Bookish, the upcoming crime drama created by Mark Gatiss, will return for a second season, with the cast and crew preparing to shoot new episodes over the summer.
Season one, described as a "period detective drama with a difference," will debut on the U&alibi channel via Sky, Virgin and NOW on Wednesday, 16 July. A release date for the second instalment is yet to be announced.
Set in London in 1946, Bookish follows Gabriel Book (Gatiss), an eccentric antiquarian bookshop owner who helps the police crack their most puzzling cases.
Based in Archangel Lane with his wife, and childhood best friend, Trottie (Polly Walker), Book's association with the force is at times dangerous, considering that he's a gay man living in a time when homosexuality was illegal.
After taking in Jack Blunt (Connor Finch), a mysterious young man who proves to be a helpful assistant, Book begins to wonder if his arrival at the shop isn't as random as he once believed.
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Boasting a stellar cast, Elliot Levey, Blake Harrison, and Buket Kömür appear as Inspector Bliss, Nora, and Sergeant Morris, respectively. They are also poised to reprise their roles in season two, reuniting with Gatiss, Walker and Finch later this year. The roster of guest stars for season two will be revealed in due course.
Speaking about Bookish, Gatiss told Deadline how he came up with the idea. "The post-war period fascinates me, and it's not done," the actor explained.
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"The world is completely upside down, a lot of people have emerged from the war shattered but there's also tremendous optimism for what can be built. I thought there's something really interesting there to put a detective into."
Gatiss added that he had intended to write Bookish as a lighthearted novel, but after finding his chapters "quite bleak", he decided to turn his ideas into a script.
Season one of Bookish is available on U&alibi from 16th July on Sky, Virgin and NOW.
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