BBC back on Showtrial

BBC back on Showtrial


By Michael Pickard
May 30, 2024

First Look

FIRST LOOK: Adeel Akhtar heads the cast of BBC legal mystery Showtrial, which is returning for its second season this year with a new story.

Michael Socha as Justin

Made by World Productions (Vigil, Line of Duty) and written by Ben Richards, the fictional five-part drama this time focuses on the high profile case of ‘Officer X’ – a policeman accused of murdering a climate change activist.

When Marcus Calderwood (Barney Fishwick) is left for dead in a violent hit and run, he uses his dying moments to apparently identify his killer – a serving policeman. But who is this unnamed Officer X? What does his own history reveal about the nature of trauma and revenge, and was Marcus’ death a tragic accident or pre-meditated murder?

From the victim’s last breath to the jury’s final verdict, Showtrial will introduce characters including charismatic and cocky police officer Justin Mitchell (Michael Socha); Sam Malik (Akhtar, pictured top), an anxious defense solicitor with a reputation for winning lost causes; and Leila Hassoun-Kenny (Nathalie Armin), a driven CPS lawyer leading the case against the accused.

Nathalie Armin as Leila

As public outrage reaches fever-pitch, the series asks what happens when a trial is dominated by cultural divisions and if the truth is ever clear cut. Is a fair trial even possible when tensions are riding so high?

The new season also stars Nina Toussaint-White, Zoe Telford, Ali Khan, Daniel Kendrick  Frankie Wilson, Anna Próchniak, Anna Wilson Jones, John Light, Aidan McArdle, Daisy Badger, Flora Montgomery, Pearce Quigley, John Marquez and Anna Healy.

Francesca Annis also appears as Dame Harriet Kenny.

Created and written by Richards, Showtrial S2 is directed by Julia Ford (Everything I Know About Love, Safe) and produced by Ken Horn (Line of Duty, The Moorside).

Executive producers are Simon Heath and Emma Luffingham for World Productions, with Nawfal Faizullah and Katherine Bond for the BBC, and Richards. ITV Studios is handling international distribution.

Showtrial is due to return to BBC iPlayer and BBC One later this year.

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