How many episodes in Bloodlands season 2 - and season 3 details?

Bloodlands has returned for a second season of the thrilling police drama set in Northern Ireland.

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The BBC show - produced by Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio - follows DCI Tom Brannick (played by James Nesbitt) and his team as they hunt for a local assassin known as ‘Goliath’.

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How many episodes are there in season 2?

The series was renewed in March 2021, with filming beginning in February 2022 near Strangford Lough in the east of Northern Ireland.

It has now returned to screens - with the first episode of the second series airing on 18 September on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

While there were four one-hour episodes in the first season, the second will be six parts - with its one-hour installments released weekly.

The newest series focuses on a new murder case, but one that also has connections to the ‘Goliath’ killer.

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At the centre of season two’s storyline is the character of Olivia Foyle, played by Victoria Smurfit.

The widow becomes close to DCI Brannick when he starts looking into the murder of her husband, who turns out to be a crooked accountant - and in the process his own dark secrets risk being exposed.

Others starring in the show include Charlene McKenna (DS Niamh McGovern), Lorcan Cranitch (DCS Jackie Twomey) and Chris Walley (DC 'Birdy' Bird), and Lola Petticrew (Tom’s daughter, Izzy).

bloodlands
bloodlands

The second season will feature six episodes

What do we know about season 3?

The third season of Bloodlands is still to be confirmed, and nothing has yet been said by show creator Chris Brandon.

However given the millions of viewers who tuned in for the first two series - and the twists and turns of the plot - it is very likely to happen.

There was one-and-a-half years between seasons one and two, so it is possible that new episodes will arrive in the autumn or winter of 2023.

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