'Bookish' Shrewdly Renewed for Season 2 As First Clip Arrives
Mark Gatiss as Gabriel Book in 'Bookish'
Alibi
It's renewal season in TV land as networks roll out their plans for the 2025-2026 television season. In America, the scene has been somewhat grim, as more scripted series are canceled than renewed on broadcast networks, with some networks going down to just four or five shows for the year. But across the pond is a different story. Despite the BBC's declaration that (unless the new charter/laws do something to help), British broadcasters will soon suffer the same fate, and find themselves following their American counterparts, renewals across the pond are still coming in strong, with shows that haven't even aired yet, like Bookish, already getting Season 2 commissions.
Bookish is the brainchild of Mark Gatiss, who is well known for his work on Doctor Who and Sherlock. As series creator and co-writer, Gatiss cast himself as the lead, Gabriel Book, a gay man living what passed for an LGBTQ+ lifestyle in post-war London in the 1950s. His longtime BFF, Trottie, played by Bridgerton's Polly Walker, is also his wife, though both halves of the couple went into the arrangement fully aware of each other's sexual preferences. Trottie uses her position as Book's wife to protect him from Britain's anti-gay laws of the era, allowing him to live as quietly out to those who know him best.
Gatiss did not base Bookish on any pre-existing media, drawing instead on the underground history of the LGBTQ+ families in the 20th century. However, the series' pitch has proved so appealing that Gatiss's writing partner, Doctor Who podcaster Matthew Sweet, has done a novelization of Season 1 (though presented from the perspective of Nora instead of Trottie or Gabriel), which is set to hit shelves on July 10, 2025.
There's no synopsis for Season 2 yet, since the first season has yet to debut on either side of the pond. Here's the newly detailed and updated synopsis for Season 1:
London 1946 is the setting for series one, with viewers introduced to the appropriately named Gabriel Book, who owns a bookshop in Archangel Lane. If his War was packed with espionage and secrets, Book’s Peace is just as full of adventure! Now he helps the police solve the strangest crimes and the knottiest murders. But his close association with the force is not without its dangers.
Although he is very happily married to his childhood best friend, the captivating Trottie, Book is a gay man living at a time when homosexuality was illegal. When Book and Trottie take in Jack, it seems like an act of altruism: a second chance for a young jailbird. Jack proves a worthy assistant both in the shop and in Book’s murder investigations. However, it soon becomes clear that Jack’s appointment wasn’t quite as random as it initially appeared…With a complex mystery at the heart of every story, featuring a wealth of well-known guest stars, marrying post-war nostalgia with the reckless and life-affirming atmosphere of the times, Bookish is a stylish period detective drama with a difference.
Gatiss and Walker are joined in Season 1 (and one assumes Season 2) by an ensemble including Elliot Levey (We Were the Lucky Ones) as Inspector Bliss, Buket Kömür (Our House) as Nora, and Connor Finch (Everything I Know About Love) as Jack.
Season 1 will also feature a litany of guest stars across its three two-parter stories. A-list names U.S. viewers will recognize include Paul McGann (Annika), Elizabeth Berrington (Good Omens), Mark Umbers (Hotel Portofino), Joely Richardson (Renegade Nell), Daniel Mays (The Long Shadow), Rosie Cavaliero (Funny Woman), Blake Harrison (World on Fire), Amanda Drew (The Gold), Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (Bodies), Ella Bruccoleri (Call the Midwife), Tom Forbes (Champion), Angeliki Papoulia (The Tunnel), Luke Norris (Poldark), Tim McInnerny (The Serpent), Michael Workéyè (This Is Going to Hurt) and Jonas Nay (Line of Separation).
Gatiss co-wrote Bookish with Doctor Who podcast scribe Matthew Sweet and Ian Hallard, who are set to return for Season 2, which will also run as three two-part mysteries comprising six episodes in total. Director Carolina Giammetta (Suspect) helmed all six episodes of Season 1 and is expected to return for Season 2, and Jake Harvey produces. The show is an Eagle Eye production from Jo McGrath and Walter Iuzzolino.
Bookish will air on U&alibi in July 2025 and then on PBS as part of the 2025-2026 television season.
