Unforgotten creator already has plans for season 6
Chris Lang spoke with RadioTimes.com and other press on the set of season 5.
With the release date for Unforgotten season 5 having been unveiled, we now know when we'll finally get to meet Sinead Keenan's new detective Jessie, and see what her dynamic is like with Sanjeev Bhaskar's Sunny.
According to the show's creator Chris Lang, it could also be a dynamic we get to see plenty more of (barring any more tragic twists this season!), as he has already teased that he has an idea for a sixth season of the drama.
Speaking with RadioTimes.com and other press on the set of Unforgotten season 5, Lang said: "Certainly, if they asked me, I’d do a season 6. I've got a season 6 in my head. So yeah, it's down to the broadcaster, whether they asked me to do it.
"It's a unique show, in that it's got a format that is self-contained, but with a certain degree of serialised elements through the characters. And as long as people keep watching it, and we can keep making it well… at the point where either I don't feel I can contribute to it, or make it better, obviously I'd stop. But at the moment we haven't hit that point yet."
Lang continued: "It's incredibly difficult to sit down and create it from a blank page, so you need huge reserves of energy and enthusiasm to push you through creating six episodes. And it’s often very emotionally draining stories that you're telling as well, which require lots of research into really dark areas.
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"So as long as I have the appetite to keep doing that, and as long as the audience keep coming back to it, there's no reason why I couldn't keep going on."
The departure of Nicola Walker's Cassie and the introduction of Keenan's Jessie aren't the only cast changes fans of the ITV crime drama will see during this fifth season.
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DC Jake Collier star Lewis Reeves has confirmed that he also won't be returning for season 5 due to scheduling conflicts - however, if a season 6 is on the cards then there is always a chance he will be back.
Reeves said: "I spoke to Chris Lang, the writer, and Andy Wilson, the director, and if it goes for season 6, I'm sure they'll welcome DC Jake Collier back – [that’s] what I’m hearing, so fingers crossed."
Unforgotten season 5 will air on ITV1 and ITVX on Monday 27th February 2023, and all four previous seasons are currently available to stream on ITVX.
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