Timothy Spall and Gwyneth Keyworth will return in another series of Death Valley

The BBC has announced a second series of Death Valley is about to start filming in Wales. Very much at the cozy crime end of the spectrum, the first series provided some easy entertainment on Sunday evenings earlier this year. The series is written and created by Paul Doolan.

The news comes with a warning:

“The trouble with recommissioning Death Valley is it means the crime rate in Wales is about to skyrocket again.”

At least Spall and Keyworth will be on hand if it does.

What is Death Valley about?

The unlikely crime solving duo make a welcome return as retired actor John Chapel and disarming Welsh detective sergeant Janie Mallowan, alongside regular cast Alexandria Riley (Helen Baxter), Steffan Rhodri (DCI Barry Clarke), Melanie Walters (Yvonne Mallowan) and Rithvik Andugula (DC Evan Chaudhry).

Set in Wales, the first series charmed audiences, with its launch achieving the largest UK overnights audience for a new scripted show in five years. The series averaged an audience of 4.6 million across 28-days. On BBC One Wales, it was the biggest comedy so far this year, averaging 400,000 viewers. On BritBox North America it was the second most watched show of the year so far, in the first 30 days on the service.

We’re hoping for more news on casting in the next few months. Until then, series 1 is available on iPlayer.