HBO’s hit series, based on Robert Galbraith’s books, returns for a much-anticipated new season. “C.B. Strike: The Ink Black Heart” Part 1 premieres Thursday, Jan. 23, at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
Watch the new season for free with a trial from DIRECTV Stream.
About the show:
The “C.B. Strike” series follows Cormoran Strike, an injured war veteran turned private investigator, and secretary Robin Ellacott as they investigate complex cases. Each season is based on a novel by Robert Galbraith.
In “C.B. Strike: The Ink Black Heart,” Edie Ledwell, co-creator of TV cartoon “The Ink Black Heart,” asks Robin to uncover the identity of her online harasser “Anomie.”
Tune in for the season premiere tonight, Jan. 23, at 9/8c on HBO. Check out a look at the season ahead below.
Are you a fan of the C.B. Strike series and excited for the premiere of ‘The Ink Black Heart’? Well, you’re in luck because you can watch it for free on HBO!
Here’s how you can catch the premiere without having to pay a penny:
1. Sign up for a free trial of HBO: HBO offers a free trial period for new subscribers, which typically lasts around 7 days. Simply sign up for the trial and you’ll be able to watch ‘The Ink Black Heart’ premiere during that time.
2. Use a friend or family member’s HBO login: If you know someone who has an HBO subscription, ask if you can use their login to watch the premiere. Many HBO subscriptions allow for multiple users to stream at the same time, so you can enjoy the show without any additional cost.
3. Check for any promotional offers: HBO occasionally runs promotions where they offer free access to certain shows or episodes. Keep an eye out for any special deals that may allow you to watch ‘The Ink Black Heart’ premiere for free.
So there you have it – three ways to watch the premiere of ‘C.B. Strike: The Ink Black Heart’ for free on HBO. Don’t miss out on all the action and drama – start streaming now!
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It’s important to remember the ongoing controversial statements by the creator of the Harry Potter franchise. CBR supports the hard work of industry professionals on properties fans know and love and the wider world of Harry Potter that fans have adopted as their own. You can find CBR’s continuing coverage on Rowling here.
This article contains minor spoilers from Seasons 1 to 5 of C.B.Strike, as well as for The Ink Black Heart book.
Strike, or C.B. Strike, is a crime drama series based on the Cormoran Strike book series by J.K. Rowling, written under the pen name Robert Galbraith. Strike follows the titular Cormoran Strike, a war veteran who lost half of his right leg in a bomb attack. Strike also worked as an investigator for SIB, the Special Investigation Branch of all three British military police branches, but now works as a private investigator. In his new career, he meets Robin, who first begins working for Strike as his assistant before eventually becoming a private investigator herself and Strike’s business partner.
The Cormoran Strike book series currently consists of seven books, while the TV adaptation is in its sixth series. Every season of C.B. Strike follows a different book in the Cormoran Strike book series, and Season 6 is no different. Much like the latest C.B.Strike seasons, the sixth season will also consist of four episodes. While the sixth series of this crime drama has already aired in the U.K., HBO Max recently confirmed the release date for US audiences. Featuring returning cast members and new faces, as well as a new murder to solve, C.B. Strike Season 6 continues its legacy as a captivating British crime drama.
C.B. Strike Season 6 Adapts the Sixth Book in the Cormoran Strike Series
The Book Was Released in 2022
C.B. Strike first debuted in 2017 with the adaptation of the first book in the Cormoran Strike series, The Cuckoo’s Calling. The sixth series of C.B. Strike follows the sixth book in the Cormoran Strike series, The Ink Black Heart. This book and season see Strike and Robin working together as they investigate the death of an online cartoon writer named Edie. Edie had previously contacted Robin because she was receiving death threats online, but Robin wasn’t sure how their agency could help Edie. But Robin and Strike eventually take on the case once the news of Edie’s murder reaches them, and they realize Edie was murdered in the same location where her cartoon takes place. Edie’s cartoon is quite popular and is about to be turned into a movie, and already has an online game based on the cartoon. However, Edie and the game’s creator clashed after Edie criticized the game.
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Both the sixth book and the series see Strike and Robin growing closer as they investigate this new case. As Robin’s divorce from Matt was finalized in C.B. Strike Season 5, Robin and Strike share a moment on Robin’s birthday in Season 6, which can be seen in the latest trailer HBO released for Season 6. The will-they-won’t-they relationship between Strike and Robin is one of the biggest pulls of the series, and the chemistry between the two main actors, Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger, is one of the biggest reasons why Strike is such a popular crime drama. Luckily, fans will have to wait only for a short while to see where Robin and Strike’s relationship goes in the next season, as C.B. Strike Season 6 will soon be available on Max.
C.B. Strike Will Be Available on Max in January
Strike Already Aired in the U.K. in December
Image via HBO Max
While Strike aired during the last couple of weeks of December in the U.K., C.B.Strike is not available for streaming in other countries yet. However, this will soon change as HBO Max confirmed that C.B. Strike will be available on January 23 on their streaming platform. This is good news for many fans who expected Season 6 of the crime drama to be available for streaming in February, based on the delay between the original airing date in the U.K. and the US release on streaming of the previous seasons. Fans had to wait a long time for Season 6, as Season 5, which is based on the fifth book in the series, Troubled Blood, was over two years ago, in December 2022.
