Acorn TV Confirms ‘Art Detectives’ 2026 Christmas Special Debut
The Heritage Crime Unit will solve art for the holidays.
The British holiday specials are rolling out their release dates, including those from American streaming services like Acorn TV. Art Detectives, the Stephen Moyer-led hit mystery series, will be one of the first out of the gate this holiday season, premiering in early December 2026, ahead of a planned early 2027 debut for Season 2.
Acorn TV, AMC+, and the little federation of niche streaming services owned by AMC Global have lasted far longer as a unit than most predicted. However, the first signs of collapse are finally bubbling up to the surface. Even as both Acorn TV and AMC+ post record viewership and subscription sign-ups on the backs of Irish Blood, You’re Killing Me, and Yaga, AMC Global missed Wall Street analysts’ revenue forecast for the third quarter of 2026. More worryingly, it also sold off the first of the group, with the Black Bougie-focused Allblk streaming service now owned by Charles D. King’s Macro.
(Anyone who has read our rants about Starz knows how we feel about streaming services’ failure to tap into this lucrative market.)
Whether this is the first step in consolidating down to the streaming services that AMCG has figured out how to program or the beginning of the end remains to be seen. But at least, for now, Acorn TV continues to stay on an upswing.
Here’s the Christmas special’s synopsis:
In the all-new, two-part special, a wealthy antiquities collector is murdered, and DI Palmer and DC Malik soon realize it’s much more than a burglary gone wrong, as they embark on one of their most challenging cases yet. The investigation takes them to a Mayfair gallery, a forgery workshop, and even the House of the Lords, as they hunt down a missing Roman bronze. Meanwhile, Mick grapples with the prospect of Rosa moving to London while finding time to visit Ron, his art-forging father. Not easy, when he’s in prison and Mick’s the man who put him there
(Acorn TV)
Stephen Moyer (The Forsytes) and Nina Singh (Dalziel & Pascoe) once again star as DI Mick Palmer and DC Shazia Malik. Larry Lamb (Gavin & Stacey) also returns as Ron Palmer, Mick’s charismatic, art-forging father, now serving time in prison due to the events of Season 1, as does Sarah Alexander (The Marlow Murder Club) as Season 1’s love interest for Mick, Rosa Conaghan.
The guest cast includes Daniel Gosling (Death by Lightning), Tony Flynn (Blue Lights), Craig Barclay (Shetland), James Bachman (Paddington), and Nicola Alexis (DI Ray).
Series creators Dan Gaster, Will Ing, and Paul Powell return to pen both the Christmas Special and Season 2. Directors Jennie Paddon, Declan Recks, and Sam O’Mahony split helming duties across eight episodes, with Candida Julian-Jones as the series producer and Martin Mahon as the producer. The series is executive produced by Moyer, Gaster, Ing & Powell for Black Dog Television, Daniel March & Klaus Zimmermann for Dynamic Television, plus Bea Tammer & Catherine Mackin for Acorn TV/Acorn Media Enterprises.
Art Detectives 2026 Christmas Special will stream on Acorn TV with the first episode on Monday, December 7, and the second a week later on December 14, 2026. Season 2 is expected to follow in early 2027.
Art Detectives
Season 1 of Art Detectives is streaming on Acorn TV.
