Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Des’ On Sundance Now, Where David Tennant Plays Real-Life Serial Killer Dennis Nilsen

Des is a 3-part limited series, created by Lewis Arnold and written by Luke Neal and Kelly Jones, about the real-life serial killer Dennis Nilsen, who murdered a dozen young men between 1978 and 1983. Much of the material is based on Brian Masters’ book Killing For Company, which delves deep into Nilsen’s life, mainly via interviews with the killer himself. David Tennant stars as the sociopathic killer, and if you’re used to seeing him playing The Doctor or a troubled cop, then this performance may surprise you.

DES: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: News footage from early ’80s London depicting young homeless men sleeping on the street and in shelters, cruising for drugs.

The Gist: After a morning where he has to deal with a friend of his ex-wife, who has squirreled their kids away at that friend’s house and won’t let him see them, DCI Peter Jay (Daniel Mays) is immediately called on a case when he comes into work. A plumber has found what he thinks are human remains in a drain next to a house. As the remains are off being tested, Jay and DI Steve McCusker (Barry Ward) wait for the tenant in the third floor flat, where they suspect the bones came from, to come home.

When the man, Dennis Nilsen (David Tennant) comes home, he readily leads the cops upstairs, where they proceed to find human remains from several different bodies. Nilsen — who is nicknamed “Des” — is completely open about the fact that those are people he’s killed; in fact, he tells McCusker that there are pieces of “15 or 16” bodies in his flat.

At the station, Jay and his boss, DSI Geoff Chambers (Ron Cook) question Des, who nonchalantly talks about all of the homeless young men he befriended, took back to his flat, strangled, and dismembered. He also boils the people’s heads to help disposal. He casually talks about his distaste for having to dismember them. Jay and Chambers are just dumbfounded by what they hear, but the problem is that Des hasn’t connected any of the bodies to a name.

After Des finally gives them a name, and the fingerprints of the badly damaged body match what they have on file (remember, many of his victims are in the system after being busted on drug charges), he’s sent to prison. There, a journalist named Brian Masters (Jason Watkins), intrigued by Des’ story, manages to get in touch with the killer and get on his designated list of visitors. You see, Des wants people to know his story, including precisely the number of people he’s killed.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Mainly because it’s a true story from the UK in the early ’80s, Des brings to mind The Murders At White House Farm, though that’s more of a pursuit story than this one is.

Our Take: Even if you knew nothing about Nilsen before this series started, you’ll come away shocked, especially after seeing Tennant’s performance.

Tennant’s ability to not just channel Nilsen’s looks and mannerisms but the matter-of-fact way he spoke about the killings, as if he was talking about going to the supermarket or the post office, is the most remarkable part of this miniseries. It’s safe to say that Nilsen was a sociopath, not even giving off a scintilla of human empathy as he rattles off details about how he killed these young men, but has no idea what any of their names are. He’ll readily admit to the killings, but is more concerned that the story leaked to the press, despite the police’s insistence that no one talks to reporters — or anyone else — about the investigation.

Despite the show’s large supporting cast, Des is really about three men: Nilsen, DCI Jay and Masters. We know a little about what’s going on with Jay when we see him sadly giving his kids’ possessions to his ex-wife’s friend. It feels like the Nilsen case is going to drive him, because he has little else going on in his life. We don’t know a ton about Masters, aside from the fact that he’s gay, his upbringing doesn’t match his posh accent, and he’s intrigued by Nilsen. Both Mays and Watkins play these men well, though we’ve seen Mays in roles like this before (we’ve noticed how versatile he’s been in all the shows we’ve seen him in over the past year, so that’s not an indictment on him at all).

But the series is going to hinge on Tennant as Nilsen, and he more than meets the challenge. While we see him spew his sociopathic mumblings, we can’t take our eyes off his dead-eyed look, amazed that this is the same guy who played cops on shows like Broadchurch and, of course a sprightly role like The Doctor for all those years.

Sex and Skin: Nothing.

Parting Shot: As Masters tells Nilsen that he wants to find out about his upbringing and all the details about his life, Nilsen lights up another of Watkins’ cigarettes, tells him to bring another pack next time, and says, “Call me Des.”

Sleeper Star: Considering this is really a three-man show, no one else’s character is developed enough to highlight here.

Most Pilot-y Line: While DSI Chambers gives an impromptu press conference about Nilsen, a reporter asks him how long Nilsen’s had this “unusual habit.” Cheeky, isn’t he?

Our Call: STREAM IT. Based on Tennant’s performance alone, Des is a compelling watch. But Mays and Watkins put in solid performances, as well.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.

Stream Des On Sundance Now