‘Bookish’ Collects a Christmas Special & Season 3 Renewal
We’re getting more Book’s Books and 'Bookish' for Christmas.
There’s a particular joy in seeing a show that deserves an audience become a bona fide hit, especially when it’s on a platform that needs one. From its initial announcement, we were bullish on Bookish, a period-piece mystery in which an antique book dealer solves mysteries by reading. Despite being super-public-media-coded, we were nervous it would land on a platform that wouldn’t know what to do with it; but in the end, though it’s not under the Masterpiece banner (which would have been the best-case scenario), it still landed PBS distribution and wound up as one of its most-watched debuts of the year.
We knew the series was a major hit on the far side of the pond when UKTV announced it would celebrate the second season’s debut with a pop-up event, “Your Book’s Bookshop,” where “professional writers,” using vintage typewriters, will “invent and write the first page of each guest’s fictional cover story,” including “carefully created aliases, occupations and backstory inspired by Bookish’s world of hidden lives, secret identities and perfectly constructed alibis.” If the network is sinking that kind of money into promotion, Season 3 seemed assured.
Ever so, we were chuffed to learn that not only is the series coming back for a third season, but it has also earned its first Christmas special, a two-parter titled Bookish: The Crown of Destiny. There aren’t many details, but it seems the Christmas special is planned for December 2026, with Season 3 to follow in the U.K. in 2027.
The Christmas episode details are currently pretty generalized, but here’s the synopsis, for what it’s worth.
Bookish: The Crown of Destiny will see the appropriately named Gabriel Book open the doors of Book’s Books on Archangel Lane for a brand-new story, bringing viewers a seasonal mystery packed with festive charm, surprises, and a dash of Christmas spirit.
No cast has been confirmed for either commission, other than series leads Mark Gatiss (Sherlock) as Gabriel Book and Polly Walker (Bridgerton) as his wife, Trottie. However, we expect the main roster to turn up for both the two-part special and Season 3, including Elliot Levey (We Were the Lucky Ones) as Inspector Bliss, Buket Kömür (Our House) as Nora, Blake Harrison (World on Fire) as Sgt Morris, Connor Finch (Everything I Know About Love) as Jack, Simon Callow (Outlander) as ‘E,’ and Jonas Nay (Line of Separation) as Felix.
The supporting cast is a little more murky; however, if they all survive the second season, there’s a good chance we’ll also see the returns of Rosie Cavaliero (Funny Woman) as Ada Dredge, Gerard Horan (Belgravia: The Next Chapter) as Mr. Baseheart, and Nadia Albina (A Thousand Blows) as Dr. Calder. The guest cast will be announced in due course, as always.
Gatiss co-wrote all of Season 2 of Bookish with returning writers Matthew Sweet and Ian Hallard; the three are also expected to pen the Christmas special and Season 3. Director Carolina Giammetta (Suspect) has been the series sole director for two seasons, so we wouldn’t be surprised if she returns as well, with Jake Harvey producing. The show is an Eagle Eye production from Jo McGrath and Walter Iuzzolino.
Bookish Season 2 will premiere on U&alibi starting Wednesday, August, 26, 2026. The 2027 calendar has not been set for PBS as yet, but we fully expect Season 2 to air in the U.S. in early 2027. The only real question right now is if this first Christmas special will air on both sides of the pond in December 2026, or if PBS holds it until after Season 2 concludes.
All episodes of Bookish Season 1 are available to stream for members on PBS Passport and on the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel. Matthew Sweet’s novel version of Bookish is available on all e-reader platforms and in hardcover.
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