Episode one of Interrogator, a brand-new animated series, hits Warhammer TV today.
This gritty noir tale follows the trials and tribulations of Jurgen, a disgraced Inquisitorial interrogator whose crippling flashbacks point to a dark past and a harrowing secret. The show takes a closer look at the seedier underbelly of the Imperium of Man and the effect that this colossal, uncaring empire has on the poor souls who live within it.
But what an underbelly it is! The hive city of Gheisthaven gives us a close look at the kind of morbidly oppressive spaces that the majority of the Imperium’s populace inhabits. All those towering gothic structures are the preserve of the high and mighty – the hoi polloi live in the gutters in between.
This is a world forever on the verge of anarchy with rioting on the streets and a power vacuum at the top. It’s full of tiered walkways, plunging alleys, and seedy drinking dens. A noir story needs a fitting colour palette, and Interrogator’s Gheisthaven – with its torrential downpours – is rendered in striking black and white.
The city’s mightiest buildings tower far above the inhabitants who bustle about below. Despite the grand scale of their world, folk like Jurgen eke out their days in dismal hab units, barely big enough to live in.
It doesn’t help that Jurgen’s inner demons have prevented him from tidying up in a while – but even his personal detritus is just another layer atop the encrusted industrial grime that suffuses his living space. With pipes, vents, rivets, seams, and curious baroque designs on every surface, it’s a far cry from homely here.
The brutal first episode gives us what’s possibly the first close look at a bathroom in the 41st Millennium. After years of playing Warhammer 40,000, it can be easy to forget the practicalities of living in a world like this… beyond, perhaps, imagining a toilet with a giant skull for a cistern.
Jurgen’s bathroom is quite a bit more austere than that – a multifunction wet room stripped back to its bare essentials. It might be a far future of immense resources, but for the common folk there’s little luxury to be found.
You’ll see more of the grimy world of Gheisthaven in future episodes. There’s lots of detail to look out for, from the yawning halls of Imperial buildings to the curious vaulted ceilings of the local bar, which show how far the architectural quirks of the Imperium reach.
When you’ve finished taking in the stained sights of the first episode of Interrogator, there are plenty of other shows to enjoy on Warhammer+ this week.
From one shattered hive world to another, you’ll get your first look at Necromunda: Ash Wastes in play as Battle Report pits the Orlocks against the Ash Waste Nomads.
You’ll also be able to find out more about the ravaged Aeldari of Iyanden as their craftworld supplement comes to the Warhammer Vault, alongside issues 368 and 369 of White Dwarf. You can access all that right now by signing up for Warhammer+, alongside a vast library of content – and even more to come in the future.
