Following a highly successful first series, a second series of Karen Pirie has been announced by ITV.

Adapted by Emer Kenny from Val McDermid’s hugely popular cold case novels, the new series will be commissioned by the producers of Line of Duty and The Pembrokeshire Murders.

Emer Kenny (The Curse, Save Me Too), will return to write and executive produce the show along with Scottish writer Gillian Roger Park (Sneakerhead, The Young Offenders).

What will series two of Karen Pirie be about?

Series Two will be based on A Darker Domain, the second in the internationally bestselling Karen Pirie novels and once again star Lauren Lyle (Outlander, Vigil) as the young and fearless Scottish investigator with a quick mouth and tenacious desire for the truth. 

In this second season, Karen reopens the investigation into the unsolved kidnap of a wealthy young heiress and her baby son back in 1985.

Lauren Lyle said: “I'm thrilled that we will continue the life of our fearless young detective Karen Pirie, and of course, her bumbag.

“I've known for a while how well the show has gone down behind the scenes so it's been a joy to see audiences want more.

“It's a creative honour to work alongside Emer Kenny with the backbone of Val McDermid's story, season one was incredibly exciting building an original character we hadn't seen before.

“I look forward to getting the gang back together and finally being able to answer the question: ‘Please say there will be a season two?’ with an ‘Oh yes.’”

Karen Pirie launched with 6.6m viewers and averaged 5.9m across the series making it one of the most watched new dramas on ITV last year.

Described as ‘modern and fresh’ by The Times, Karen Pirie was also hailed as ‘meaty, well-paced and sure-footed’ by The Guardian, and ‘the best new police serial this year’ by the Daily Mail.  Heat magazine described the series as ‘a truly exceptional example of the TV crime drama.’

Series 2 of Karen Pirie will air on ITV1 and ITVX. Filming will commence in Scotland in early 2024.