Is Deadwater Fell based on a true story? Here's what you need to know about the crime drama series

Deadwater Fell is the latest crime thriller series to hit Netflix, and fans are desperate to know more about this gut-wrenching Channel 4 drama.

Deadwater Fell is proving to be one of the best thriller series added to Netflix, quickly climbing to the top of the steaming service's UK chart with viewers eager to race towards Deadwater Fell's shocking ending and trying to find more about where Deadwater Fell is set.

Although the four-part series was only short, fans have been totally captivated and want to know if the series is based on a true story. Shockingly the creator has said the story was partially inspired by real events, here's what you need to know...

While its harrowing murder plot might feel familiar, Deadwater Fell is completely fictionalised but elements of the story were influenced by true events, with show producers looking to true crime documentaries for inspiration. 

Speaking at a Q&A session in 2019, Deadwater Fell producer Emma Kingsman-Lloyd explained (via The Scotsman), "We’re both a little bit obsessed with true crime shows which is where the initial thought came from because Daisy said that she wanted to write something that had the forensic detail of a true crime documentary show."

One particular case that shaped the narrative was Netflix's true crime documentary, The Staircase. The docuseries examines the real-life case of Michael Peterson who was accused of murdering his wife, Kathleen. The Netflix show focused on the concept of mariticide, which was the key narrative plot in Deadwater Fell. 

In real life, it was discovered that Michael did not push his wife Kathleen down the stairs, despite there being a lot of evidence that suggested he was guilty of killing his wife. Michael. In Deadwater Fell Tom was accused of drugging his family before setting the house on fire, similarly Michael was accused of killing his wife by beating her to death and covering up her murder by saying she fell down the stairs.

Writer and creator Daisy Coulam said of basing the central character of Dr Tom Kendrick on Michael Peterson, "I like that ambiguity and that he’s a really fascinating character, so just drawing on that really and that sort of nuance is what I was hoping for."

She also added that she and show producers were keen not to depict the accused as "monsters". She said the series, "is about humans and what they are capable of – both the heroic and the incomprehensible." Before adding, "And it’s about victims who deserve to be remembered as more than a smiling face in a faded photograph."