Beyond Paradise may or may not have a hint of time travel.
It’s only a matter of days before the Death in Paradise spin-off series, Beyond Paradise, lands on our screens. The new six-part drama will see fan favourite Death in Paradise star Kris Marshall reprise his role as DI Humphrey Goodman alongside Sally Bretton as his fiancée Martha Lloyd.
The drama will explore a “new adventure” for the pair as they move back to Martha’s hometown of Shipton Abbott on the Devon coast. There, Humphrey will tackle unique crime cases of his own – but while the procedural format may seem similar to Death in Paradise, there will be one sizeable change.
Speaking about the new series, Tony Jordan, writer and executive producer for Beyond Paradise, said: “At the end of the crime story in Death in Paradise, the detective gathers all the suspects together and explains what happened and who the guilty party is in an Agatha Christie fashion.
“We knew we couldn’t do the same thing on Beyond Paradise. We had to find something as distinct, but different.
“We came up with the idea of Humphrey cracking the case and while explaining to the team and the audience, we lift him up from the station and take him back in time, replaying the crime exactly as it happened but this time with Humphrey in the scene as it’s taking place.”
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As well as the time travel shift in the narrative, Jordan continued: “The brief we had was for a show exactly like Death in Paradise, but at the same time completely different, and I think that’s what we have ended up with!
“The things that link them together is they are both joyful, it’s a treat every week. Both shows give you a puzzle and those great moments where people are sitting on the sofa together solving the mysteries.”
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As for the differences between the two shows? Jordan said that there are “a lot” in the personal tales of characters and crime stories. “In Death in Paradise, the majority of the story content is about the case, we don’t really go into much personal detail. In Beyond Paradise its completely different.
“Humphrey and Martha’s relationship is a drama in its own right, we follow their journey throughout the duration of the six episodes. The crime story then fits in with that, but there is a huge personal story within the show.”
Similarly, Marshall said of his new series: “Beyond Paradise has the same sort of structure as Death in Paradise, but we’re also a completely new show. There’s some of the favourite characters from Death in Paradise, but with a whole new spin on it. It’s still paradise, it’s just a different kind of paradise.”
As well as a cast of familiar faces, the series’s own lizard and an ominous trailer, it’s safe to say that excitement for the drama is most definitely building. We can’t wait.
Beyond Paradise will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Friday 24th February. Classic episodes of Death in Paradise are available to watch on BBC iPlayer and on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial.
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