Will there be a Karen Pirie season 2?

By James Hibbs

Published: Wednesday, 28 September 2022 at 12:00 am

ITV’s latest detective drama Karen Pirie is still airing weekly, but with all episodes now available on ITV Hub, those viewers who have binged their way through them are already itching for more.

The series follows Karen, a “young and fearless Scottish investigator with a quick mouth and tenacious desire for the truth” based in Fife.

The show is based on a series of novels by Val McDermid, meaning there’s still plenty of source material for the team to work from when devising new episodes.

Now, with her first case done and dusted after season 1, can we expect to see more from the young detective? Read on for everything you need to know about Karen Pirie season 2.

Has Karen Pirie been recommissioned for season 2?

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Lauren Lyle in Karen Pirie.
ITV

Karen Pirie hasn’t been renewed for season 2 just yet, but executive producer Simon Heath said that he and the team all “have our fingers firmly crossed”. He said that it will “ultimately depend on how well the audience respond to the first season”, a sentiment echoed by the show’s screenwriter Emer Kenny.

Kenny said in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com 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”.

As season 1 has only just debuted on ITV, there’s still plenty of time for an official announcement regarding season 2 to be made. We’ll keep this page updated as and when we have any further information.

When would Karen Pirie season 2 air on ITV?

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Lauren Lyle as DS Karen Pirie and Chris Jenks as DC Jason Murray.
ITV

Without the series having been officially recommissioned yet, it’s hard to say just when a second season would arrive on ITV.

We’d imagine the absolute earliest season 2 could be released would be in a year’s time, so that would be autumn 2022. However, it could well be later than that – we’ll keep this page updated as and when we get any further information.

What would Karen Pirie season 2 be about?

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Lauren Lyle as DS Karen Pirie.
ITV

Karen Pirie season 2 would likely focus on the second novel in Val McDermid’s book series, which is titled A Darker Domain.

The book’s blurb says: “25 years ago, a woman and her baby son were kidnapped and held to ransom. Catriona Grant ended up dead and little Adam’s fate has remained a mystery ever since. When a new clue is discovered in a deserted Tuscan villa – along with grisly evidence of a recent murder – cold case expert DI Karen Pirie is assigned to follow the trail.

“She’s already working a case from the same year. During the Miners’ Strike of 1984, pit worker Mick Prentice vanished. Where did he really go? And is there a link to the Grant mystery? The truth is stranger – and far darker – than fiction.”

However, we perhaps shouldn’t simply assume the second book is where the team would go for season 2. Screenwriter Kenny told RadioTimes.com that while she’s been “looking at A Darker Domain”, she’s actually “been looking at a couple” of McDermid’s other books, too.

She continued: “You really want to make sure what you’re doing feels like you should be making it now, that you’re not just making it because it’s the next book in the series. You’re working out why this should be on TV in 2023 or 2024, whenever it will come out – so yeah we’ve been looking at them and talking about what will work.”

Karen Pirie cast: who would be back for season 2?

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Zach Wyatt as DS Phil Parhatka.
ITV

If the series does return, we’d certainly expect Lauren Lyle to be back. For herself, Lyle has said she would have “signed off season 2 straight away” if she could have, adding: “We didn’t want to leave the set!”

She said: “I think there’s a lot more to be done, the books are phenomenal. The next one is partially set in Tuscany, so why would we not want to do that?! But yes, she’s my favourite character I’ve ever played and the one I’ve felt most trusted with. I’ve had a lot of creative control, which is just so cool. I definitely feel we could go again if we are permitted.”

We’d also expect Chris Jenks to be back as DC Jason Murray, while Zach Wyatt has said he’d also like to return, as his character Phil “certainly has a lot more to offer”. We’d also expect that the show’s writer Kenny would pop up again as Karen’s friend River.

It’s also not out of the realms of possibility that Rakhee Thakrar could be back as Bel, although that does seem less likely.

Here’s a full list of the cast we’d expect could return for Karen Pirie season 2:

  • Lauren Lyle as DS Karen Pirie
  • Chris Jenks as DC Jason Murray
  • Zach Wyatt as DS Phil Parhatka
  • Emer Kenny as River Wilde
  • Steve John Shepherd as DI Simon Lees

Is there a trailer for Karen Pirie season 2?

There isn’t a trailer available for Karen Pirie season 2, but we’ll make sure to keep this page updated if any new footage is released. For now, you can rewatch the trailer for season 1 right here.