Baptiste spoilers follow.

Julien Baptiste's twisted missing person investigations have been keeping viewers hooked from his debut in The Missing straight through to his own spin-off.

But after two series on his own, will there be a third?

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After returning for a second outing in July 2021, with Killing Eve's Fiona Shaw as a British Ambassador requiring his help, Baptiste saw the detective's investigative skills being pushed to their limit.

Here's what happened and what that means for the show's future.

baptiste, season 2
BBC

Baptiste: What happened during season two?

During the second season of the series, Baptiste – whose ailing health continued to worsen – was left fighting way more than he could handle.

But to be fair to him, you try dismantling a terrorist group and keeping your marriage intact.

Recruited by Emma Chambers (Fiona Shaw) to find her missing son, things soon spiralled as his disappearance was connected to an underground terrorist organisation.

We discover Emma had previously had a third child, a daughter called Laura, who was killed by an immigrant. The family tragedy proved to be the catalyst for her two sons' radicalisation. The pair blamed their sister's death on all immigrants, so subsequently were recruited by a far-right terrorist organisation, run by the mysterious Gomorrah.

baptiste, season 2
BBC

By the series' end, Julien Baptiste, who had nearly been bumped off himself after being stabbed multiple times by extremist Andras Juszt, was alive and kicking… just about.

In the final moments, after having his life flash before his eyes, Julien vowed to start things afresh. He is then seen playing with his granddaughter, whom he raises with his wife.

Baptiste season 3: Will it ever happen?

Well, never say never, but it looks like this is it for the European detective.

Chatting to Metro, Harry Williams, who co-created and wrote the series with his brother Jack, discussed why we've seen the last of Tchéky Karyo's protagonist, despite their initial intention.

"When we finished Baptiste series one, we had an idea for a trilogy and it was all great and very exciting," he explained.

"And then we thought about it and what we didn't ever want to do was somehow see him become another police officer... He's not just a detective. He doesn't just come in and find out some stuff and go home. You go through proper, big arcs... We've had the joy of doing that every year with telling big, bold stories that give him a proper journey.

"I think we began to worry that it would become a formula. Do we suddenly make him just another cop?"

baptiste, season 2
BBC

After mulling it over, the pair decided that if they stuck with their plan for season two, it would have to be Baptiste's final outing.

"It's about doing the right thing for the character and not going, 'Hey, we'll be back next year with more crazy adventures,' said Harry.

Given that his life was hanging in the balance in series two, swapping criminals for carrots feels like a wise, and authentic, choice.

jamie dornan
Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagic//Getty Images

But that doesn't mean the duo are resting on their laurels. Under the banner of their production company, Two Brothers Pictures, they have been working on several new projects including Australian outback thriller The Tourist, starring Jamie Dornan (The Fall), Shalom Brune-Franklin (Line of Duty) and Damon Herriman (Mindhunter), among others.

That will hit our screens at the start of 2022.

Their other recent works include ITV’s Angela Black, which followed Liar's Joanne Froggatt as a woman who is trapped in a relationship that she can't escape, until a private investigator offers her a way out.

Baptiste series 1 and 2 are available on BBC iPlayer, and the boxset of both series is available to pre-order now.