The Missing Season Two Greenlit, David Morrissey to Co-Star

LONDON: Filming has begun on a second season of the thriller The Missing for BBC One and Starz, with Tchéky Karyo returning as a series lead and David Morrissey and Keeley Hawes joining the cast.

Karyo will reprise his role as detective Julien Baptiste, but season two will feature a new case, characters and location. The new installment follows Sam and Gemma, played by David Morrissey (The Walking Dead, Extant) and Keeley Hawes (Line of Duty, The Casual Vacancy), whose daughter Alice went missing in 2003. She reappears 11 years later. The story will unfold in dual timelines, flitting between 2014 and the present day.

The new eight-part season is being produced by New Pictures in association with Two Brothers Pictures for BBC One and Starz. The Missing will once again be written by Harry and Jack Williams, with season two being directed in its entirety by Ben Chanan (Cyberbully, The Last Kingdom).

Harry and Jack Williams said: “While we were writing the first series, we began talking about what the show would have been had Oliver Hughes been found. This story grew out of that discussion. It’s the other side of the coin to series one—an exploration of loss, of freedom, of how the past can shape the present in myriad ways that we cannot fully understand. It’s bigger, more ambitious, and we’re delighted to have such a brilliantly talented cast joining Julien Baptiste for a new case.”

Willow Grylls, executive producer for New Pictures, said: “I am so proud to have such a high caliber of cast attached to this project and, with the genius of Harry and Jack Williams’ scripts, I know the audience will be gripped to this series just as much as they were to the first. And the beloved Julien Baptiste is back! I am also thrilled to have the wonderful Ben Chanan as director leading the charge, telling the story as it twists and turns over two time frames. The Missing series two will be just as thrilling, heart-wrenching and character driven as you’d hope it to be. ”

Polly Hill, the controller of BBC Drama Commissioning, said: “The success of series one and response from the audience was incredible, and I am extremely excited for what the second series holds. Harry and Jack Williams have delivered compelling original scripts yet again, this time with a completely new case from a different perspective. David Morrissey and Keeley Hawes are two of the finest actors in the country, and we are thrilled to have them on board.”

Starz’s managing director, Carmi Zlotnik, commented: “The talented Williams brothers take us on a thrilling journey in this next installment with a new story, characters and locations that ultimately explores what happens when the missing child you’ve been searching for comes home. We are thrilled to continue this limited series and collaboration with the BBC, New Pictures and Playground.”