'The Marlow Murder Club' Reassembles in August for Season 2

The last decade has not been easy for TV broadcast networks; however, some longstanding TV traditions have been affected more significantly than others. The Simpsons, for instance, had the fortunate break of being acquired by Disney in the merger with Fox, which gave it a whole new platform and fan base. Meanwhile, over on PBS, Masterpiece discovered that after 30 years of being America's primary source of British TV, it had quite a bit of competition, as streaming service after streaming service turned to the U.K. to help bolster their offerings, all with more money than Public Broadcasting could hope to compete with.

In response, Masterpiece pivoted to producing its own British period dramas and mysteries, typically as co-productions with British studios, but more recently as solo productions, bringing viewers series specifically tailored to them, such as The Marlow Murder Club.

Based on the novels by Death in Paradise's Robert Thorogood, The Marlow Murder Club is a mystery-of-the-week, guest-star-driven series with a trio of amateur crime solvers at the center, the titular club comprised of Judith Potts (Downton Abbey's Samantha Bond), Suzie Harris (Doctor Who's Jo Martin), and Becks Starling (Jane Eyre's Cara Horgan). The series also features Natalie Dew (The Capture) as former DS, now DCI Tanika Malik, an actual officer of the law with the authority to make arrests and charge criminals. Season 1 featured four episodes of standalone mysteries, connected by the trio's gradual foray into crime-solving as a legitimate business. Season 2 will expand to six episodes, featuring three two-part standalone mysteries.