series and BBC adaptation is predominantly set in London, and the series is also mostly filmed there. Locations include Denmark Street, near Tottenham Court Road, where the exterior shots of Strike’s office are shot, and the Duke Of York pub on Rathbone Street, which stands in for the Tottenham pub.

Specific filming locations for series six are yet to be confirmed, but as the novel is again set in London, many of the locations from previous seasons are expected to feature again.

How many Strike novels has JK Rowling written?

So far, Rowling has written seven novels in the Cormoran Strike, all of which were published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The first five of these novels have already been adapted by the BBC - they are: The Cuckoo’s Calling, The Silkworm, Career of Evil, Lethal White, and Troubled Blood.

The Ink Black Heart, published in 2022 is the latest Strike novel to be adapted, and is expected to be followed by Rowling’s seventh novel, The Running Grave, published last year.

Rowling stated that she plans to write at least ten Strike novels, meaning that at least three more should be on the way over the next few years, though the titles of the upcoming books have not yet been revealed.

When is the release date of Ink Black Heart?

An exact release date for the new Strike series has not yet been confirmed, however, as filming has just got underway we can expect it to land on the BBC in late 2024 or early 2025. The series will be four episodes long, with each episode around one hour.