All 8 episodes of ‘gripping’ drama about a medical disaster land on free streamer

A 2019 show about the harrowing true story of a medical scandal that sent shockwaves across Canada has arrived on ITVX.

The eight-episode series Unspeakable chronicles the Canadian Tainted Blood Tragedy, which is believed to be one of the biggest medical disasters in Canada’s history.

The emergence of HIV and AIDS in the 80s saw the entire Canadian blood supply system affected, with those receiving transfusions infected.

According to the Canadian Haemophilia Society, more than 1,100 transfused Canadians were infected by HIV and up to 20,000 were infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) up to 1990.

As the synopsis reads, the show follows ‘the decades-long saga of two families, each with haemophiliac sons, as they struggle to cope with the life-threatening impact of AIDS and Hepatitis C and the devastating fact that the tragedy was largely preventable.’

Stargate SG-1 creator Robert C Cooper wrote the show alongside Gregory Smith,Andy Mikita and Sarah Wayne Callies (who also stars as Margaret).

Sarah is joined by Shawn Doyle, Michael Shanks and Camille Sullivan as the lead cast.

The dramatisation of real-life scandals is a popular genre, sharing rarely-told stories with the general public from shows like Mr Bates vs the Post Office to Netflix’s Toxic Town.

UK viewers can add a new one to the list, with Unspeakable receiving glowing reviews when it first came out.

‘Gripping docudrama about a dark period in history! This should be taught in schools so nothing like it can ever happen again,’ one anonymous Rotten Tomatoes user wrote.

‘A worthwhile watch as it is both entertaining and informative,’ another echoed.

‘An eye-opening, heart-opening series, beautifully written, shot and acted,’ IMDb user julie_lynn_mortensen shared.

‘A story that needed to be told and it was told brilliantly by Cooper and the actors. Heartfelt and beautifully filmed. Small budget with amazing result,’ rholdalc praised.

‘This show really connected me with my feelings. It is such a powerful story that affected so many people and not enough people know about it. It should be taught in Canadian high schools,’ onelegpuffin agreed.

”My goal was to evoke an emotional response,’ Robert C. Cooper told CBC when the show first aired.

He continued: ‘It was a big story and yet you talk to a lot of people today and unless they were directly affected, it seems like there is a generation that really knows nothing about it.’

‘One of the reasons the show is called Unspeakable is not just the disaster or tragedy that occurred, but because one of the reasons it happened is because people were afraid to speak up – the stigma of AIDS, the prejudice that went on at the time.’

The show poses the question: ‘How far would you go to keep your children safe?’.

Unspeakable is available to stream on ITVX now.

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