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Sadly, C.B. Strike Season 6 seems to have the lowest ratings of any season of the show so far. While the first season of the crime drama, which adapted The Cuckoo’s Calling, the first book in the Cormoran Strike book series, holds a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes based on user ratings, Season 6 only has a 54% approval from viewers. Strike Season 3, which is based on Career of Evil, continues to be the best-reviewed season, with 95% approval from Rotten Tomatoes users.
C.B. Strike Season 6 Features Many New Faces
The Sixth Series Also Sees Many Returning Cast Members
Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger lead C.B. Strike as Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott, respectively, with a number of recurring and guest stars each season. Much like most crime dramas, every season introduces a new crime and mystery and, with it, a new set of cast and characters. Mirren Mack, who played Florence in Sex Education, Kaya in The Nest, and Merwyn in The Witcher: Blood Origin, plays the murder victim and co-creator of The Ink Black Heart cartoon in the story, Edie Ledwell. Newcomer Jacob Abraham plays Josh Blay, Edie’s ex-boyfriend and also the co-creator of The Ink Black Heart cartoon.
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Stephen Hagan, who played Rich Clayton in Lucky Man, Al Quinn in Hope Street, and Malcolm in You, joins the cast of C.B. Strike Season 6 as DCI Richard Murphy, who seems to take an interest in Robin. James Nelson-Joyce, known for roles in shows like Shameless, Mount Pleasant, Vera, Little Boy Blue, and The Outlaws, plays Preston ‘Pez’ Pierce. Pez is Edie’s ex-roommate and the prime suspect in her murder. David Westhead plays Grant Ledwell, Edie’s uncle and the person overseeing the movie adaptation of The Ink Black Heart cartoon. Luke Norris, who is probably best known for playing Doctor Dwight Enys in Poldark, plays Edie’s fiancé and an ex-police officer, Phillip Ormond. And Ellise Chappell, who also starred in Poldark as Morwenna Chynoweth, plays Kea Niven. Kea claims Edie stole the idea for The Ink Black Heart from her.
Natasha O’Keeffe returns for C.B. Strike Season 6 after her last appearance in Season 4 as Charlotte, Strike’s ex. O’Keeffe is probably best known for her work on TV series like Lip Service, Misfits, and the critically acclaimed British crime drama Peaky Blinders. Another cast member returning in Season 6 is Jack Greenlees, who plays war veteran Sam Barclay, who now works with Strike and Robin. Sam was first introduced in Season 4. Audiences probably recognize Greenlees from shows like Harlots, The Trial of Christine Keeler, and The Swarm. Tupele Dorgu joins the cast of C.B. Strike Season 6 as Midge Greenstreet, who starts working with Strike and Robin. Dorgu is probably most recognized for her role as Kelly Crabtree in the British soap opera Coronation Street, where she played Kelly for over 500 episodes.
The Cormoran Strike Book Series Has Seven Books So Far
The Eighth Book in the Series Is Currently in the Works
Image via Max
The Cormoran Strike book series has seven books so far in the series. The Cuckoo’s Calling is the first novel in the series and also the basis for the first season of C.B. Strike. J. K. Rowling first rose to fame with the Harry Potter book series, which is one of the most famous and beloved fantasy book series of all time. But the Cormoran Strike book series caters to a completely different audience, with more mature themes and dark elements. The crime book series has amassed a loyal fanbase since the first book was published, and it seems like Strike and Robin’s story is a long way from over.
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The latest book in the Cormoran Strike book series was released in 2023, titled The Running Grave. But fans shouldn’t worry, as the author has already confirmed that the next book is in the works. The eighth book in the Cormoran Strike book series will be titled The Hallmarked Man and is scheduled to be published on September 9, 2025. With a seventh book already published, and the next one already expected for 2025, fans of the book series have a lot to look forward to. And since C.B. Strike adapts a book per season, fans can’t help but hope that the TV adaptation will go on for as long as the book series does. Meanwhile, fans of the series will be able to stream C.B. Strike Season 6 on Max.
C.B. Strike
Release Date
June 1, 2018
Network
BBC One
Directors
Susan Tully
, Michael Keillor
, Charles Sturridge
Cast
Tom Burke
Cormoran Strike
Holliday Grainger
Robin Ellacott
Kerr Logan
Matthew Cunliffe
Stream
As of now, there has been no official announcement regarding a sixth season of C.B Strike, the TV series based on JK Rowling’s Cormoran Strike novels. However, fans of the show are eagerly anticipating any news or updates on the potential continuation of the series.
In the previous seasons, we have seen private detective Cormoran Strike and his partner Robin Ellacott solve various complex cases, while also navigating their personal lives and relationships. Each season has been based on one of JK Rowling’s novels, with the most recent season adapting “Lethal White”.
