True crime dramatisations dominated our television screens last year, and the nation's appetite for the macabre shows no signs of abating in 2020.

BBC, ITV and Netflix will air dramas based on some of the most infamous cases in the UK and beyond, and feature acclaimed actors transforming into real-life serial killers.

Here are the series we can expect to be released later this year...

The Pembrokeshire Murders (ITV)

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Luke Evans is the detective in charge in ITV's series The Pembrokeshire Murders, which depicts the pursuit of a cold-blooded serial killer.

The three-part drama is adapted from the true crime book Catching the Bullseye Killer, written by Senior Investigating Officer Steve Wilkins and ITV news journalist Jonathan Hill. Beauty and the Beast's Evans plays Wilkins, who in 2006 reopened two unsolved double murders from the 1980s.

Employing pioneering forensic methods, Wilkins and his handpicked team found microscopic DNA and fibres that potentially linked the murders to a string of burglaries committed in the 80s and 90s.

The cast also includes Keith Allen as John Cooper, Owen Teale as Gerard Elias, Alexandria Riley as Jackie Richards, Caroline Berry as Pat Cooper, Oliver Ryan as Andrew Cooper and David Fynn as ITV News journalist Jonathan Hill.

The Pembrokeshire Murders will air on ITV later this year.

Des (ITV)

ITV

Straight off the back of his gripping Channel 4 crime drama Deadwater Fell, David Tennant is back on unsettling form to play real-life serial killer Dennis Nilson in ITV's Des.

Written by Luke Neal, the drama is based on material from the book Killing for Company by Brian Masters, and will chronicle Nilson's arrest and trial in February 1983 .

The cast also includes Daniel Mays as Detective Chief Inspector Peter Jay played by Daniel Mays (Line of Duty, Temple) and biographer Brian Masters played by Jason Watkins (The Crown, The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies).

The three-part series will be told from the perspective of the police and biographer Masters, and will explore how a man like Nilsen was able to prey on young and vulnerable men in 1980s Britain.

Des will air on ITV later this year.

Honour (ITV)

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Keeley Hawes plays detective Caroline Goode in ITV's Honour, which follows her investigation into the so-called 'honour' killing of 20-year-old Banaz Mahmod.

Mahmod was murdered in 2006 after her father and uncle ordered her killing when she left her violent husband and began a relationship with another man. The Independent Police Complaints Commission found that she had been let down by police, after it was discovered that she had been to them five times to report threats to her life from members of her own family.

The two-part series - written by Gwyneth Hughes - has been criticised by writer Furquan Akhtar for shifting its focus to the white lead rather than the victim. "This story is about Caroline, not Banaz. That's problematic," Akhtar told the BBC.

Executive producer Liza Marshall responded by insisting that ITV wanted "to shine a light on the bravery of Banaz and Caroline".

Honour will air on ITV later this year.

The Barking Murders (BBC One)

BBC

Stephen Merchant has transformed into real-life serial killer Stephen Port for BBC One's upcoming factual drama The Barking Murders.

The series aims to go behind the sensational headlines by telling the case from the perspective of the families of Stephen Port's victims.

It will focus on their fight to uncover the truth about what had happened to their lost sons and brothers in the face of a now widely criticised police investigation.

The series is created by Jeff Pope and Neil McKay, whose credits include The Moorside, a dramatisation of the 2008 disappearance of 9-year-old Shannon Matthews, and Appropriate Adult, about serial killer Fred West.

The cast also includes Sheridan Smith, who plays Sarah Sak, the mother of 23-year-old victim Anthony Walgate, and Jaime Winstone.

The Barking Murders will launch on BBC One later this year.

The Serpent (BBC and Netflix)

BBC

Jenna Coleman leads BBC and Netflix's The Serpent alongside acclaimed French actor Tahar Rahim as Charles Sobrhaj, one of the most elusive criminals of the 20th century.

Coleman will play Marie-Andrée Leclerc, Sobhraj's partner and frequent accomplice, with Billy Howle and Ellie Bamber cast as Herman and Angela Knippenberg.

Charles Sobhraj was the chief suspect in the unsolved murders of up to 20 young Western travellers across India, Thailand and Nepal's 'Hippie Trail' in 1975 and 1976, becoming Interpol's most wanted man at the time and had arrest warrants on three different continents.

The eight-part series will also feature Alice Englert (Top of the Lake), Mathilde Warnier (The Widow), Gregoire Isvarine (The Inside Game), Sahajak Boonthanakit (Only God Forgives), Fabien Frankel (Last Christmas), and Chicha Amatayakul (Girl From Nowhere).

The Serpent will launch on BBC Two and Netflix later this year.

Impeachment: American Crime Story

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The next instalment in Ryan Murphy's anthology series will focus on Bill Clinton's abuse of power and subsequent affair with Monica Lewinsky between 1995 and 1997.

Booksmart's Beanie Feldstein will play Monica, who was a 22-year-old White House intern at the time, while British actor Clive Owen will play Clinton, who was 49 at the time. Sarah Paulson is playing Linda Tripp, and Annaleigh Ashford stars as Paula Jones.

Murphy recruited Monica Lewinsky to produce the series, so we will finally see the story from her perspective.

American Crime Story will air later this year on FX and BBC Two.

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