‘Art Detectives’ Hunts Up a Second Season on Acorn
Acorn TV circles back to 'Art Detectives' with a holiday special coming before year’s end.
It’s been a little over a year since the first season of Art Detectives concluded on Acorn TV, but the network is only finally getting around to renewing it for a sophomore outing. There’s good news, though, for those who waited; not only has Acorn TV handed the series a Season 2 commission, but it’s being given the honor of a two-part Christmas special, heading to the U.S. before the end of 2026.
One can’t really fault Acorn TV for taking a minute to circle back to Art Detectives. Even though the Stephen Moyer-led series was a critical hit for Acorn when it premiered at the end of May 2025, it was almost completely overshadowed by the runaway success of the series that followed it that summer, the Alicia Silverstone vehicle, Irish Blood.
In prior years, both Art Detectives and the third new series for mid-2025, the Matthew Lewis-led Murder Before Evensong, would have received quick renewals for their solid-but-not-spectacular first outings.* Instead, Acorn focused first on the obvious follow-ups to Irish Blood’s success, with the Brooke Shields-starring You’re Killing Me and the addition of Joe Lando to Harry Wild Season 5. However, by bestowing the coveted honor of a “Christmas Special” (considered a major marker of success on U.K. television), Acorn TV reminds everyone the series was actually a hit, and it gets new episodes on the air before the end of 2026.
(*One can only hope the long lead time on renewing Art Detectives means that poor Matthew Lewis will also eventually get another crack at his Evensong Hot Priest role.)
Since Art Detectives is a “case of the week” series, the synopsis for the new season remains almost embarrassingly generic:
Set against a backdrop of Old Master paintings, Banksy street art, rare antiquities, and priceless collectibles, Art Detectives centers around the Heritage Crime Unit, a police department consisting of art-loving DI Mick Palmer and straight-talking DC Shazia Malik. Together, they navigate a rich and colorful world driven by greed, obsession, lust, and revenge to solve murders connected to the world of art and antiques.
Stephen Moyer, Nina Singh, Sarah Alexander, and Larry Lamb in 'Art Detectives' Season 1 (Acorn TV)
Stephen Moyer (The Forsytes) and Nina Singh (Dalziel & Pascoe) once again star as DI Mick Palmer and DC Shazia Malik. Larry Lamb (Gavin & Stacey) also returns as Ron Palmer, Mick’s charismatic, art-forging father, now serving time in prison due to the events of Season 1. Notably, Season 1’s love interest for Mick, Rosa Conaghan (Sarah Alexander), is not currently included. The guest cast is expected to be announced in due course.
Series creators Dan Gaster, Will Ing, and Paul Powell return to pen both the Christmas Special and Season 2. Directors Jennie Paddon, Declan Recks, and Sam O’Mahony split helming duties across eight episodes, with Candida Julian-Jones as the series producer and Martin Mahon as the producer. The series is executive produced by Moyer, Gaster, Ing & Powell for Black Dog Television, Daniel March & Klaus Zimmermann for Dynamic Television, plus Bea Tammer & Catherine Mackin for Acorn TV/Acorn Media Enterprises.
Art Detectives Season 2 is currently in production in Belfast. It will premiere with a two-part special in December 2026, followed by a full six-episode season in 2027.
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