Karen Pirie renewed for season 2, based on Val McDermid's second book
Our favourite fearless Scottish investigator is back.
Karen Pirie has been renewed for season 2 after a hugely successful first run, which launched with 6.6 million viewers and averaged 5.9m across the series - making it one of the most watched new dramas on ITV last year.
The series, which was also in the top 10 dramas on ITVX, was adapted by Emer Kenny from Val McDermid’s hugely popular cold case novels. Now, the second season will again be based on the international bestselling books, this time adapted from A Darker Domain, the second in the Karen Pirie novel series.
The new season will see Lauren Lyle (Outlander, Vigil) return as the young and fearless Scottish investigator with a quick mouth and tenacious desire for the truth. This time round, she'll be reopening the investigation into the unsolved kidnapping of a wealthy young heiress and her baby son back in 1985.
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Commissioned by ITV from World Productions, the well-known producers of Line of Duty and The Pembrokeshire Murders, this series will see Kenny (The Curse, Save Me) return to write and executive produce the three two-hour-long episodes alongside Scottish writer Gillian Roger Park (Sneakerhead, The Young Offenders).
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Speaking about the news of season 2, Lyle said: “I'm thrilled that we will continue the life of our fearless young detective Karen Pirie, and of course, her bumbag. I've known for a while how well the show has gone down behind the scenes so it's been a joy to see audiences want more.
"It's a creative honour to work alongside Emer Kenny with the backbone of Val McDermid's story, season 1 was incredibly exciting building an original character we hadn't seen before. I look forward to getting the gang back together and finally being able to answer the question: ‘Please say there will be a season 2?’ with an ‘Oh yes.’"
ITV's drama commissioner Huw Kennair Jones also commented: “We're thrilled the audience loves Karen Pirie as much as we do and can't wait to get going on Val McDermid's fantastic A Darker Domain with World Productions. Returning to the world and characters that Emer so skillfully created and Lauren so brilliantly realised promises to be as exciting and fresh as season 1.”
In an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com, Kenny previously said that she was "really keen to see what people respond to" in the first season in order to find out "what they like about" it and then "kind of roll with that after it comes out". So, it's safe to say we're pleased over the news that the Fife-based detective will be returning to our screens once more.
Karen Pirie season 2 will premiere on ITV1 and ITVX, with the previous first season available to stream on ITVX now.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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Authors
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
