The BBC Renews 'The Gold' as Paramount+ Drops the Series

Paramount+ had high hopes pinned to The Gold when it launched in September 2023. The streaming service had good reason to believe that, of the 50+ international dramas it had commissioned in the year since July 2022 when it announced it was aiming to appeal to a global market, this one was a winner. It had done gangbusters in the U.K., where it aired on the BBC and streaming on iPlayer. It starred Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville, Sanditon's Charlotte Spencer, Guilt's Emun Elliot, and Jack Lowden from Apple TV+'s sleeper hit Slow Horses. And it had a true crime hook: the most significant gold robbery in U.K. history. It had done so well the BBC was already looking to commission Season 2, which has just been announced.

However, Paramount+ did not consider that most Americans don't subscribe to Paramount+ year-round unless they are hardcore Star Trek fans. Nor did it seem to occur to anyone that perhaps marketing it might help (an issue admittedly exacerbated by the strike). But perhaps the most significant issue was one highlighted in our podcast: the series assumed the viewer already knew a lot about the Brinks-Mat heist the series is based on. In the U.K., that's true; it was a cultural moment, primarily because the gold in question was never found. However, for an American viewer who doesn't know much about it, the opening two episodes were downright puzzling when they weren't straight-up offputting.

So perhaps it is not surprising that despite the BBC renewing the series, Deadline reports Paramount is not on board for the second season. However, that opens up the possibility of a new American partner getting ahold of the series and bringing it over, like Netflix or PBS, where the show would get watched.

Here is the synopsis for The Gold Season 2:

Following the conviction of some of those involved in the theft and handling of the Brink’s-Mat gold, the police realised that those criminals only ever had half of it. Series two explores what happened to the other half, and the criminal fortune it created. As the police investigation continues, it becomes a tense, high-stakes journey into international money laundering and organised crime, while the police embark on dramatic manhunts as they desperately try to solve the longest and most expensive investigation in the history of the Metropolitan Police.

Hugh Bonneville will reprise his role as DCI Brian Boyce, with Charlotte Spencer as DS Nicki Jennings and Emun Elliott as DC Tony Brightwell. The BBC also confirmed that Tom Cullen (Becoming Elizabeth), who plays real-life, never-convicted goldsmith John Palmer, will return for the show's second season along with Stefanie Martini (Prime Suspect: Tennison) as his wife Marnie Palmer, and Sam Spruell (The North Water) as their accomplice, Charlie Miller. Further casting for Season 2 is expected to be announced when filming begins.

Writer and Executive Producer Neil Forsyth stated in the BBC press release that he was "delighted that we have been given the opportunity to tell the rest of the Brink's-Mat story, which sees the consequences of the robbery and its aftermath grow only more surprising, dramatic and far-reaching, both in Britain and around the world." He'll be penning all six episodes again with director Patrick Harkins (Tin Star) helming and Charlie Leech returning as producer. Forsyth is also an executive producer along with Ben Farrell for Tannadice Pictures and Nick Lambon and Lindsay Salt for BBC Drama; the series is produced in association with All3Media International. 

Filming for The Gold Season 2 is expected to begin in January 2024 and air on the BBC later in the year.