'Rebus' Lands a Season 2 Commission at the BBC

The last five years or so have seen PBS and PBS Passport join the foreign language series fandom as part of public broadcasting's shift to streaming. The Channel 4 series Walter Presents (which brings the best of European programming to the U.K., the same way Masterpiece brings the best of U.K. programming to the U.S.) has given Americans access to French, Spanish, German, and Norwegian/Swedish shows in a way that was unthinkable a mere decade ago. However, PBS is not the only streaming service dedicated to bringing over great European fare, with MzH and Viaplay on the scene, both of which tend towards the noir side of what's on offer.

That being said, it was pretty surprising that Viaplay decided to snatch up the rights to a Rebus remake, especially considering the BBC produced the original series from 2000. Starring John Hannah (The Decameron) as DI John Rebus in Season 1, only to have it taken over by Ken Stott (Irvine Welsh's Crime) for the rest of the show's run, all four seasons found their way to PBS in the early part of the decade. The BBC canceled the show in 2008, and author Ian Rankin repurchased the rights from it when they became available in 2012, with a statement that suggested he had not been happy with the BBC's take.

Rankin held out until he could get a production studio that shared his vision, finally choosing Viaplay, the streaming service known for its extensive collection of Nordic Noir. However, it is notable that Viaplay (which streamed the series in the States) was not nearly successful enough with it to land a renewal. It took the BBC reboarding the series to broadcast in the U.K. to make the show a large enough hit to land a second season commission, which the BBC will fund this time.