Dalgliesh is back for a second run of 1970s-set whodunnits, based once more on PD James’ acclaimed novels.
Following the success of Dalgliesh season 1, the six-part drama sees Bertie Carvel (Doctor Foster, The Crown) reprise his role as dedicated, widowed detective and part-time poet DCI Adam Dalgliesh, who has another batch of complex and twisty new cases to crack.
Here’s everything you need to know about Dalgliesh season 2…
Dalgliesh season 2 — what is the release date?
In the US, the first two-part case aired on Monday, April 24 on Acorn TV. The subsequent cases will drop on the following two Mondays.
In the UK, the first episode of the opening two-part case airs on Thursday, April 27 at 9 pm on Channel 5 and continues on Friday, April 28 at 9 pm.
It will air weekly in the same format and episodes will also be available on the streaming site My5.
Dalgliesh season 2 — episode guide
This time around, Dalgliesh, who lost his wife and baby before the first season started, is contemplating whether to give up policing to pursue his career as a poet, but he is also called on to oversee three tricky and very different investigations:
Episodes One and Two: Death of an Expert Witness
After a young woman’s body is found in a quarry, one of the forensic team working on the case is murdered and sinister secrets emerge.
“Dalgliesh is going back to the county of his birth [Norfolk] and he’s thinking about where he came from,” Bertie Carvel tells WhattoWatch.com. “But at the heart of this story is a family. Will it be destroyed in the name of justice?”
Episodes Three and Four: A Certain Justice
The killing of a London barrister who recently helped a suspected murderer uncovers bitter tensions in the legal world.
“There's something about the law that’s interesting,” reveals Bertie Carvel. “The upper social strata feel that they can control and dominate the police, but they're threatened by Dalgliesh. There’s a climactic scene I enjoyed!”
Episodes Five and Six: The Murder Room
A murder takes place in the grounds of a museum dedicated to the macabre crimes of the past, and the body count quickly rises.
“It all centres around a privately-owned museum on the edge of Hampstead Heath,” explains Bertie Carvel. “But some gruesome killings seem to mimic the famous murder cases on display in the exhibition…”
Dalgliesh season 2 — who is in the cast?
Alongside Bertie Carvel as Dalgliesh, Carlyss Peer (Holby City, Beyond Paradise) reprises her role as his trusty sidekick DS Kate Miskin. Alistair Brammer (Casualty) also joins the cast later in the series as DS Daniel Tarrant.
Guest stars to look out for include Richard Harrington (Casualty, Hinterland) and Deborah Findlay (The Split) in episodes one and two.
In episodes three and four Daisy Waterstone (The Durrells) and Michael Maloney (Magpie Murders, All Creatures Great and Small) appear.
And in episodes five and six, Sorcha Cusack (Father Brown), Sylvestra Le Touzel (Intelligence) and Richard Goulding (The Windsors) feature.
Dalgliesh season 2 — interview with Bertie Carvel
Where do we find Dalgliesh?
“In the first episode, Blanche [his literary agent, played by Debbie Chazen] says, ‘Your poetry is taking off, why don't you give up your day job?’ Inside him, a voice goes, ‘Why not? What am I doing as a policeman?’ This series is about confronting that question. Each day he's looking at pain, death and dysfunction. Part of him’s energized by that and part of him is depressed.”
How does he feel about the cases he is tackling this time?
“One of the things that's delicious is that each story is distinct. Dalgliesh’s magic trick as a policeman is to be ‘boundaried’, but inside he's emotionally porous. He finds things that feel personal. And he can’t help the bloodhound in him getting excited and angry about the righteous pursuit of the truth.”
What is the dynamic like with Dalgliesh, Miskin and Tarrant?
“Dalgliesh sees potential in Miskin and he’d be pleased for someone like her to take his place if he were to step aside. And now he’s also got Tarrant, so there's an element of watching how other people do things.”
But it looks like Miskin is developing feelings for Dalgliesh…
“That was a fun arc to play! Increasingly, Dalgliesh is aware of an emotional connection but he wants to be professional and guard himself against intimacy. He seeks out loneliness, yet there’s a thirst for companionship. He controls things with Miskin, but not callously, with sensitivity.”
Do you enjoy working with Carlyss Peer?
“I can't speak highly enough of her. It’s easy when you have actors you can play off, who you feel are alert to the nuances of what you're doing because then the scenes feel pregnant with significance. It's a joy to play that and it’s fun working together.”
Dalgliesh season 2 — is there a trailer?
Yes, in the action-packed teaser, we see Dalgliesh, Miskin and Tarrant deal with a variety of shifty suspects during their quest for justice...
