All 10 episodes of Accused are now available to watch on ITVX, bringing a 2010 crime anthology back into view for anyone looking for a self-contained series they can dip into one hour at a time. Sheridan Smith and Stephen Graham are among the names attached to the show, which tells a separate story in each episode.
That makes the timing useful for viewers searching for Sheridan Smith now: instead of chasing a single continuing plot, they can pick up one of the 10 individual episodes and get a complete story in a single sitting. The series is built around victims and accused people in different crimes, so each hour stands alone while still fitting the same darker, case-by-case format.
The appeal is not just in the cast list. once described Accused as “a compelling dissection of the fragility of ordinary lives,” and the series has also been linked to good reviews, a touch of controversy and International Emmy awards. It is the kind of reputation that often outlasts the first run, even when the original audience did not fully arrive in the moment.
That was part of the problem in 2010. Metro said the first six episodes did not notch up great ratings, even while praising the show’s strong acting and its deliberately unsettling approach to character-driven drama. The split is easy to understand: Accused was admired enough to endure, but not popular enough at first to turn into an obvious mainstream fixture.
Now the friction has shifted. What once looked like a low-key, slightly overlooked anthology is sitting free on ITVX, where Sheridan Smith, Stephen Graham, Olivia Colman, Peter Capaldi and John Bishop can be found in a format that asks little of the viewer beyond an hour and some attention. The open question is not whether Accused exists — it does, in full — but which of its separate stories will be the one that brings new viewers in first.
