'Return to Paradise' Season 2's First Images Take Us Back Down Under to Dolphin's Cove

It's official: Return to Paradise is the second hit spin-off produced from the long-running Death in Paradise. The newest edition of the series is a little different than the first two. For one thing, the lead detective has never been to St. Marie (but she knows a guy!). Additionally, the show's locale, instead of being in the U.K. or the French Caribbean, is set in Australia. Meet London Met Detective DI Mackenzie Clarke (Anna Sampson), who has just been sent packing to her home country to work in her hometown station, solving mysteries in the beautiful paradise of Dolphin's Cove.

There was a bit of trepidation with this one. The first spin-off, Beyond Paradise, had several factors working in its favor. It featured Death in Paradise's most popular couple thus far on the show's run, having moved back to the U.K., where they continue solving crimes, now in the far more convenient commuting distance of London. They did a big fanfare rollout, streaming simultaneously on the BBC and BritBox, turning it into an event.

But this one was riskier, though not because the lead detective was female. She also had zero ties to the main show. It was basically "same premise, different locale, with a vague handwave at continuity" and crossing their fingers that "cranky detective in sunny locals" would be enough to carry the day. Thankfully, it was, turning into a hit first in its home country, then the U.K., and now in the U.S., where it airs on Ovation and streams on BritBox, which, after some hesitation, decided it could accept a show set in Australia.