Written and created by Neil Forsyth, Guilt initially centres on two brothers, played by Mark Bonnar and Jamie Sives, who are involved in a hit and run.
[6] Driving home from a wedding one night, two brothers, Max and Jake, hit and kill an elderly man in Leith.
They decide to cover up the accident, beginning a descent into a quicksand of lies and shady characters, with a narrative theme of guilt woven throughout.
[7] Forsyth was keen to write a series about siblings, which he has called "the most interesting dramatic relationship", and a show with a leitmotif that ran through all the characters, in this case, guilt.
The Times called it, "An absolute cracker",[18] The Observer, "an utter triumph, a word-of-mouth dazzler",[19] with "welcome Coen brothers echoes".
[20] The Telegraph called it a "stealth hit"[21] which "felt like Fargo relocated to Leith, or Midnight Run reimagined by Irvine Welsh".
[22] The Independent termed it "the unexpected treat of the year",[23] The Guardian described it as a "darkly delicious tale" that was "fast becoming a word-of-mouth hit",[24] the Radio Times called it "Hitchcockian"[25] and The Herald deemed it the most impressive Scottish small screen debut since the 1987 comedy-drama Tutti Frutti.
The Scotsman called Guilt "one of BBC Scotland's biggest ever hits" that had made a mark on the "global TV map".
[42] In August 2021, it was announced that Guilt was being remade in Hindi by Applause Entertainment, starring the Indian actors Jaideep Ahlawat and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub.