Six Four: The Scottish Crime Thriller Where A Missing Daughter Uncovers A Buried Police Scandal

A missing teenage girl sends a Scottish detective searching for answers — only for his investigation to reopen an infamous case that may expose corruption inside his own police force.

That is the unsettling setup of Six Four, the four-part crime thriller starring Kevin McKidd and Vinette Robinson. Released on ITVX on 30 March 2023, the drama follows two parents searching for their missing daughter while confronting secrets, betrayal and a decades-old mystery.

Inspired by Japanese author Hideo Yokoyama’s bestselling novel, the series relocates the story from Japan to Scotland, placing its characters in a dark world of police corruption, kidnapping and political pressure.

With just four episodes, Six Four offers a tightly contained mystery that moves between an unresolved case from the past and a desperate search unfolding in the present.

A Missing Daughter Reopens An Infamous Case

McKidd plays DC Chris O’Neill, a police detective whose life is thrown into turmoil when his teenage daughter Annabel disappears.

While dealing with the crisis as both a father and an experienced police officer, Chris is approached by a journalist with startling information about the disappearance of Julie Mackie, a local girl whose case had previously divided the police.

The journalist claims that fatal mistakes made during the investigation were covered up.

Chris begins examining the old case, and what he uncovers points towards a troubling combination of errors, corruption and personal ambition within the institution he has spent his career serving.

The old investigation soon becomes impossible for Chris to ignore. As he searches for his daughter, he starts to wonder whether the secrets surrounding Julie Mackie could be connected to what is happening to his own family.

Michelle Takes Her Own Route To The Truth

Chris is not the only parent determined to find Annabel.

His wife Michelle O’Neill, played by Vinette Robinson, is a former undercover officer. Rather than waiting for Chris or the police to uncover the truth, she uses the skills she developed during her previous career to begin investigating for herself.

Her search takes her back into a criminal underworld she had once escaped, drawing her into a world involving vice and extortion with connections reaching into Scotland’s political establishment.

As Michelle takes increasingly dangerous risks, her own past begins to become just as important to the mystery as the disappearance of her daughter.

The result is a story in which both parents are investigating from very different directions — Chris from inside the police force and Michelle through contacts and skills from her undercover past.

Another Kidnapping Deepens The Mystery

The investigation takes another turn when the daughter of the Justice Minister is kidnapped just as her father appears to be on the verge of an election victory.

The circumstances bear unsettling similarities to the Julie Mackie case, raising the possibility that an old scandal may be repeating itself.

For Chris, the connection creates another question: is the past somehow resurfacing, or is the latest kidnapping finally going to expose what really happened to Julie?

The official ITV synopsis describes the series as a story of kidnap, corruption, betrayal and an uncompromising search for the truth.

Kevin McKidd Leads The Scottish Cast

McKidd, best known internationally for playing Dr Owen Hunt in Grey’s Anatomy and for his role in Trainspotting, takes on the central role of Chris O’Neill.

Here, his character is caught between professional duty and the increasingly desperate reality of being a father whose daughter has disappeared.

Vinette Robinson stars as Michelle, while the ensemble includes James Cosmo, Alex Ferns, Richard Coyle, Andrew Whipp and Iona Anderson.

Robinson’s Michelle provides a very different perspective on the investigation. Her former undercover career gives her access to a world Chris cannot easily reach, while the secrets surrounding her past create another layer of tension.

From A Japanese Bestseller To A Scottish Thriller

Although Six Four is deeply rooted in Scotland on screen, its origins lie in Japan.

The drama is based on Hideo Yokoyama’s 2012 novel Six Four. The television adaptation was written by Gregory Burke and Clare McQuillan, with Ben A. Williams directing.

Yokoyama’s original story was set within a Japanese police department. For the television adaptation, the setting was moved to Scotland, with Glasgow becoming the primary location.

The production also filmed in Edinburgh and Dumfries and Galloway, giving the series a distinctly Scottish backdrop.

Burke said the adaptation was ultimately a human story about two people under immense pressure who choose to confront their pasts, while also examining institutional corruption and the secrets that can exist within families.

A Thriller Built Around Character And Conspiracy

Rather than treating its central mystery as a simple police investigation, Six Four gradually brings together several strands: a missing teenager, an old unsolved case, allegations of a police cover-up, political ambitions and Michelle’s dangerous return to the criminal world.

That layered structure gives the four episodes plenty of ground to cover.

The Evening Standard awarded the series four stars, while The Standard praised its performances, plotting and twists. Its review also highlighted McKidd’s portrayal of Chris as a frustrated detective, desperate father and worried husband, alongside Robinson’s performance as Michelle.

The four-episode format also means the mystery moves relatively quickly. All four episodes were released together on ITVX, allowing viewers to follow the story from the initial disappearance through to its conclusion in a single sitting.

How Many Episodes Does Six Four Have?

Six Four consists of four episodes, each running for around 45 minutes.

The complete series was released on ITVX on 30 March 2023. The episodes follow Chris as he investigates the Julie Mackie case and its connection to the present, while Michelle continues her search for Annabel.

The result is a compact Scottish crime thriller built around one increasingly disturbing question: how far can the truth reach when the people who were supposed to protect it may have helped bury it?

All four episodes of Six Four are available to stream on ITVX.