BritBox UK has announced that a second series of its original drama The Beast Must Die is in development with New Regency Television and Ridley Scott’s Scott Free, following the first series premiering on the service last week.
BritBox UK said the series is the best performing launch of 2021 to date.
The second series in development is titled A Sword in my Bones, and is based on an original story created by screenwriter Gaby Chiappe (The Beast Must Die, Shetland, Vera).
Billy Howle (The Serpent, MotherFatherSon, On Chesil Beach) is mooted to return to the role of Detective Nigel Strangeways.
Howle said: ‘I am thrilled by the reception to The Beast Must Die. A lot of hard work by all the cast and crew went into making the first original drama for BritBox, during a pandemic, and it seems to have paid off. I would relish the opportunity to take on the role of Strangeways again and am really excited by the prospect of this next chapter.”
The Beast Must Die is a contemporary revenge thriller set on the Isle of Wight. Following the hit and run of a six-year-old boy, his mother (Cush Jumbo OBE, The Good Wife, The Good Fight, Deadwater Fell) is intent on avenging his death and the only thing keeping her going is the desire to hunt down and kill the man she believes is responsible. The troubled yet brilliant Detective Strangeways (Howle) has to unpick this web of tragedy and steer a course to justice.
The series is directed by Dome Karukoski (Tolkien, Tom of Finland), produced by Sarada McDermott (Bridgerton, Official Secrets) and adapted for the screen by screenwriter Gaby Chiappe.
The series is based on the novel by Nicholas Blake (pen name of Cecil Day-Lewis CBE). Executive Producers are Ed Rubin and Emma Broughton for New Regency, Marina Brackenbury and David W Zucker for Scott Free, Nathaniel Parker and Gaby Chiappe.
The cast includes Bafta-winning and Golden Globe & Emmy nominated Jared Harris (Chernobyl, The Crown, Mad Men), Bafta-nominated Geraldine James OBE (Back to Life, Anne with an E, Utopia), Nathaniel Parker (The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, The Outcast, Vanity Fair), Maeve Dermody (Carnival Row, Marcella, The Frankenstein Chronicles), Mia Tomlinson (The Lost Pirate Kingdom) and newcomer Barney Sayburn
Will Harrison, BritBox UK MD commented: “We are all immensely proud of our first original, scripted drama and the reception it has received from critics and subscribers alike. We are working closely with our partners at Scott Free and New Regency to explore what may lie in store for Detective Strangeways.”
Ed Rubin, Head of New Regency Television International and Marina Brackenbury, Executive Producer, Scott Free UK said “We’re delighted by the response to The Beast Must Die and Billy’s towering performance leaves us with a really exciting opportunity to delve further into DI Strangeways in a compelling new story. Harnessing a similar emotional intensity and thriller pulse to season one; A Sword In My Bones will offer up even greater narrative scope, a terrific new cast of characters and a whole new cinematic setting.”
Jon Creamer
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