What time will Catching Lightning air on Showtime? Release date, trailer, and more details explored

Showtime is set to air Catching Lightning on Sunday, April 9, at 8 pm ET. The docuseries is already available to stream for Showtime subscribers after it hit Paramount+ on Friday, April 7, 2023. Catching Lightning centers around Lee Murray, an infamous English-Moroccan mixed martial arts fighter currently incarcerated in Morocco. He orchestrated one of the biggest cash heists in history, inviting prison time.

Nicknamed Lightning (hence the title), Murray planned an armed Securitas depot robbery in the English country of Kent in 2006.

The heist at £52,996,760 or $92.2 million remains the largest cash robbery in the history of Britain. For perspective, British top singer Adele bought action star Sylvester Stallone’s Mediterranean-style 3.5-acre Beverly Hills mansion for $58 million last year and it’s considered one of the most expensive purchases of 2022.

Catching Lightning, which is a four-part docuseries, has been described as “one wild ride” by the network. The synopsis reads:

“A bruising four-part tale of crime, justice and mixed martial arts. “Lightning” Lee Murray brawled his way from the mean streets of south London all the way to the UFC – and then nearly pulled off one of the largest bank robberies in history.”

It adds:

“Caught in the middle of a motley crew that made off with over $92 million dollars in a complex overnight robbery involving hostages, disguises and cross-border escapes, Murray took the fall when it all unraveled. Part ripping heist yarn, part riveting sports drama, this is one wild ride.”

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What to expect in Catching Lightning?

The trailer for Catching Lightning, released on March 7, 2023, expanded on the synopsis and focused more on his crime than his time as the celebrated MMA fighter. It featured interviews with several key people attached to his life, and emphasized how the whole act was “driven by greed.”

Helmed by Emmy award-winning director and producer Pat Kondelis, Catching Lightning stars:

• Zander James as Lea Rusha (4 episodes)
• Logan Nail as Lee Murray (same)
• Paulo Andre Aragao as Kane Patterson 3 episodes)
• Eve Sinclair as Jasmine Lupton (1 episode)
• Ronnie Carl Jackson as Alun Thomas (same)
• Max Juren as Police Officer

As mentioned before, Catching Lightning is a four-part series and each episode will hit the streamer and Showtime following a weekly release pattern. In other words, Parts 2, 3, and 4, will be available to stream on April 14, April 21, and April 28, respectively.

Part 1 focuses on Lee Murray’s MMA training and how he wants to be a UFC champion. Through fellow fighters, MMA coaches, and police officers, we learn about Murray's career graph.

Meanwhile, Part 2 will jump straight into Securitas cash depot crime, Part 3 will deal with the Kent Police investigation into the Securitas heist, and the series finale will showcase how cops brought down the curtains on the case and arrested Murray and others.

Notably, the Securitas depot robbery was Murray’s master plan and was carried out by a gang of seven on February 21, 2006. The convicted included Paul Allen, bouncer Jetmir Buçpapa and his childhood friend Emir Hysenaj, Roger Coutts, Lee Murray, Stuart Royle, and roofer-cage fighter Lea Rusha.

After a three-month-long probe, Murray, Allen, and two other men were arrested in Morocco's capital Rabat in June 2006. Heist apart, the MMA fighter was also involved in a couple of street brawls and was seriously stabbed in one in the early 2000s.

Murray, currently serving a 25-year sentence, is languishing at Salé Prison, Salé, Morocco. Watch the first part of Catching Lightning on Showtime tonight.