AMC Networks’ Acorn TV announced the commissioning of a second season of the popular British crime drama Whitstable Pearl with Acorn Media Enterprises from Buccaneer Media (Marcella, Crime).

Based on the much-loved novels, “The Whitstable Pearl Mysteries” by Julie Wassmer, the second six-part series (6 x 45’) sees the return of Kerry Godliman (Ricky Gervais’ After Life) in the lead role as Pearl Nolan. Howard Charles also returns as DCI Mike McGuire and Frances Barber as Dolly Nolan, Pearl’s mother.

Øystein Karlsen will again be Executive Producer on Whitstable Pearl. Mike Walden (Marcella), who worked alongside Karlsen on season one, picks up the reins as the lead writer for season two whilst award-winning director Jon Jones (Hanna, We Hunt Together) has boarded as lead director. Additional writers for season 2 include Kam Odedra (McDonald & Dodds), Jess Williams (Grantchester) and Ben Tagoe (Lucky Man).

Whitstable Pearl explores the dark undercurrents of murder and debauchery swirling beneath the surface of the picturesque 16th century English seaside town of Whitstable, famous for its native oysters and buffeted by the prevailing winds and spray of the North Sea.

Distributed internationally by Cineflix Rights, the Acorn TV Original Series will begin production in Whitstable, England in February 2022. The series will exclusively premiere on Acorn TV in North America, New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

The series follows local celebrity Pearl Nolan, chef and owner of the eponymous Whitstable Pearl restaurant which she runs alongside her son, Charlie, waitress Ruby, and in spite of her mother, Dolly. She is also the proprietor of a detective agency, finally putting her distant police training to good use.

In Season One, Pearl juggled her commitments to her restaurant, with her ‘side hustle’ as a PI. In Season two, Pearl will prioritise her detective work and transition from being a chef who solves crimes, to a full-time investigator who just happens to own a restaurant.

Pearl’s cases overlap with Mike McGuire’s police investigations. Their relationship is charged by a determination to outdo each other, and a fiery mutual attraction. When they compete, sparks fly and tempers flare. When they work together, they make one hell of a team.

Catherine Mackin, Managing Director, Acorn Media Enterprises, shared, “Pearl was an instant favorite for the Acorn TV audience and one of our top performers of 2021 in multiple territories. Acorn Media Enterprises is excited to bring another adaptation of Julie Wassmer’s captivating seaside mysteries to the small screen. Also, we’re delighted to have Kerry Godliman resume the lead role, ushering us through additional nuances of this now beloved character and new parts of Whitstable’s picturesque setting.”

Tony Wood and Richard Tulk-Hart, joint CEOs of Buccaneer Media said “We are thrilled to see the world of Whitstable Pearl coming back. The response to season one was more than we could have hoped for and now the audience knows the main characters, we can build on the parts of the show we know worked best. Our hope is to see Pearl solving cases for years to come.”

The producer of the series is Letitia Knight. Executive Producers are Tony Wood, Anna Burns and Richard Tulk-Hart for Buccaneer, Catherine Mackin for Acorn Media Enterprises, Øystein Karlsen and Julie Wassmer.