There’s good news for crime drama fans this week, following the gripping finale of The Bay: the series will return to ITV for a second season.

ITV and producers Tall Story Pictures have commissioned a second run of the Morecambe-based drama, written by award-winning writer and playwright Daragh Carville (Being Human, The Smoke, Cherrybomb). The Bay achieved consolidated audiences of 7 million viewers with a share of 27% across six episodes.  Set in the coastal town of Morecambe, The Bay stars Morven Christie (The A Word, The Replacement) as police Family Liaison Officer DS Lisa Armstrong and Daniel Ryan (Mount Pleasant, Black Sea) as DI Tony Manning.

“Christie’s performance is so engaging and her subsequent creeping guilt and paranoia so convincing that once you’re past the initial setup, this becomes an absorbing watch,” we wrote in our review of Season 1, available on ITV Hub.

 
The second season was announced by ITV’s Head of Drama, Polly Hill.
 
“I am delighted with the audience response to The Bay.  It’s very real and beautifully made by everyone involved, and as a result it held an audience of 7 million across 6 weeks. I think that audience will enjoy seeing where Daragh takes Lisa and the team, when they return with a new case for series 2 next year,” she said.
 
Executive Producer Catherine Oldfield added: “We are so thrilled that The Bay found such a large audience and that the fantastic world and characters brought to life by Daragh Carville will be returning to ITV. It was an incredible production, shot in a beautiful location and thanks to ITV’s belief in the story we wanted to tell, we get to do it all over again.”
 
The second season will begin filming later this year with further casting news to be announced closer to production.