Cold Call, the 2019 Channel 5 drama starring Sally Lindsay, is currently the most-watched show on Netflix UK.
The four-part psychological series was added to the streamer on Monday (November 18), and has since been causing a stir among captivated viewers.
It tells the story of a single mother named June Clarke (Lindsay) who loses everything after being targeted by a cold call scam. Attending a support group for victims, June meets an old school friend who has a job suggestion for her.
After taking the job, June begins to suspect that the business she works for is behind the criminal enterprise that targeted her. What then ensues is a tense revenge story as she seeks to track down those responsible and salvage her family’s future.
While Cold Call isn’t based on a true story, series creators Karyn Dougan Buckland and Mark Buckland did draw on the experiences of the millions who are targeted by phone scams every day.
Lindsay previously spoke about being a victim of phone scamming herself. Talking to Chris Evans on his Virgin Radio Breakfast Show, the actress explained: “There’s so many [scams]. I mean, the week before I went to a meeting and I got a call from this supposed gas board saying that we were going to have a [County Court Judgment] against our name.”
She continued: “We had not paid [the bill] for up to two years. And I know I had. I knew I had. I’m an intelligent person. The thing in my head was I got one years ago when I was a student, and I’ve never actually quite got over it.” The actress then said she used the unsettling experience to aid her performance in the series.
Speaking to Drama Quarterly, Lindsay further expanded on the story behind the series. “What was so fascinating about the show is it is also like an education in the fact we’re hoping to show the viewer how they do it and how not to fall for it,” she said, adding, “The weirdest thing was I didn’t really have to do any research because the minute I started talking about it, everybody had a story – my neighbours, random people I was meeting with.
“These stories came at me thick and fast. It’s almost like it’s just under the skin of society. Half the population it’s not happened to know about it and feel very vulnerable because they don’t know what to do, while the other half of the population have experienced it and they’re angry and feel June’s rage. So hopefully we’ve got a balance in that way. That’s why I find it so exciting.”
At the time of writing, Cold Call is the most-watched series on Netflix UK, followed by Cobra Kai season 6, part 2.
In other Netflix news, Ted Danson’s new sitcom A Man On The Inside has been hailed by critics as “perfect television”.