'Lynley' to Return to BritBox for Season 2
The 'Lynley' reboot finally confirms it will return for Season 2 as filming kicks off in the U.K.
One of the most frustrating aspects of the past decade of Peak TV has been the lack of space and resources to let a show develop over multiple seasons. Series that once were given 13-26 episodes to work out the kinks in Season 1, suddenly had to stick the landing out of the box in a measly six installments. If the show was on a major platform and those six episodes didn’t move the needle? Forget it, the show was toast.
Thankfully, the creative output on small screens has finally started to taper off. However, especially on mainstream platforms like Netflix, executives are still too quick to pull the plug rather than allow creative teams to go back and retool an idea to resonate with viewers. That, in turn, makes niche platforms, like BritBox, more important than ever. As these streaming services finally settle into the newly changed landscape, they are creating space for shows like Lynley, which once would have been DOA, to find success.
It’s not that the new reboot of Lynley is a bad show. Based on the novels by Elizabeth George, the new remake of The Inspector Lynley Mysteries has all the ingredients for a successful show – a brilliant cast, solid murder cases, a built-in fanbase, and gorgeous scenery. It’s just that, in Season 1, they were all out of balance, with not enough attention paid to the new version of sidekick DS Barbara Havers, who turned out to be a far more interesting character than our titular detective. But the team is being given a second chance to get the balance right, with Season 2 officially filming in Ireland.
Here’s the Season 2 synopsis:
In Season 2 of Lynley, the mismatched duo of Detective Inspector Tommy Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers return to investigate another series of complex and compelling crimes — from a suspicious death at an elite horse racing estate, to violent protests at a Cambridge university, to a mysterious suicide on an Essex military base. As the cases unfold, Lynley confronts lingering ties to his estranged aristocratic family and the allure of a formidable new Chief Superintendent in the Three Counties precinct. Meanwhile, Havers pursues a newfound independence and ambition that test her professional and personal boundaries like never before. Together, Lynley and Havers continue to build on their hard-earned mutual respect, relying on each other to solve cases that strike dangerously close to home.
Leo Suter (Sanditon) returns as DI Tommy Lynley with Sofia Barclay (Ted Lasso) as DS Barbara Havers. The two are once again joined by Daniel Mays (Magpie Murders) as Chief Inspector Brian Nies and Michael Workeye (Bookish) as DS Tony Bekele. Season 2 will introduce three new characters for them to play against, with Deirdre Mullins (Bad Sisters) as Chief Superintendent Isabelle Ardery, the new head of the Three Counties CID; Sara Stewart (Unforgotten) as Lynley’s mother, Countess of Asherton; and Assad Zaman (Hotel Portofino) as Zain Chaudhry, Havers’ new neighbor.
All four episodes of Season 2 of Lynley will once again be penned by creator Steve Thompson (Vienna Blood); Stewart Svaasand (All Creatures Great & Small) returns to take over as lead director with Christopher Arcache as series producer. Thompson and George are listed as executive producers alongside David Stern & Colin Callender for Playground; Suzanne McAuley for Salt Films; Robert Schildhouse, Stephen Nye, Jon Farrar & Jess O’Riordan for BritBox; Kate Woods for BBC Studios; and Sue Deeks for the BBC.
Lynley Season 2 is officially in production in Dublin, and is expected to debut on BBC One and BritBox as part of the 2026-2027 television season.
Lynley
Sign up for full access to Telly Visions' recaps and reviews!
