ABC, BBC plot another Return to Paradise

FIRST LOOK: Anna Samson, Lloyd Griffith and Tai Hara return for the second season of Australian drama Return to Paradise, which is now filming across Sydney and the Illawarra coast.

A spin-off series to UK crime drama Death in Paradise, season two will pick up again with Detective Sergeant Mackenzie ‘Mack’ Clarke (Samson), who’s longing to get back to the UK and the life she’s always craved. But for now she’s stuck in Dolphin Cove, dodging her ex-fiancée Glenn (Hara)’s upcoming wedding after overhearing his unexpected declaration of love in the season one finale – a confession that she can’t unhear.

Luckily for Mack, her compulsion to solve impossible cases serves as a great distraction, and there’s no shortage of murders to investigate. From the literary world to state-of-the-art shark labs, dating apps and rock concerts, Mack and her team face challenging mysteries with their unique blend of humour and tenacity. But Mack’s biggest challenge of all? Finding a way to exist in Dolphin Cove as the ultimate outsider.

Samson (Dead Lucky, Wake in Fright) returns in the leading role of the super smart, hypervigilant and socially awkward Detective Sergeant Mackenzie Clarke, with Griffith (Ted Lasso), Hara (Home & Away), Catherine McClements (Total Control), Celia Ireland (Wentworth, Total Control), Andrea Demetriades (Mother and Son) and Aaron McGrath (Gold Diggers).

Each episode will also feature guest stars including Danielle Cormack, Meyne Wyatt, Roz Hammond, Justine Clarke, Michelle Lim Davidson, Greg Stone, Zoe Carides, Simon Lyndon and Miah Madden. Tim Rogers also guest stars alongside Ardal O’Hanlon, the former star of Death in Paradise, who reprises his role as Jack Mooney.

The six-part whodunit series is produced by BBC Studios Productions Australia, in partnership with Red Planet Pictures for the ABC, and in association with the BBC.

Created and executive produced by Peter Mattessi, James Hall and Robert Thorogood, the producer is Diane Haddon. Executive producers are Kylie Washington and Sophia Zachariou for BBC Studios Productions Australia, Belinda Campbell and Tim Key for Red Planet Pictures, and Rachel Okine and Brett Sleigh for the ABC.

Return to Paradise will air on ABC TV and ABC iview later this year and will be shown on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK. It will be distributed globally by BBC Studios.

tagged in: ABC, BBC, BBC Studios Productions Australia, Red Planet Pictures, Return to Paradise