Viewers hailed Netflix’s upcoming drama based on real events “heartbreaking”.
Netflix has confirmed a six-part limited series chronicling the largest murder investigation in Scottish policing history will land this summer.
The Netflix drama, which initially broadcast on the BBC back in May 2025, tracks two parallel investigations conducted by British and American authorities following a catastrophic incident in 1988.
The Bombing of Pan Am 103 is the series in question, and it examines the disaster involving Pan Am Flight 103, which has been described as the deadliest terrorist attack on British soil.
The explosion occurred above the Scottish town of Lockerbie, and the series portraying these tragic events features Connor Swindells as DS Ed McCusker and Eddie Marsan as Tom Thurman.
The Bombing of Pan Am 103 was a harrowing event
Suits actor Patrick J Adams also appears as FBI Special Agent Dick Marquise. The series is set to arrive on Netflix on July 30.
Pan Am Flight 103 was a scheduled service from Frankfurt to Detroit, with stopovers in London and New York City.
On December 21, 1988, the aircraft was destroyed by an explosive device while flying over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, claiming the lives of all 243 passengers and 16 crew members on board.
Substantial sections of the aircraft plummeted into a residential area, killing 11 people on the ground. With a combined death toll of 270, the incident remains the deadliest terrorist attack in UK history and ranks among the most devastating terror attacks in European history.
The events of Flight 103 have been portrayed in numerous television adaptations, including Lockerbie: A Search for Truth and a four-part documentary series entitled Lockerbie.
Viewers have taken to IMDb reviews to voice their opinions on the series, having watched it during its original broadcast run on BBC One.
The Bombing of Pan Am 103 is coming to Netflix
One wrote: “A remarkable reconstruction. What we did get from the outset was an revealing reconstruction of what happens when an airliner falls out of the sky. The overwhelming size and impact of the search area was conveyed in a riveting first episode.”
Another commented: “Excellent cast shine in this sensitive drama. The horror of the Lockerbie bombing in 1988 has been portrayed before in documentaries and also the recent drama starring Colin Firth as a bereaved father.
“This series, though, is primarily focused on the extremely complex, wide-ranging and stressful investigation and the multiple countries and agencies who worked together to find the culprits. The whole cast is excellent but in particular Connor Swindells and Patrick J Adams as the Scottish Police and FBI leads are tremendous and so believable.”
While another viewer described it as “heartbreaking”, a further viewer contributed: “Very powerful. A wonderfully made and beautifully acted drama based on true events. Respectful and not over-dramatised.
“This atrocity forms some of my earliest memories growing up in Scotland and I found this very interesting to see what was going on behind the scenes in the investigation. Very sad but extremely well done.”
The Bombing of Pan Am 103 comes to Netflix on July 30
