'Marlow Murder Club' Sets Season 1 Premiere & Announces Season 2

After a surprising delay in The Marlow Murder Club's first season airing in the U.K. and PBS cropped up (considering Masterpiece is a co-producer on the series), viewers were uncertain if the well-hyped mystery series based on the Robert Thorogood best-selling novels starring Samantha Bond (Downton Abbey) and Jo Martin (Doctor Who) was long for television. However, that was not the case, as rumors have been swirling on British entertainment sites that Season 2 was heading into pre-production. Those rumors were made official by UKTV on May 21, 2024, with an official announcement that Season 2 had received its commission.

The announcement came a few weeks after the series concluded overseas but with no sign of Season 1's arrival on PBS. Masterpiece quickly fixed that, dropping its trailer for the first season a few hours later and a premiere date. As previously indicated, The Marlow Murder Club Season 1 is coming in the fall, but surprisingly late for PBS, arriving just ahead of Halloween, on the Sunday night before. It's the most timely premiere of a mystery series in quite a while for Masterpiece, and one mystery lovers will undoubtedly be looking forward to.

Though fans are probably a little disappointed at learning they will have to wait until October to see the new series over here, that just means there will be a shorter wait for Season 2. With filming for the second season getting underway, the debut date for it is likely late 2025 or early 2026, so Season 1 premiering in late 2024 on PBS means fans will only have a year or so to wait between seasons. 

Here is the Season 1 synopsis:

In The Marlow Murder Club, when murder strikes the quiet riverside town of Marlow, retired archaeologist Judith Potts feels compelled to solve the whodunnit at hand. As Potts begins to uncover a series of puzzling clues, she comes to rely on the help of other local women to investigate the case: Suzie Harris, a local dog walker, and empty nester; Becks Starling,  an unfulfilled vicar’s wife; and DS Tanika Malik.

Bond plays Judith Potts, with Martin as Suzie Harris. They’ll be joined by Cara Horgan (The Sandman) as Becks Starling and Natalie Dew (The Capture) as DS Tanika Malik. Other co-stars currently listed include Mark Frost (Sherwood), Rita Tushingham (Ridley Road), Tijan Sarr (Shadow & Bone), Daniel Lapaine (A Spy Among Friends), Mark Fleischmann (Enola Holmes 2), Phill Langhorne (Miss Scarlet & The Duke), Holli Dempsey (Murder in Provence), Juliet Howland (The Wheel of Time), Rufus Wright (Endeavour), Phillipa Peak (Home Fires), and Niall Costigan (Vera).

Thorogood, best known on television for creating Death in Paradise, wrote all four episodes, adapting his own novel for television with The Durell’s Steve Barron directing. Both serve as executive producers alongside Suzanne Simpson for Masterpiece and Debra Hayward, Alison Owen, and Alison Carpenter for Monumental Television.

The Marlow Murder Club will premiere on most PBS stations on Sunday, October 27, 2024, at 9 p.m. ET and stream on the PBS and the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel. All four episodes will be available on premiere day for members on PBS Passport. As always, check your local listings and streaming services.