Rebus – start date and images for the new series

Richard Rankin takes the title role in a new show, based on the Inspector Rebus novels.

Back in March, we noted that the BBC had picked up a new Rebus adaptation, Now, the corporation has released images and confirmed a start date for the show.

For the binge inclined, all six episodes land on BBC iPlayer at 6 am on Friday 17^th May, 2024. Then, episode one lands on BBC Scotland that evening, and airs on BBC One on Saturday 18^th May.

Written by Gregory Burke, the series reimagines John Rebus as a Detective Sergeant with Outlander‘s Richard Rankin taking on the role. The story sees him drawn into a violent criminal conflict which turns personal as it involves his brother Michael, a former soldier.

**Here’s the synopsis for Rebus:**

Shaken after a violent encounter with gangster Ger Cafferty, Edinburgh detective John Rebus finds himself at a psychological crossroads. At odds with a job increasingly driven by corporate technocrats, involved in a toxic affair he knows he needs to end, and all but supplanted in his daughter’s life by his ex-wife’s wealthy new husband, Rebus begins to wonder if he still has a role to play – either as a family man or a police officer.

Rebus: Brian Ferguson as Michael & Richard Rankin as John Rebus — Brian Ferguson as Michael and Richard Rankin as John Rebus

In a time of divisive politics and national discord, Rebus’s ex-soldier brother Michael, who’s broke, desperately crosses the line in order to provide for his family, and Rebus starts to question if the law still has meaning, or if everyone is reverting to an older set of rules. And if so, why shouldn’t he do so too?

Joining Richard Rankin, the show stars Lucie Shorthouse (Henpocalypse!, The Long Shadow) as Detective Constable Siobhan Clarke. Brian Ferguson (The Ipcress File) plays John’s brother, Michael,

Rebus: Lucie Shorthouse as Siobhan Clarke & Richard Rankin as John Rebus — Lucie Shorthouse as Siobhan Clarke and Richard Rankin as John Rebus

The wider cast includes Amy Manson (The Nevers), Neshla Caplan (The Rig), Noof Ousellam (Vigil) and Stuart Bowman (The Serpent). Plus, Caroline Lee Johnson, Sean Buchanan, Thoren Ferguson and Michelle Duncan.

The BBC have acquired the show from Viaplay and it’s directed by Niall MacCormick (Wallander) and Fiona Walton (Shetland). The series is produced by Eleventh Hour Films.