‘Magpie Murders’ season 2 trailer teases new characters and a new mystery
After successfully adapting a highly complex murder mystery novel into a TV series, Magpie Murders is returning for a second season. It will be more of a sequel series than a season 2 and will be retitled Moonflower Murders.
Magpie Murders premiered in the U.K. in February of 2022 as a six-part drama series from PBS Masterpiece, based on Anthony Horowitz’s novel of the same name. Horowitz’s novel is 650 pages long and contains a complicated “story within a story” premise about two murder mysteries happening at once. However, Magpie Murders did an excellent job of adapting Horowitz’s book, resulting in a cozy mystery series that is grounded by its phenomenal performances, humor, and unpredictable twists.
Shortly after season 1 concluded, The BBC announced that it had acquired the Magpie Murders from PBS and was moving ahead with season 2. PBS will also still be involved as it is co-producing the series, as will Horowitz, who wrote season 1 and will do the same for season 2. The show’s highly positive reception and intriguing new title are raising anticipation for its continuation. Here’s everything we know about Magpie Murders season 2, a.k.a. Moonflower Murders, so far.
What to expect from Magpie Murders season 2
Magpie Murders season 2 is set to premiere on September 15, 2024, on MASTERPIECE on PBS. Ahead of its release, MASTERPIECE PBS dropped the official trailer for the second season.
Since Magpie Murders season 1 covered the contents of Horowitz’s original novel, season 2 will tackle a separate book. Season 2’s title, Moonflower Murders, confirms that it will be based on Horowitz’s novel of the same name, which served as a sequel to his Magpie Murders book. The sequel boasts a similar “story within a story” plot. It follows one woman’s quest to solve the mystery of a missing hotel employee using clues from a murder mystery book written by deceased author Alan Conway. Given that Magpie Murders season 1 neatly closed its murder mystery case, it is likely that season 2 will transition viewers to the new setting and mystery that Moonflower Murders introduces.
The official synopsis for Magpie Murders season 2 reads:
When Susan Ryeland’s idyll in Crete is disturbed by the shadow of a murder committed eight years ago, can she uncover the secret hidden in Alan Conway’s book before it’s too late?
Returning for the second season is Lesley Manville as editor-turned-sleuth Susan Ryeland and Timothy McMullan as detective Atticus Pünd. They are the two most essential characters in the story, as Ryeland is the editor of Conway’s books that are connected to real-life murder mysteries, and Pünd is the fictional protagonist of Conway’s books. Also returning from season 1 are Alexandros Logothetis as Ryeland’s partner Andreas, Conleth Hill as author Alan Conway, Daniel Mays as Chubb, Claire Rushrbook as Kate, Matthew Beard as James, and Sanjeev Kohli as Sajid Khan. Rounding out the cast are new cast members Mark Gatiss as Parris/Berlin, Rosalie Craig as Lisa/Melissa, Pippa Bennett-Warner as Madeline, and Adrian Rawlins as Lawrence/Lance.
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