BBC Renews ‘The Tourist’, ‘The Responder’, ‘Vigil’ & ‘Time’ For 2nd Seasons
The BBC has handed out a mass renewal, giving second seasons to four of their high-profile top-rated dramas – ‘The Tourist‘, ‘The Responder‘, ‘Vigil‘ & ‘Time‘.
‘The Tourist’ season one starred Jamie Dornan (‘A Private War’, ‘The Fall’, ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’) as a British man who finds himself in the glowing red heart of the Australian outback, being pursued by a vast tank truck trying to drive him off the road. An epic cat-and-mouse chase unfolds and the man later wakes in hospital, hurt, but somehow alive. Except he has no idea who he is. With merciless figures from his past pursuing him, The Man’s search for answers propels him through the vast and unforgiving outback.
The series is the highest-rating drama of 2022 so far, having launched with a huge 12 million viewers and all six episodes were the most-watched episodes on BBC iPlayer in January this year. The six-episode second season is a Two Brothers Pictures production written by BAFTA-nominated and Emmy-winning producers and screenwriters Harry and Jack Williams (Baptiste, The Missing, Liar), who alongside Christopher Aird will serve as executive producers for Two Brothers Pictures (an all3media company) and Tommy Bulfin for BBC One and iPlayer.
‘The Responder’ stars Martin Freeman as Chris, a crisis-stricken, morally compromised, unconventional urgent response officer tackling a series of night shifts on the beat in Liverpool. Whilst trying to keep his head above water both personally and professionally, Chris is forced to take on a new rookie partner Rachel (Adelayo Adedayo). Both soon discover that survival in this high pressure, relentless, night-time world will depend on them either helping or destroying each other.
The series was the second biggest new drama of 2022 so far, launching with nearly 10 million viewers across 30-days. Written once again by ex-police officer Tony Schumacher, the five-episode 2nd Season will be filmed in Liverpool and produced by Dancing Ledge Productions for BBC One and iPlayer. Laurence Bowen and Chris Carey are executive producers for Dancing Ledge Productions and Mona Qureshi for BBC. Dancing Ledge Productions work internationally with Fremantle, which has a minority stake in the company and is handling global distribution for the drama series.
‘Vigil’ season one followed Detective Chief Inspector Amy Silva (Suranne Jones) as she is sent aborad a Trident nuclear submarine when a crew member is found dead. Although the death was written off as an accidental overdose, Amy suspects foul play. But when the crew close ranks in the face of Amy’s questioning, a new threat overshadows her inquiry.
In 2021, ‘Vigil’ was the UK’s most-watched new drama launch in three years (since ‘Bodyguard’ in 2018), attracting an audience of over 13 million viewers across 30-days for episode one, and the series overall had an average of 12.6m viewers (30-days). Filmed in Scotland again, the 2nd Season will be written and created by Tom Edge and made by World Productions (Showtrial, Line of Duty, Bodyguard) for BBC One and iPlayer. It is executive produced by Simon Heath and Jake Lushington for World Productions, Gaynor Holmes for BBC and Tom Edge. The drama is supported by the National Lottery through Screen Scotland. International distribution is handled by ITV Studios.
‘Time’ season one followed Mark Cobden (Sean Bean) who was newly imprisoned, consumed by guilt for his crime, and way out of his depth in the volatile world of prison life. He meets Eric McNally (Stephen Graham), an excellent prison officer doing his best to protect those in his charge. However, when one of the most dangerous inmates identifies his weakness, Eric faces an impossible choice; between his principles and his family.
Season one was both a critical and ratings hit in the UK and one of 2021’s highest performing new dramas with nearly 12 million viewers over 30-days for the series overall. As the first season was something of a self-contained story, the second series will welcome a new cast and be set in an all-female prison. ‘Time’ three-episode Season 2 is written by Jimmy McGovern and is a BBC Studios production for BBC One and iPlayer.
“The BBC is on fire creatively and the return of four of our biggest dramas over the last year demonstrates the sheer scale and range of storytelling on the BBC,” commented Charlotte Moore, BBC Chief Content Officer.
The first seasons of ‘The Tourist‘, ‘The Responder‘, ‘Vigil‘ & ‘Time‘ are available on BBC iPlayer.
