David Farnor | On 27, Aug 2016

ITV has ordered a second season of Marcella.

The crime thriller, which was billed as bringing Scandinavian noir to the streets of Britain, is co-created by Hans Rosenfeldt and Nicola Larder (Sky’s development executive on The Tunnel, Lawless, Psychopath Next Door), with ITV commissioning Rosenfeldt to write the programme following the global success of his renowned drama The Bridge.

The show stars Anna Friel in the lead role, with Season 1 winning many fans and rave reviews earlier this year. The launch episode was the series best performer with 8 million viewers and a 29 per cent share of viewing. The series average of 6.8 million viewers (25 per cent share) firmly placed Marcella as one of ITV’s top rated dramas so far in 2016. It was promptly snapped up by Netflix as a worldwide streaming exclusive outside of the UK.

Commented Hans Rosenfeldt: “I was delighted at the reaction to the first season and am thrilled to be revisiting Marcella for ITV. In the second season, the audience will get the opportunity to spend more time in her world, further exploring some of the characters and getting to know them better.”

The broadcaster announced the renewal at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, during a panel session with industry executives.

Marcella will be executive produced by Rosenfeldt, Nicola Larder and Buccaneer Media’s founder Tony Wood, who created the joint venture production company in partnership with global entertainment company, Cineflix Media.

The combination of Hans’s masterful writing, Anna’s gripping performance and Buccaneer’s superb production team struck a chord with viewers. Naturally we’re delighted to be working with ITV to create a second season of Marcella,” added Wood.

Work is already underway on a new story, with eight episodes set to be broadcast in 2017.

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