The ‘Return to Paradise’ Season 3 Images Introduce Mack’s Mother
'Return to Paradise' Season 3 already has debut dates set both across the pond and ’round down under.
Return to Paradise Season 3 is still a ways off from debuting in the U.S.; BritBox aired Season 1 in September 2025 and Season 2 in July 2026, so we don’t expect to see a Season 3 premiere until mid-2027 at the earliest. However, Season 3 already has return dates set both across the pond and ’round down under, so the BBC and Australia’s ABC are releasing first images and trailers for the new season, though not necessarily in that order.
In fact, despite the usual TV-series marketing pattern of “first images, then trailer,” the two networks have accidentally swapped the order, with ABC premiering the first trailer a couple of weeks ago with nothing but a single key art image to go with it. Now, the BBC is following up with first images, but no trailer. However, the British broadcaster (which will debut the series first, with the Australian premiere ten days later) has sweetened the deal by offering a completely different synopsis with new details about the forthcoming season.
The first images include a look at Mack’s new love interest, Leo, and a glimpse of what her old love interest, pathologist Glenn Strong, is doing now that he’s quit the force to “go find himself.” (It will surprise absolutely no one who’s had a man in their life “go find himself” that Glenn’s search isn’t going well.)
Most importantly, though, we have the first image of the person who made Mack into who she is today: her mother, Jillian. Mack looks thrilled to see her.
Here’s the BBC’s version of the synopsis (very different from the Australian one!) plus a rundown of what to expect in Season 3:
Following the shocking departure of pathologist Glenn Strong, Mack throws herself into her workload alongside the ever-faithful detective Senior Constable, Colin Cartwright. Mack and Colin find themselves untangling some of Dolphin Cove’s most impossible murders: an artist stabbed in full view of an audience; a wildlife worker killed in a locked cage and a famous film director shot at her own screening. But the biggest and most perplexing mystery of all will be Mack’s own heart.
The new images reveal Mack temporarily out of her waistcoat and into the Dolphin Cove uniform alongside Senior Sergeant Philomena Strong, while Colin and Mack prepare to analyze their latest crime scene. Mack’s mother Jillian has arrived in Dolphin Cove much to Mack’s dismay, and new pathologist Leo Drake bags up a potential piece of compelling evidence. Glenn’s change in career path lands him in a spot of hot water, and Reggie and Felix are on the beat trying to find the key clue to break yet another fiendish case.
Anna Samson (Home & Away) leads the cast as DS Mackenzie Clarke, with Lloyd Griffith (Nolly) as DSC Colin Cartwright, and Tai Hara (Colin From Accounts) as Glenn Strong, Mackenzie’s former fiancé.
The rest of the main ensemble includes Catherine McClements (Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries) as Sr Sgt. Philomena Strong, Mackenzie’s boss and Glenn’s mother; Andrea Demetriades (The Artful Dodger) as Glenn’s (also maybe former? we hope?) fiancée, Daisy Dixon; Aaron McGrath (Gold Diggers) as Constable Felix Wilkinson; Celia Ireland (Wentworth) as Reggie Rocco; and Ardal O’Hanlon (Death in Paradise) as DI Jack Mooney, the series’ vague excuse for tying all this to St. Marie.
(John Platt/Red Planet Pictures/BBC)
Season 3 also adds Jacob Collins-Levy (The White Princess) as the new pathologist (and new Mack love interest), Leo and Kerry Armstrong (Darby & Joan) as Mack’s mother, Jillian Clarke, to the regular roster.
The BBC also includes this season’s roster of Australian TV guest stars, which features Ngali Shaw (Deadloch), Anthony Hayes (Mystery Road), Zöe Ventura (Time Bandits), Matt Day (Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries), Tina Bursill (Ten Pound Poms), Zindzi Okenyo (Totally Completely Fine), and Bruce Spence (Nautilus). Americans may also recognize Mark Lee, who starred in the American series La Brea, and Robert Mammone from The Matrix franchise.
(John Platt/Red Planet Pictures/BBC)
Robert Thorogood, Peter Mattessi, and James Hall co-created the series; Mattessi is lead writer alongside Alexandra Cullen, Alexandra Collier, Marisa Nathar, and Sam Meikle. Directors Tenika Smith and Helena Brooks return to split helming duties, with Diane Haddon producing. Thorogood, Mattessi, and Hall also executive produce the series with Kylie Washington & Sophia Zachariou for BBC Studios Productions Australia, Belinda Campbell, Tim Key & Alexandra Carruthers for Red Planet Pictures, and Rachel Okine & Brett Sleigh for ABC.
Return to Paradise Season 3 debuts on the BBC on Friday, November 6, followed by a premiere on ABC iView on Monday, November 16, 2026. It is expected to debut on BritBox in mid-2027. Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming now.
Death in Paradise
All episodes of Death in Paradise Seasons 1 through 15 and Beyond Paradise Seasons 1 through 4 are also available to stream on BritBox. Death in Paradise Season 16 and Beyond Paradise Season 5 are also in production and are expected to debut in the first half of 2027, ahead of Return to Paradise Season 3.
