'Return to Paradise' Gets a U.S. Premiere, a Season 2 & a St. Marie Connection

It wasn't a surprise when the production studio behind (what I will continue to hate calling) the "Para-verse" announced that it was doing a second spinoff of the hit series Death in Paradise. The first spinoff, Beyond Paradise (or Solving Crimes Within A Commutable Distance of London), was a smash hit right out of the gate, picking up with ex-St. Marie resident DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall) as he resettles with his partner, Martha Lloyd (Sally Bretton), in her hometown. However, the second spinoff idea was a bigger reach. Instead of following another of Death in Paradise's former leading men, the team went for a "gender flipped spiritual spinoff," Return to Paradise, set in Australia.

Like the original pitch for Death in Paradise, Return to Paradise is about a person miserably stuck solving crimes in one of the most beautiful places on earth. In this case, it's Dolphin Cove in Australia, and the cop stuck there, DI Mackenzie Clarke (Anna Samson), is miserable because this was the hometown she's spent her life trying to escape. Changing the dynamic meant the show could cast Australian actors instead of asking London-based ones to commute halfway round the globe, solving Death in Paradise's ultimate issue while also getting to film in another gorgeous location.

However, the show's Australian-ness meant it was an awkward fit for BritBox, which is emphatically "British Through and Through Thank You," despite the other two-thirds of the franchise streaming exclusively to the platform. Acorn TV didn't pick it up either, even after the BBC announced there would be a second season, probably because the other two-thirds weren't fully available*. In the end, that's left the show to wind up in the oddest place of all: U.S. linear cable TV on Ovation.

(*Ovation did get Death in Paradise Seasons 12 and 13 as part of this deal, which the network will start airing in June, but that's but those are a couple of years old at this point and the series has swapped to a whole new lead since then.) 

Here's Ovation's version of the show's synopsis:

Return to Paradise follows DI Mackenzie “Mack” Clarke, an Australian ex-pat who’s made a name for herself in London’s Metropolitan Police for cracking uncrackable murder cases. When she is accused of tampering with evidence, Mackenzie returns to Australia, back to the last place she ever wanted to be – her hometown of Dolphin Cove. Having fled the town six years ago, infamously leaving her ex-fiancé Glenn at the altar, Mackenzie is not welcome here. But with no other job options, and a unique talent for solving a mystery, no matter how challenging, a reluctant Mack joins the team at Dolphin Cove Police Station. 

Once a case lands on her desk, she can’t rest until she’s figured it out, and the killer is handcuffed. It’s that tenacity and work ethic that might just, over time, help Mackenzie win over her new colleagues and the people of Dolphin Cove. 

Samson is joined in Season 1 by Tai Hara (Colin From Accounts) as Forensic Pathologist Glenn Strong, Mackenzie’s former fiancé; Catherine McClements (Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries) as Sr Sgt Philomena Strong, Mackenzie’s boss and Glenn’s mother; Lloyd Griffith (Nolly) as DSC Colin Cartwright; Aaron McGrath (Gold Diggers) as Constable Felix Wilkinson; Celia Ireland (Wentworth) as Reggie Rocco, as Andrea Demetriades (The Artful Dodger) as Glenn’s new girlfriend, Daisy Dixon. 

The core cast have all been confirmed to return for Season 2, including Season 1's vague excuse to tie the series to St. Marie, with Ardal O’Hanlon, who played DI Jack Mooney (DI Humphrey's direct replacement) from Season 6 to Season 9 on Death in Paradise, reprising his role once again in the spinoff. O'Hanlon is still only listed as a guest star; we'll see if that holds if and when the show takes off in the U.S.

The series is co-created and executive-produced by Peter Mattessi, James Hall, and Robert Thorogood. The producer is Di Haddon. Executive producers for BBC Studios Productions Australia are Kylie Washington and Warren Clarke, for Red Planet Pictures are Belinda Campbell and Tim Key, and for ABC are Rachel Okine and Brett Sleigh.

Return to Paradise Season 1 debuts on Ovation on Friday, May 2, 2025, at 7 p.m. ET, and will stream on the Ovation app starting the next day. The series will follow a one-a-week release schedule (because this is linear, people!) with new episodes premiering through mid-June. Season 2 is expected out in 2026.