BritBox has revealed the release window forKaren Pirieseason 2, an unflinching and quietly brilliant Scottish cold case crime drama. Based on the bestsellingInspector Karen Piriebooks by Val McDermid,Karen Pirieseason 1 introduced viewers to the fearless, determined, and sympathetic Detective Sergeant Karen Pirie (Lauren Lyle) as she was thrust into the midst of a high-profile cold case. In the late 1990s, a young woman named Rosie Duff was murdered and left for dead in a church graveyard; nearly 30 years later, a podcaster picked up the trail, and the police were incentivized to reopen the inquiry.
Karen Piriereturns for season 2 with three new feature-length episodes, releasingexclusively on BritBoxin the U.S. and Canada this October. U.K. viewers will be able to catch the Scottish crime drama on ITV this coming July. Having successfully closed such a highly scrutinized case in season 1 (though not without rightfully ruffling some high-ranking feathers), Karen Pirie has been promoted to Detective Inspector and tasked with solving a recent murder and the disappearance of a wealthy young oil heiress and her son, who were kidnapped at gunpoint in 1984 and never heard from again.
Everything We Know About Karen Pirie Season 2
This Case Is Even More High-Profile Than The Last
Like season 1,Karen Pirieseason 2 will be split across two timelines: the present, in which DI Pirie tries to solve a recent murder with undisputable links to an old missing persons case, and the events that transpired in 1984, related to the disappearances of Catriona and Adam Grant. Unlike Rosie Duff, Catriona and Adam were from a wealthy, well-known family with strong international ties, so Karen will be under even more pressure to solve this 40-year-old case than in the last season. The official synopsis reads as follows:
“The 1984 case of Catriona and Adam Grant has confounded investigators and intrigued the public like no other. Catriona, the charming young heiress to a vast oil fortune, and her two-year-old son Adam, were brutally kidnapped at gunpoint outside a fish and chip shop in Fife. The ransom notes that followed stirred up an uncontrollable press storm, but when the culprits fell silent, the police faltered, and Catriona and Adam were never seen again. Now, a man’s body has been discovered, with indisputable links to the original kidnap. With the first piece of evidence in decades, Karen must assemble an unbeatable team… With the international renown of the kidnap and the constant pressure from Catriona’s father, Sir Broderick Grant (James Cosmo), the team take on the biggest challenge of their careers to date. As Karen delves deeper into what happened in the autumn of 1984, political grudges and painful secrets reveal themselves, and it soon becomes clear… the past is far from dead.”
Returning to help are her trusty sidekick,Detective Constable Jason ‘Mint’ Murray (Chris Jenks), and Karen’s love interest and friend, DS Phil Parhatka (Zach Wyatt). Other returning cast members include Steve John Shepherd as DCS Lees,Emer Kenny (who also writes the show) as River Wilde,and Rakhee Thakrar as Bel Richmond. New cast members include Saskia Ashdown, James Cosmo, Frances Tomelty, John Michie, and more. From the first-look images shared by BritBox, it seems the Grant case will take DI Pirie to an as-yet-undisclosed but undeniably sunny location, a far cry from Scotland’s gorgeously historical yet rainy streets.
Our Take On Karen Pirie Season 2
This Is One Of Britain’s Best Cold Case Dramas
ITV truly knows how to make a previously unsolved case stick with you.If you loveUnforgotten,the hauntingly beautiful and tragic cold case drama starring Nicola Walker, Sanjeev Bhaskar, and Sinéad Keenan,Karen Pirieis right up your street. This Scottish BAFTA award-winning crime drama has a 91% Rotten Tomatoes critics' score for a reason. Lauren Lyle turns in a stunning, relatable, empathetic, and even funny performance as DS Pirie becomes more and more invested in Rosie Duff’s horrendous death, and the horrifying truth of the police department’s negligence finally comes to light.
Karen Pirie’s first season explored issues of abuse of power and the harrowing consequences of misogyny, and season 2 looks primed to continue that same kind of emotionally deep, investigative, and necessary storytelling. Will the newly minted DI Karen Pirie manage the pressure from her bosses, co-workers, the community, and even the international press? Thankfully, we won’t have to wait much longer to find out whenKaren Piriereturns to our screens later this year.
Karen Pirieseason 2 premieres on BritBox in North America this October.
