Everything you need to know ahead of Bloodlands series two

The highly-anticipated second series of Bloodlands will be back on our screens tonight as we catch up with the dirty dealings of DCI Tom Brannick.

The first series of the gritty police drama that is set and filmed in Northern Ireland launched with an average of 8.2 million viewers and was Northern Ireland’s most-watched BBC drama launch on record.

Peaky Blinders star Charlene McKenna will return as DS Niamh McGovern in series two and Victoria Smurfit joins the cast as Olivia Foyle, an enigmatic widow at the centre of Brannick’s latest case.

Read more: James Nesbitt says Bloodlands 2 will be as 'dramatic and exciting' as series one

When is the Bloodlands series two release date?

Bloodlands returns to BBC One Northern Ireland on Sunday, September 18. It will also be aired on BBC iPlayer.

How did series one of Bloodlands end?

Series one followed the officers of the Dunfolan police force as they tried to track down an uncaught serial killer from the 1990s named Goliath.

By the end of episode 3, the police's fingers were pointing firmly at DCS Jackie Twoney, while the audience's fingers were pointing at DCI Tom Brannick, played by James Nesbitt.

Nesbitt's character is revealed to have committed the murders which led to the name Goliath being used in the 1998. Tom reveals that loyalist paramilitary member David Cory called him to tell him that he had kidnapped his wife, and that to get her back safely, he had to kill republican paramilitary members Joe Harkin and Father Simon Quinlan, who would be waiting on a shipment of arms to come in at Strangford Lough.

Tom admits to killing them, then reveals that he waited on the island where the shipment was located, and witnessed David Cory arriving with his wife, looking like a couple. When Tom sees that his wife Emma wasn't kidnapped and has no intention of coming back to him, he shoots dead her lover David Cory telling her to disappear.

When Tori declares that she's going to hand in the gun that Tom used to kill Adam Cory, he puts a quick-thinking plan in motion which sees Tori get executed by IRA man/businessman Pat Keenan, who then meets the same fate at the hands of Tom himself - which he claims was self-defence.

In a follow-up police interview, Brannick pins the Goliath murders squarely on Pat Keenan, with Twoney's questions appearing to help him arrive at that conclusion.

The end of the show sees Tom, very much a free man, hugging his daughter and staring out of his living room window towards Strangford Lough.

What can we expect from series two of Bloodlands?

A description of the plot of the second series reads: "When the murder of a crooked accountant unravels a trail of greed that threatens to expose his identity as legendary assassin, Goliath, Tom (James Nesbitt) and the accountant’s widow, Olivia (Victoria Smurfit), must keep each other dangerously close.

"As they try to solve the riddle her husband left behind, and become more and more immersed in the puzzle of each other, Tom and Olivia draw in Tom’s fellow officers DS Niamh McGovern (Charlene McKenna), DCS Jackie Twomey (Lorcan Cranitch) and DC "Birdy" Bird (Chris Walley), as well as his daughter, Izzy (Lola Petticrew), until deceit and betrayal build to a shattering climax."

Who is the cast of Bloodlands 2?

Series one and two of Bloodlands are set and filmed in Northern Ireland. Much of the show is filmed around the Belfast, Strangford Lough and Mourne areas of the country.

Nesbitt was captured earlier this year filming in Portaferry and Belfast's Cathedral Quarter area - however, none of the shots gave away any major plot spoilers.

Speaking at a set visit of Bloodlands series two, he said that the scenery of Nothern Ireland plays a huge role in the show and its reception.

Nesbitt said: "To do something so embedded in Northern Ireland like this story is and to play a character who asks a lot of questions of an audience and I also think audiences here are very intelligent because we've grown up with an awful lot here and know when we are being patronised or lied to."

How to watch Bloodlands series two

Episode one of Bloodlands series two will air on BBC NI on Sunday, September 18 at 9.00pm. It will also be available on BBC iPlayer.
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