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While crime and mystery shows like Netflix's latest I Will Find You or critical darling Slow Horseswill always be entertaining, and have the potential to draw in millions of viewers, a crime show that's based on real life, however, can turn things up a notch. After all, while viewers love getting wrapped up in a mystery, uncovering the clues and finding a culprit, doing so in a story that's based on true events not only raises the stakes, but makes the story all the more intriguing. So, of course, Netflix's upcoming crime miniseries, which will follow the largest murder investigation in the history of Scottish policing, will certainly be a must-watch.
The Bombing of Pan Am 103, which premieres later this month on July 30, will not only be a treat to crime and mystery lovers, but will be a history lesson in one of Scotland's most tragic chapters. With an impressive cast of characters, and a story that reverberated in all corners of the world, the six-episode series has everything to become Netflix's next big hit.
What Is 'The Bombing of Pan Am 103' About?
On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103, which was en route from London to New York City, exploded over the small Scottish town of Lockerbie. The explosion resulted in 270 fatalities, including 259 passengers and crew members, and 11 residents on the ground. The Bombing of Pan Am 103 will kick off with the incident, and follow the murder investigation that followed, one that eventually proved it was the deadliest act of terrorism on British soil. "Twenty-one countries have lost citizens in this attack,” Peter Mullan's character says in the trailer. "So, inevitably, it will require an international effort.”
In the investigation, Scottish authorities and US law enforcement collaborated throughout, getting as much testimony as possible and investigating each piece of the puzzle. "Until we catch who's responsible, who's to say it won't happen again," says Connor Swindells' character, who's a Scottish policeman. At the end of the trailer, the series teases that a conclusion about what happened to the plane will surely be reached. "No appointment, but I know who put the bomb in Pan Am 103," says a mysterious man in a crisp gray suit. The cast of the miniseries also includes Patrick J. Adams, Merritt Wever, Tony Curran, Eddie Marsan, Nicholas Gleaves, Kevin McKidd, and many others.
'The Bombing of Pan Am 103' Isn't the Only TV Retelling of the Story
While the story of Pan Am flight 103 might still be unknown to many around the world, it isn't the first time the terrorist attack and its subsequent investigation have been adapted to the small screen. On January 2, 2025, Peacock released Lockerbie: A Search for Truth. In the series, which has five episodes, the story takes a more focused, personal approach. It follows Jim Swire (Colin Firth), the father of a young medical student named Flora (Rosanna Adams), who was killed on the flight, and his mission to uncover what really happened that day. His long, exhausting journey for the truth leads him to working with local journalist Murray Guthrie (Sam Troughton), shaking hands with Libyan political leader Colonel Gaddafi (Nabil Al Raee) and even forming an unexpected relationship with suspected terrorist Abdelbaset al-Megrahi (Ardalan Esmaili).
The series, which scored a 7 out of 10 from Taylor Gates in her review from Collider, was a tad controversial, partly due to Jim’s hypothesis about what actually occurred that fateful day, and earned a more lukewarm reception on Rotten Tomatoes of 79%. "It never sacrifices the details for the sake of covering more ground, and, even more impressive, it doesn’t suffer streaming bloat like so many other series tend to do nowadays," Gates wrote in her review. "It uses its time wisely and mostly — save for a bit of episode three, which drags a bit — is efficient and well-paced."
Therefore, while the tragic story of Pan Am 103 has been adapted into a TV series before, Netflix's upcoming series, The Bombing of Pan Am 103, will surely bring something new compared to Firth's five-episode series. By following the Scottish police's investigation, and the international scope it took as clues began piling up, the series will follow the terrorist attack and the investigation to its fullest, and tell a story that is as tragic as it is historically important.
