'Bookish' Adds a Dozen Guest Stars for Season 2

PBS first announced it would pick up the Mark Gatiss-penned series Bookish in February 2025, a few months ahead of the show's summer-slated premiere in the U.K. At the time, the show was declared as coming sometime in "the 2025-2026 TV season, and scuttlebutt suggested it would fall in the earlier part of that range (i.e., the autumn of 2025) rather than later. However, that was back before rescission and the resulting sudden, drastic budget tightening for public broadcasting. As autumn rolls in, the PBS lineup for the latter half of 2025 has been set, and, sadly, Bookish is not listed among the premieres, making it much more likely Americans will have to wait until at least January 2026 to see it.

However, the series has not only aired in the U.K., Bookish's first season wound up as one of the most successful debuts for UK TV in the network's history, and a second season was ordered before the season had concluded its inaugural run. Now filming starts in earnest in the U.K., with a dozen brand new guest stars signing on to appear in the series' next set of two-part mysteries and an official synopsis for the new season's overarching throughline.

Gatiss, whose credits Americans know best include his turns starring in/writing Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Game of Thrones, conceived of the series as a post-WWII period mystery with a focus on London's queer history. His character, Gabriel Book, a not-quiet-closeted man in a lavender marriage, owns an antique bookshop. Every other episode, a new crime comes through the door, and Book is called upon to help the police solve the case with his extensive knowledge and the research library of his store.

Here's the Season 2 synopsis:

London 1946 is the setting for Bookish, with viewers introduced to the appropriately named Gabriel Book, who owns a bookshop in Archangel Lane. If his War was packed with espionage and secrets, Book’s Peace is just as full of adventure! Now he helps the police solve the strangest of crimes and the knottiest of murders.

In the second series, Book investigates the world of spiritualism when he’s asked to help solve the mysterious case involving medium, Harold Sneed. Off Savile Row, Bliss asks Book to help in a puzzling murder at a gentleman’s outfitters - the elderly tailor Maxie Kleinmann is keen to confess to the murder. Still, the evidence doesn’t quite stack up and points to something much more complex and sinister. And Book and Jack are sent to the seemingly charming German village of Würl by the mysterious ‘E’ to thwart a thieving Duchess at Christmas time. However, festivities take a deadly turn when Book and Jack uncover secrets of their own, past and present, in an ominous castle brimming with plausible murder suspects.

Book’s close association with the police continues to be not without its personal dangers, and his lavender marriage with childhood best friend Trottie is threatened by debonair Colonel Winters. Marrying post-war nostalgia with the reckless and life-affirming atmosphere of the times, Bookish is a stylish period detective drama with a difference.

Season 2 will bring back Gatiss as Book, Polly Walker (Bridgerton) as his wife, Trottie, Elliot Levey (We Were the Lucky Ones) as Inspector Bliss, Buket Kömür (Our House) as Nora, Blake Harrison (World on Fire) as Sgt Morris, and Connor Finch (Everything I Know About Love) as Jack. Season 1 guest stars that will become recurring characters this season include Rosie Cavaliero (Funny Woman) as Ada Dredge, Gerard Horan (Belgravia: The Next Chapter) as Mr Baseheart, Nadia Albina (A Thousand Blows) as Dr Calder, and Jonas Nay (Line of Separation) as Felix.

The Season 2 guest cast will feature PBS favorites, including Jason Watkins (McDonald & Dodds) as Harold Sneed, Miranda Richardson (The Last Anniversary) as Duchess Alberta, Simon Callow (Outlander) as ‘E’, Rupert Graves (Surface) as Colonel Reggie Winters, Allan Corduner (Ridley Road) as Maxie Kleinmann, Liza Sadovy (Patience) as Ruth Kleinmann, and Claire Skinner (Vanity Fair) as Mrs Calthrop. Other guest stars include Youssef Kerkour (Stay Close) as Yusuf, Ricky Champ (The Decameron) as Kendall, Oli Fyne (Call the Midwife) as Hannah Kleinman, Ingrid Oliver (The Thursday Murder Club) as Liesl Pohl, and John Hopkins (A Very Royal Scandal) as Guy Windjammer.

Gatiss co-wrote Bookish with Doctor Who podcast scribe Sweet and Ian Hallard as three two-part mysteries comprising six episodes in total, and the three are expected to return to write Season 2. Director Carolina Giammetta (Suspect) helmed all episodes of Season 1 and is expected to return to helm at least some of Season 2, with Jake Harvey producing. The show is an Eagle Eye production from Jo McGrath and Walter Iuzzolino.

Bookish Season 1 is coming to PBS sometime in 2026, with Season 2 to follow. The spin-off book, also titled Bookish and written by Matthew Sweet, is available wherever you buy books.