Death in Paradise creator and executive producer Robert Thorogood says he enjoys writing his returning mystery crime drama more than the BBC show.
During a Q&A for The Marlow Murder Club's second season, the showrunner revealed that he was pleased to be able to step away from Death in Paradise's episodic format by telling the murder-mystery story over a two-episode arc.
"I think it really benefits from that," the show's boss told press (via Radio Times). "It makes it so much more joyous to write, because on Death in Paradise, for example, you're aware it's just plot, plot, plot.
"You put a motor on the plot. Whereas here, there is time."
Related: Why Death in Paradise's most underused character needs their own storyline
Thorogood praised broadcaster UKTV for giving him the flexibility to create the show in this way.
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"That's something which we need to thank UKTV for, because when we first pitched it to them, they said they wanted a story per episode, like Death in Paradise, like nearly every show.
"But you only get 45 minutes to tell a story in, and one of the things I've noticed with Death in Paradise is the things that I really enjoyed in that is the chit chat around the case, the interpersonal relationships, the development of relationships.
"We said, 'Look, is there any way you could change it so we could tell a story over two episodes?' Because I was so keen that we'd have the space for the fun and for the relationships, and UKTV said, 'We don't have a model for doing that, so we're going to create a model for doing that so that we can have you'. So without them, we wouldn't have the chance to do these two-episode stories."
The Jo Martin-led female-driven show, which follows three amateur sleuths who band together to solve crimes, will return to screens later this month with three new stories spanning the six-episode run.
The Marlow Murder Club will debut on U&Drama and U from Wednesday 19th March at 8pm. Season 1 is available on U now.
TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
