ITV and World Productions have announced filming has commenced on the second series of cold-case murder drama Karen Pirie.
The three-part drama, based on acclaimed author Val McDermid’s A Darker Domain and adapted by Emer Kenny (The Curse, Save Me Too) will see the return of Lauren Lyle (Outlander, Vigil) as the fearless young Scottish investigator Karen Pirie.
Also reprising their roles are Chris Jenks (Sex Education, Vigil) as DC Jason ‘Mint’ Murray, Zach Wyatt (Timestalker, The Witcher: Blood Origin) as DS Phil Parhatka, Steve John Shepherd (Harry Potter, Karen Pirie) as DCS Lees, Emer Kenny as River Wilde, and Rakhee Thakrar (Wonka, Sex Education) as Bel Richmond, as they reinvestigate the 1984 kidnapping of heiress Catriona Grant and her baby son.
In the present, Lauren Lyle’s Pirie will be joined by Saskia Ashdown (Six Four) as newcomer DC Isla Stark, James Cosmo (Braveheart) and Frances Tomelty (Unforgotten) as Catriona’s parents, oil magnate Sir Broderick Grant and his ex-wife Mary, and John Michie (Holby City) as Fergus Sinclair, the father of Cat’s son Adam.
At the centre of the police case in 1984 will be Julia Brown (World on Fire) as Catriona Grant. She will be joined by Mark Rowley (One Day) as Mick, Kat Ronney (Dinosaur) as Bonnie, Conor Berry (Schemers) as Andy and Stuart Campbell (The Winter King) as Kevin. Jamie Michie (Back to Life) will play young Brodie Grant, Madeleine Worrall (The Legend of Tarzan) will play young Mary Grant and Jack Stewart (Outlander) as young Fergus. The original investigation will be helmed by Thoren Ferguson (Rebus) as DI Anderson and Helena Katamba (The Nest) as DC Laurel Blair.
In the turmoil of 1984, when young heiress to the Grant oil fortune Catriona Grant is kidnapped at gunpoint with her young son, it’s assumed that the motivation is political. The huge investigation creates an uncontrollable press storm… but when the culprits unexpectedly fall silent, the case runs cold. Cat and Adam are never seen again.
Forty years later, when a man’s body is discovered, Karen Pirie is assigned to reopen the case in complete secrecy. With the first key piece of evidence in decades, Karen must try to unlock one of Scotland’s most infamous mysteries, whilst battling increasing media attention. What happened to Cat Grant and why do sinister forces want the secrets of her disappearance to remain hidden?
“The first series launched with 6.6m viewers and averaged 5.9m across each episode, making it one of the most watched new dramas on ITV in 2022. As the winner of Best Drama Series at the Celtic Media Festival in 2023, Karen Pirie has been described as ‘modern and fresh’ by The Times, praised for being ‘meaty, well-paced and sure-footed’ by The Guardian, and ‘the best new police serial this year’ by the Daily Mail.” – ITV
Filming has begun in Scotland and will continue in Malta.
