'The Chelsea Detective' Will Return for Season 3
Adrian Scarborough as DI Max Arnold and Vanessa Emme as DS Layla Walsh in 'The Chealsea Detective' Season 3
Gary Moyes/AcornTV
It's been nearly a year since The Chelsea Detective Season 2 debuted on Acorn TV, and since then, one of the more popular questions we've gotten is people searching for word on a third season. While it took a long time to get here, AMC Networks has finally confirmed that Acorn TV has teamed back up with ZDF to commission a third season, comprised of four feature-length mystery stories, with Adrian Scarborough (Killing Eve), reprising his role as Detective Inspector Max Arnold and Vanessa Emme (Dublin Murders) returning for a second year running as his partner in crime-solving, Detective Sergeant Layla Walsh. With four new thrilling cases, this new season promises to be the biggest and boldest yet.
Even though fans were pretty sure Acorn TV would eventually commission more of the fan-favorite series with Scarborough as Arnold, it was not nearly as confident that Emme would return for another series. Season 1 of The Chelsea Detective starred Scarborough teamed up with Sonita Henry (Midsomer Murders) as DS Priya Shamsie. Why precisely the series decided to swap out Henry for Emme is still unknown, but it gave the show a sense early on that only Scarborough was needed to keep The Chelsea Detective going. For fans, seeing Emme return for a second shift brings more stability to the series and, hopefully, is a good sign of it having a longer life span.
Wirth filming is now underway (and the first image from the new season above), and it seems likely The Chelsea Detective will be back sooner rather than later as well.
Here's the Season 3 synopsis:
The third season sees DI Max Arnold and DS Layla Walsh delving once more into the murky crimes of glamorous Chelsea, including the tragic death of a 2000s popstar, the impenetrable world of the US Embassy, the splendor of Kew Gardens, a classical music academy, and a climate scientist found dead in a supercar. This season, Max tries a new approach in his personal life as he embarks on couples therapy with his estranged wife, Astrid. Meanwhile, Layla is still getting used to living in London, whilst her partner, Jon, is in Exeter. They might be enjoying their independent lives right now but will discover that navigating a long-distance relationship can be trickier than they first thought.
Scarborough and Emme will return alongside series regulars Sophie Stone (Shetland), Lucy Phelps (Grace), Peter Bankolé (Peaky Blinders), and Anamaria Marinca (The Missing) are all set to return, along with Frances Barber (Whitstable Pearl) as Max’s Aunt Olivia, who remains as full of joie de vivre as ever.
Created by Peter Fincham (The Lost Prince), who is the lead writer on the four feature-length episodes along with Glen Laker, Debbie Oates, Ian Kershaw, and Nicola Wilson. Directors Jennie Darnell (Trigger Point) and Richard Signy (Death in Paradise) split helming duties with Lauriel Martin producing. Fincham executive produces the series with Ella Kelly, along with Acorn TV’s Acorn Media Enterprises, Germany’s ZDF, and BBC Studios’ invested indie Expectation.
The Chelsea Detective Season 3 does not have a release date, but I would expect it out in early 2025.
