‘Karen Pirie’ Season 2: New Mystery Revealed in First Look Image [Exclusive]

This October, prepare to cozy up with a new British mystery from the desk of Karen Pirie. After swiftly becoming one of the U.K.’s most-watched dramas with its first season back in 2022, the series is coming back across the pond for Season 2 on BritBox, taking viewers between the 1980s and the present for a confounding new case for the titular detective played by Outlander star Lauren Lyle. Ahead of its arrival, we’re thrilled to include the program as part of Collider’s Exclusive Preview event for upcoming fall television shows and share a new image of the newly-promoted Detective Inspector. This season will pull from Val McDermid‘s A Darker Domain, the second novel in the Karen Pirie series, which tests her newfound authority with a long-festering cold case that will earn her scrutiny from just about everyone around.

Season 2 opens with Pirie finally getting the independence she’s longed for thanks to her new role with Police Scotland’s Historic Cases Unit, but she’s not out of the woods yet. She’s assigned to the 1984 case of Catriona and Adam Grant, a mystery that neither the public nor investigators have been able to make heads or tails of since it occurred. On one fateful day in Fife, the heiress to a vast oil fortune and her two-year-old son were taken at gunpoint outside a fish and chip shop, with a string of ransom notes soon following that captured the media’s attention. In the modern day, things finally appear to be bubbling to the surface after a man’s body is found with indisputable connections to the kidnapping, leading Pirie to assemble a crack team of investigators who will leave no stone unturned. The pressure will be high thanks to the infamy of the case and Catriona’s ever-looming father, Sir Broderick Grant, though that might not be the DI’s greatest worry. As she digs deeper, political grudges and deep-seated secrets surrounding the case come to light and may threaten her next.

In our exclusive image, Pirie is looking out over the water with the appearance of someone who’s determined, yet somewhat deep in thought. Fortunately, she has DS Phil Parhatka (Zach Wyatt) by her side. Phil will be a key part of her team and a romantically complicated partner for her as the case unravels, applying his own brilliant insight into the new evidence. Not pictured in the quaint scene is Pirie’s trusty and lovable sidekick, DC Jason ‘Mint’ Murray (Chris Jenks), who will also be there to help her finally accomplish what so many detectives before her couldn’t. They’ll also be joined by fellow returning regular cast members Steve John Shepherd, Rakhee Thakrar, and Emer Kenny, who also created the series.

‘Karen Pirie’ Bolstered Its Cast After an Acclaimed First Season

Season 1 of Karen Pirie earned widespread acclaim in Season 1 with a 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and Season 2 has followed suit, earning a perfect 100% score following its premiere in the U.K. in July. Lyle, especially, got plenty of love, winning both the Best Actress Television and the Audience Award for Favorite Scot on Screen at BAFTA Scotland. The stakes are certainly higher than ever now, though, and showrunner Simon Heath has assured that there are far more twists to come. Accompanying the compelling mysteries and humor is a massively bolstered cast for both the flashbacks and the present. New regulars this time around will include Saskia Ashdown, Frances Tomelty, John Michie, and Braveheart‘s James Cosmo. Julia Brown, Mark Rowley, Kat Ronney, Conor Berry, Stuart Campbell, Jamie Michie, Madeleine Worrall, Jack Stewart, Thoren Ferguson, and Helen Katamba will fill out the cast in the 1980s, while James Fleet, Tom Mannion, and Tommaso Basili will add to the present story.

Karen Pirie will be back on the case in Season 2 on BritBox in the U.S. and Canada starting this October with three new two-hour episodes. Check out our new image above and stay tuned here at Collider throughout the week for more exclusive looks from our television preview event.