Keeley Hawes & Solly MacLeod Join ‘Prisoner’ Season 2
The Sky series 'Prisoner' hopes to land an American distributor by adding PBS favorites to Season 2.
Most Sky series default to streaming on Peacock in the U.S. if no outside distributor picks them up, since both networks are owned by the American global conglomerate Comcast. However, major changes are coming in 2027 to upend that pattern, as Comcast divests itself of both networks, spinning them off along with most of NBCUniversal, while also (possibly) adding ITV to the NBCU mix. (Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has not yet decided if she will let the Sky-ITV merger go ahead as planned.)
However, the effects are already showing in Sky’s 2026 release lineup, as well as with series planned for the coming TV season. For example, Sky’s new series, Prisoner, one of the year’s most-watched Sky Original dramas when it debuted in the spring of 2026, has shown no signs of heading to Peacock, and currently has no American distributor lined up, despite Sky rushing to greenlight Season 2.
On the one hand, Peacock has mostly fumbled the British series it does get, failing to find audiences for major U.K. hits like The Capture, Vigil, and (most unforgivably) The Celebrity Traitors. That being said, a show has no chance of being a hit in the U.S. if it doesn’t come here at all, and right now, that’s the fate of Prisoner as it preps to start filming Season 2. Sky seems aware of this and looks to sweeten the pot for whichever streaming service steps up by trading out the Season 1 cast for British stars in Season 2 who are much better known in America from their lead roles in PBS shows.
Here’s the synopsis for Season 1...
Amber Todd, a young, principled prison officer, must put her life in the hands of dangerous, high-value prisoner Tibor Stone when their transport convoy is brutally ambushed. As the sole survivors, Amber and Tibor are forced to go on the run. They must work together to reach their destination alive and on time. Throughout the journey, their relationship twists and turns, with the stakes escalating as the crime syndicate stops at nothing to track them down. Amber can trust no one—least of all the killer she is handcuffed to. But as everything she holds dear hangs in the balance, she must confront an impossible question: what moral lines is she willing to cross?
...and here’s the one for Season 2:
Scarred by past events, Todd struggles to move on and repair her fractured family when she becomes entangled in the escape of Dr. Regan Weaver, a brilliant psychologist and notorious prisoner. Framed for murder, Amber is forced to go on the run with Regan, and the two form an unexpected bond as they are hunted by criminals, governments, and rogue police, all desperate to get their hands on Weaver and the secrets she has spent decades hiding.
Izuka Hoyle (Ludwig) stars as Amber Todd. Season 1 had her share lead billing with Tahar Rahim (The Serpent) as Tibor Stone; the other major stars of Season 1 include Eddie Marsan (Ridley Road), Laurie Davidson (The Other Bennet Sister), Sam Troughton (Lockerbie: A Search for Truth), Brían F. O’Byrne (Conclave), and Youssef Kerkour (Steve).
Keeley Hawes (Miss Austen) replaces Rahim as co-lead with Hoyle, playing her new charge, Dr. Regan Weaver. Other new additions replacing the departing Season 1 cast include Solly McLeod (Tom Jones), David Dawson (My Policeman), and Elijah Cook (The Diplomat).
The supporting cast returning for Season 2 includes Finn Bennett (A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms) as Amber’s husband, Olly Hatton; Michele Austin (This Is Going to Hurt) as her mother, Nancy; Catherine McCormack (A Thousand Blows) as her boss, Josephine Campbell; Leonie Benesch (Babylon Berlin) as assassin Nina Drâgus; and Ken Nwosu (Black Doves), Daniel Betts (MobLand), and Jessica Barker-Wren (Dumbo) as her co-workers, Phil Hawkins, Marcus Turner, and Nancy Howard, respectively.
Created by writer Matt Charman (Hostage), who penned all episodes of the first season, Prisoner Season 2 sees him split scripting duties with deputy showrunner Sophie Petzal (The Last Kingdom). Directors Anthony Philipson (The Capture) and Kasia Adamik (Star City) take over helming duties from Season 1 directors Otto Bathurst (Peaky Blinders) and Pia Strietmann (The Next Level); series producer Derek Ritchie takes over from Season 1 producer Barney Reisz. Charman, Petzal, and Bathurst executive produce Season 2 alongside Foz Allan and Adrian Sturges for Sky.
Prisoner Season 1 premiered in April 2026 in the U.K. Neither season has an American distributor as yet, but hopefully that will be rectified before Season 2 premieres in 2027.
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