'Karen Pirie' Season 2's Trailer Rewinds to 1984

BritBox's continuing slow roll into a powerhouse streamer for the Anglophile crowd is gathering momentum as we slide into the latter half of 2025. The niche-based subscription service has undergone numerous improvements over the last 18 months, since the BBC took full ownership of the international app. (BritBox was a joint venture between BBC and ITV until early 2024.) The growth has benefited all parties, with BritBox securing more hit shows that debut at a quicker pace, such as Karen Pirie Season 2, which now has an official release date. 

Additionally, BritBox is stepping up to be a co-producer, as other traditional producers struggle or face financial difficulties, ensuring shows like Karen Pirie get greenlit for further installments. However, if I had to name one change that the new ownership made that does the most good, it's the move away from binge-dropping shows. It took the multi-pronged arrivals of Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max, and Peacock, all of which refused to follow Netflix's frankly deranged model of dropping an entire season in one go, as somehow superior to weekly rollouts, exposing the model to be as foolish as TV critics had said it would be. 

It also encouraged smaller streaming services, such as BritBox, to switch from bingeing, which was frankly doing them no good, to weekly rollouts. The change was slow, with Britbox initially switching to "two episodes a week" for several months. However, the streaming service recently switched to one episode a week, just in time for Karen Pirie's three-feature-length episode format to take full advantage.

Here's the Season 2 synopsis:

The 1984 case of Catriona and Adam Grant has confounded investigators and intrigued the public like no other. Catriona, the charming young heiress to a vast oil fortune, and her two year old son Adam, were brutally kidnapped at gunpoint outside a fish and chip shop in Fife. The ransom notes that followed stirred up an uncontrollable press storm, but when the culprits fell silent, the police faltered, and Catriona and Adam were never seen again. 

Now, a man’s body has been discovered, with indisputable links to the original kidnap. With the first piece of evidence in decades, Karen must assemble an unbeatable team alongside her sincere and lovable sidekick DC Jason ‘Mint’ Murray and the brilliant – but romantically complicated – DS Phil Parhatka. With the international renown of the kidnap and the constant pressure from Catriona’s father, Sir Broderick Grant, the team take on the biggest challenge of their careers to date. As Karen delves deeper into what happened in the autumn of 1984, political grudges and painful secrets reveal themselves, and it soon becomes clear… the past is far from dead.

Lauren Lyle (Toxic Town) returns as the titular DI Karen Pirie, and will be joined by the returning ensemble of co-stars that includes Emer Kenny (Father Brown) as River Wilde, Chris Jenks (Vigil) as DC Jason ‘Mint’ Murray, Zach Wyatt (Timestalker) as DS Phil Parhatka, Steve John Shepherd (Harry Potter) as DCS Lees, and Rakhee Thakrar (Sex Education) as Bel Richmond. The ensemble will also add Saskia Ashdown (Annika) as newcomer DC Isla Stark. 

Season 2's guest cast for the present-day part of the story includes James Cosmo (His Dark Materials), Frances Tomelty (Unforgotten), John Michie (London Kills), James Fleet (Bridgerton), Tom Mannion (Mr Selfridge), and Tommaso Basili (The Good Ship Murder). 

The cast of the 1984-set flashbacks includes Julia Brown (World on Fire), Mark Rowley (One Day), Kat Ronney (Dinosaur), Stuart Campbell (The Winter King), Thoren Ferguson (Payback), Helen Katamba (The Nest), Jamie Michie (The Full Monty), Madeleine Worrall (We Were The Lucky Ones), Jack Stewart (Outlander), and Conor Berry (Dept. Q).

Emer Kenny once again pens all three episodes, with directors Gareth Bryn (Line of Duty) and Amanda Blue (The Gathering) splitting helming duties across the three feature-length episodes. Marcus Wilson (Luther) produces. McDermid and Kenny executive produce alongside Simon Heath and Emma Luffingham for World Productions.

Karen Pirie Season 2 debuts on BritBox on Thursday, October 2, 2025, and will stream one episode a week through mid-month. Season 1 is available to stream on BritBox; Season 3 has not yet been commissioned.