'Vienna Blood' season 2: release date, cast, plot, and everything we know

Vienna Blood season 2
'Vienna Blood' season 2 promises to be just as gripping as the first. (Image credit: BBC)

Vienna Blood season 2 once again sees a world-weary Austrian police detective and a young doctor of psychology team up to solve crimes in 1900s Vienna.

Based on the best-selling novels by Frank Tallis, they’ve been adapted by acclaimed Sherlock screenwriter Steve Thompson. 

Three new feature-length episodes are on the way following the success of the first series. We've picked out Vienna Blood season 2 as one of the best shows of 2021, so don't miss it!

Here’s everything we know about Vienna Blood season 2...

'Vienna Blood' season 2 release date

Vienna Blood season 2 opened on BBC2 on Friday, Dec. 10 at 9pm. The first episode is called The Melancholy Countess. The second episode — The Devil’s Kiss — will air on Friday, Dec. 17 at 9pm, and the third and final episode — Darkness Rising — will air on Christmas Eve at 9pm. All three episodes are available on BBC iPlayer.

Meanwhile, in the US it will be screened on PBS, but a release date is still to be announced.

What’s the plot?

Amelia Lydgate (LUCY GRIFFITHS), Max Liebermann (MATTHEW BEARD), Oskar Rheinhardt (JUERGEN MAURER) in Vienna Blood season 2

Amelia Lydgate (Lucy Griffiths), Max Liebermann (Matthew Beard), Oskar Rheinhardt (Juergen Maurer) in 'Vienna Blood' season 2. (Image credit: BBC/Endor Productions/MR Film/Petro Domenigg)

We again see the same awkward but brilliant relationship between young Max Liebermann and troubled cop Oskar Rheinhardt.

Max, who studied under Sigmund Freud, uses the psychology of criminal minds to crack cases. Oskar has more old-school methods but began to recognise in the first series how brilliant Max is.

Talking about playing Max, The Imitation Game’s Matthew Beard previously told us: "Freud has all these new ideas about human behaviour that are exciting to Max. And when he gets something in his head, he follows it through, much to the dismay of Oskar. They are in a long line of odd couples that we have seen in films over the years."

The first episode, The Melancholy Countess, opens in the autumn of 1907 with a depressed Hungarian Countess being found drowned in a bath. It's a deeply personal case for Max, who asked the Countess to stop taking her prescribed medication and start taking a course of Freud’s talking cure with himself. With his reputation in tatters, Max and Oskar set about cracking the case which takes a new twist when they discover the Countess was poisoned...

Teasing the second episode, the BBC says: "1907, Vienna. A beggar girl finds a mutilated corpse in the slum quarter.

"The man’s hand and tongue have been severed. Direktor Strasser warns Oskar that the victim was a Secret Service agent and the investigation is not the concern of the Leopoldstadt police, but when Oskar receives anonymous messages relating to the murder, he can’t resist delving further..."

Who’s in the cast?

Acclaimed Austrian actor Juergen Maurer plays Oskar Rheinhardt, while Matthew Beard returns as Max Liebermann. 

Is there a trailer?

Not yet, watch this space. Here's the trailer for the first series which at least gives you a flavour of what to expect...

David Hollingsworth
Editor

David is the What To Watch Editor and has over 20 years of experience in television journalism. He is currently writing about the latest television and film news for What To Watch.

Before working for What To Watch, David spent many years working for TV Times magazine, interviewing some of television's most famous stars including Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, singer Lionel Richie and wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough. 

David started out as a writer for TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. During his time on TV Times, David also helped run the annual TV Times Awards. David is a huge Death in Paradise fan, although he's still failed to solve a case before the show's detective! He also loves James Bond and controversially thinks that Timothy Dalton was an excellent 007.

Other than watching and writing about telly, David loves playing cricket, going to the cinema, trying to improve his tennis and chasing about after his kids!