DS Sarah Collins will be back for a further investigation in The Tower II: Death Message
After a successful debut run in 2021, itv have announced a second series for their crime thriller The Tower.
Starring Gemma Whelan as DS Sarah Collins, the first series adapted Kate London’s novel Post Mortem. The second tackles her follow-up, Death Message, with screenwriter Patrick Harbinson again adapting.
The rest of the show’s core cast returns; Tahirah Sharif as PC Lizzie Adama, Emmett J Scanlan as DI Kieran Shaw and Jimmy Akingbola as DC Steve Bradshaw.
Here’s the synopsis for Death Message:
The series opens with Lizzie returning to Farlow station. Her boss and former lover, DI Kieran Shaw (Emmett J Scanlan), partners her with Arif Johar (Michael Karim). Their first call is to a domestic violence complaint against Mark Brannon (Charley Palmer Rothwell), who is accused of beating up his girlfriend, Georgina Teel (Rosa Coduri) and terrorising their young daughter Skye.
Lizzie persuades Georgina to tell the truth about what Brannon has done to her, enabling Lizzie and Arif to arrest him. However, once the case gets to court, Lizzie finds herself cross-examined on the stand, leaving the whole case on a knife-edge.
Meanwhile Sarah Collins has transferred to Homicide Command. New boss DCI Jim Fedden is not welcoming: he asks her to re-open the case of a missing school girl, Tania Mills, who disappeared on the day of Princess Diana’s funeral, 6 September 1997. Sarah knows that Fedden has handed her an impossible challenge, but she throws herself into it with typical determination and thoroughness. And, gradually, perhaps helped by the fact that she too was a teenager of Tania’s age back in 1997, she begins to uncover clues that previous investigations had overlooked. At the end of the first episode, Sarah’s investigations take a further twist, which means she and Lizzie cross paths again.
The antagonistic relationship between the experienced Sarah Collins and the novice cop Lizzie Adama is at the heart of The Tower II, as they are forced to work together for the first time and begin to get a sense of each other’s unique strengths.
Screenwriter Patrick Harbinson commented:
“I am very grateful to Polly [Hill] and ITV for recommissioning The Tower and delighted to be working with Damien and my friends at Mammoth again. Kate’s second novel is even better than her first. It has all her trademark authenticity, complex characters, and a gripping and incredibly topical narrative. This series will keep the audience on the edge of their seats till the very end.”
Harbinson’s Windhover Films will produce The Tower II: Death Message with Mammoth Screen. Patrick Harbinson will executive produce the series alongside Mammoth Screen’s Sheena Bucktowonsing and Damien Timmer. Andy Mosse produces and Faye Gilbert (The Bay) directs. Filming begins later this summer.
In the meantime, the first series of The Tower is still available on ITV Hub if you want to catch up. It’s also available on BritBox.