With the success of the previous seasons and the popularity of the books, it is likely that a sixth season could be in the works. Rumors have circulated that filming for a new season may already be underway, but nothing has been confirmed.
Fans are hopeful that a sixth season will continue to delve into the intriguing mysteries and character development that have made the show so beloved. Stay tuned for any updates on the future of C.B Strike!
Tags:
JK Rowling, C.B Strike, Season 6, Cormoran Strike, Robin Ellacott, Robert Galbraith, detective series, crime drama, BBC One, television adaptation, mysteries, private investigator, London, British TV, new season, plot details, cast updates, release date
J.K. Rowling’s willingness to weigh in on transgender issues has made her a culture-wars combatant since before the turn of the decade. But it hasn’t appeared to affect her lucrative relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery, which is scheduled to start filming an HBO series based on her Harry Potter novels this summer.
And artistically, the results of that relationship have been rewarding. On average, Rowling’s work has fared as well onscreen as that of any best-selling writer, beginning with the Potter films and continuing with the highly entertaining Fantastic Beast movies. That winning streak has continued on television, where “C.B. Strike,” the BBC and HBO show based on the books she writes under the name Robert Galbraith, has been one of the better British mystery series of recent years.
Things get problematic, though, with the arrival on Thursday of “C.B. Strike: The Ink Black Heart,” based on the sixth of Rowling’s novels about the private detectives Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott.
The four-episode season, on HBO, is still a well-made whodunit with two wonderful performances at its heart. But the human element that made earlier installments of “C.B. Strike” excellent is less in evidence here, overshadowed by a not-very-interesting topicality that seems likely to be an outgrowth of Rowling’s real-world experience.
“The Ink Black Heart” faced a challenge from the start: Its source is a thousand-page doorstop of a novel that is littered with replications of group chats, tweets and text exchanges. The book is an exhausting typographical obstacle course; that each of its 107 chapters begins with a snippet of poetry as an epigraph does not make reading it any easier.
Tom Edge, who has written the bulk of the TV series, and Sue Tully, the show’s longtime director, wisely make no attempt to put those reams of online chatter onscreen, settling for the occasional spoken reference. And they have condensed the story adroitly, eliminating whole plot lines to focus on the central investigation. They have not, however, been able to make the case much more interesting.
It’s a homicide involving the creators of a macabre online cartoon, and the suspects are a thinly drawn, too-numerous group of obsessive fans, romantic and business partners and other hangers-on. You sense that Rowling’s interest was less in revealing the killer than in grinding a particular ax — the story’s message is that the successful artist is defenseless against the amateur who “thinks that your characters basically belong to him.”
It would help if we cared about these people, but the quickly dispatched victim is virtually the only character who evinces any talent or depth of feeling. (One especially air-headed suspect notes that she is unlikely to be the killer because, as she says, “I’m antifa.”) The season has a slightly sour atmosphere along with an airless, puzzle-solving approach to its mystery.
This renders “The Ink Black Heart” a disappointment in the wake of earlier chapters like “Lethal White” and “Troubled Blood,” which were textured family dramas that used crime-solving as a framework. It still has the show’s great strength, however: the relationship between Cormoran and Robin — respectful, deeply affectionate, forever on the verge of romantic — and the enormously appealing performances in those roles by Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger.
The characters’ continuing, perhaps never-ending courtship dance could easily get stale, but the two actors find ways to keep it fresh and surprising. Grainger is continually excellent as the no-nonsense Robin, but the new season is perhaps more of a showcase for Burke’s quiet, contained portrayal of Cormoran, which nails the detective’s blend of bullish force and awkward compassion. (Also vital is Ruth Sheen as the dour, hilarious office manager, Pat.) You can enjoy them in “The Ink Black Heart,” despite its imperfections, and hope for an adaptation of the next book, “The Running Grave,” which puts the focus back on family matters.
“C.B. Strike” Review: Cancellation With Extreme Prejudice
Fans of the popular detective series “C.B. Strike” were left reeling this week after the shocking announcement that the show has been cancelled with extreme prejudice. The news came as a devastating blow to viewers who have been eagerly awaiting the next season of the beloved show.
The decision to cancel “C.B. Strike” has sparked outrage among fans, many of whom have taken to social media to express their disappointment and frustration. The show, which follows private investigator Cormoran Strike as he solves complex cases in London, has garnered a dedicated fan base over the years.
Despite its popularity, it seems that the powers that be have decided to pull the plug on “C.B. Strike” for reasons that remain unclear. Many fans are speculating that budget constraints or behind-the-scenes drama may have played a role in the show’s untimely demise.
Regardless of the reasons for its cancellation, one thing is for certain: “C.B. Strike” will be sorely missed by its loyal fans. The show’s clever writing, strong performances, and captivating mysteries have made it a standout in the crowded detective genre.
As fans mourn the loss of “C.B. Strike,” they can take solace in the fact that the show leaves behind a legacy of quality television that will not soon be forgotten. Here’s hoping that one day, we may see Cormoran Strike back on our screens, solving mysteries and captivating audiences once again.
