Will Lesley Manville and Timothy McMullen be back for another mystery?
After its BritBox debut last year, Magpie Murders has just finished airing on BBC One, having enrapt crime fiction fans with Anthony Horowitz’s unique take on the genre.
The series stars Lesley Manville as Susan Ryeland, an editor who finds herself investigating the suspicious death of author Alan Conway, whose character Atticus Pünd is also realised in the series by Timothy McMullen.
But now that the first season has finished airing in full, will there be a second outing for Susan and Atticus?
Read on for everything you need to know about Magpie Murders season 2.
Will there be a Magpie Murders season 2?
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There will! It was announced in January of this year that the BBC had acquired the BritBox series and would be producing a second season of the show, called Moonflower Murders.
This would suggest that season 2 will be based on the second novel in Anthony Horowitz’s Susan Ryeland series, which has the same title. That novel saw Susan living in Crete and investigating a nearly-decade old murder.
When the news of the acquisition and renewal was confirmed, Horowitz said: “I’m very happy that Magpie Murders is going to be shown on the BBC – its natural home. I had such fun writing the scripts and they’ve been brought to life by a brilliant director and cast.”
Horowitz also said: “I can’t wait to get started on the scripts of Moonflower Murders. We had a fantastic response to Magpie and, speaking personally, it was a joy bringing Susan Ryeland and Atticus Pünd to life on the screen. There are lots of surprises in the second book, including something I’ve never done before in a murder mystery. It’s going to be great fun.”
When will Moonflower Murders be released?
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Moonflower Murders is set to commence filming later in 2023, with a release currently scheduled for next year, in 2024.
We don’t currently have any more specific detail than that, but fans can take heart knowing that it shouldn’t be too long until they see Susan and Atticus again.
Moonflower Murders cast – who from Magpie Murders will be back for season 2?
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So far the only stars from Magpie Murders confirmed to be returning for Moonflower Murders are Lesley Manville as editor turned sleuth Susan Ryeland and Timothy McMullan as fictional detective Atticus Pünd.
Given that the new season is set to have a new setting and central story, it could be the case that the rest of the cast is made up of mostly new characters.
The first season also starred the likes of Daniel Mays (Line of Duty), Michael Maloney (Belfast), Conleth Hill (Game of Thrones), Alexandros Logothetis (The Island), Claire Rushbrook (Sherwood), Pippa Haywood (Bridgerton), Matthew Beard (Vienna Blood) and Harry Lawtey (Industry), but none of their returns are confirmed.
For now here is the confirmed cast for Moonflower Murders:
- Lesley Manville as Susan Ryeland
- Timothy McMullan as Atticus Pünd
Is there a trailer for Moonflower Murders?
There isn’t a trailer available for Moonflower Murders just yet but we’ll keep this page updated once one becomes available. For now you can rewatch the trailer for Magpie Murders right here.
Magpie Murders is currently available to stream on both BBC iPlayer BritBox – you can sign up for a BritBox 7-day free trial.
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