'Beyond Paradise' Returns for the Holidays & Season 3

For those who have not gotten a chance to watch Beyond Paradise’s Season 2 finale, the top half of this post will remain spoiler-free, but it will shock no one that the second the episode ended, the BBC and BritBox dropped a press release announcing the series had been renewed for a third season and it’s second “Festive Special.” The “Para-verse” (listen, that’s what Auntie Beeb is calling it, not me!) has become one of the stalwart network’s successful franchise universes, and Beyond Paradise’s success has been a major factor. The Season 2 premiere was watched by 7.5 million viewers between the BBC, BritBox international’s platforms, and Player, making it one of the U.K.’s most popular mystery dramas globally. Of course, they renewed it.

The success of the various Paradise series has been a bright light for the BBC, which is racing to keep up with trends like having multiple hit serialized shows that all occur in the same universe. The original series Death In Paradise is currently renewed through Season 14 and about to start on its fifth lead detective; Return to Paradise is taking the show down under to Australia, and Beyond Paradise has proven that one doesn’t need to leave the U.K. to film a show about paradise and have it be a success. 

Part of that success comes from the show’s focus on character-building and the sublimely ludicrous. Executive producer Tim Key’s statement on what’s coming for Season 3 notably promised, “We’ll be making the viewers laugh, cry, laugh a bit more and then baffling them with a series of ingenious puzzles. There will also be a duck.”

Warning: Spoilers for the Beyond Paradise Season 2 finale follow in the video and the synopsis below.

There's no synopsis for Season 3 as much as there is a round-up of where we are as Season 2 concludes. (Spoilers, sweetie!)

The second series, which culminated tonight, saw Humphrey and Martha very nearly tie the knot, while their fostering journey came to a heartwarming conclusion as they welcomed Ryan into their home. Esther took on a case that saw the Shipton Abbott Museum robbed of its prized possession, and Kelby and CS Charlie Wood’s professional relationship took an unexpected turn... Across the series, the Shipton Abbott police team continued to crack a host of mind-boggling and mysterious puzzles - including a death during a murder-mystery play on a steam train, a local fishing legend going missing at sea, a medium predicting an arson attack, and many more - to ensure the station house remains open for the foreseeable future.

Notably, the recommissioning statement does not explicitly list the cast for the holiday special or Season 3, but one assumes the series can't return without central couple Kris Marshall as DI Humphrey Goodman and Sally Bretton as Martha Lloyd, Isaac Vincent-Norgate as their new foster son, Ryan, and Barbara Flynn as Martha's mum Anne Lloyd. Despite threats to the station, it also seems very likely the core ensemble of mystery solvers will also return with Zahra Ahmadi as DS Esther Williams, Melina Sinadinou as her daughter, Zoe Williams, Felicity Montagu as Margo Martins, Dylan Llewellyn as PC Kelby Hartford and Jade Harrison as big boss CS Charlie Woods. Guest cast will, of course, be announced in due course.

Series creators Robert Thorogood and Tony Jordan will return for the holiday special and Season 3 and will continue as the show's lead writers. Directors will be announced in due course, and Lindsay Hughes will produce. Jordan executive produces with Tim Key and Belinda Campbell for Red Planet Pictures, Danielle Scott-Haughton for the BBC, and Stephen Nye and Robert Schildhouse for BritBox International. 

Beyond Paradise will return for the holidays in December 2024, with Season 3 to follow in early 2025.