Mark Gatiss to bring second series of Bookish to UKTV

Ahead of the launch of the first series UKTV confirmed that Gatiss would be back with a second run of episodes for U&Alibi…

UKTV has announced the re-commission of Bookish for specialist crime drama channel, U&alibi, ahead of the first series premiering in July. A first look clip of the drama (see above) was released to coincide with the announcement.

The series is created by writer Mark Gatiss who also stars as the erudite and unconventional Gabriel Book who, from his antiquarian bookshop, helps the police to solve a variety of mysterious crimes. With three main cases in the series, each storyline spans two-episode instalments.

Mark Gatiss:

“I’m thrilled that the team at U&alibi are allowing me to dive back into the world of Bookish and create more fiendish crimes for Gabriel Book and the team to solve. I can’t wait for viewers to immerse themselves in the world we’ve created when the first series airs in a few months’ time.”

Filming for the second series will get underway this summer, with more details to be shared by UKTV in the coming months. The spin-off book, written by Matthew Sweet and also titled Bookish will be released on 10th July and will tell the crime stories from Nora’s perspective.

London 1946 is the setting for series one, with viewers introduced to the appropriately named Gabriel Book (Gatiss) who owns a bookshop in Archangel Lane. If his War was packed with espionage and secrets, Book’s Peace is just as full of adventure.

Now he helps the police solve the strangest of crimes and the knottiest of murders. But his close association to the force is not without its dangers. For although he is very happily married to his childhood best friend, the captivating Trottie, Book is a gay man living at a time when homosexuality was illegal. When Book and Trottie take in Jack it seems like an act of altruism: a second chance for a young jailbird.And Jack proves a worthy assistant both in the shop and in Book’s murder investigations.

It soon becomes clear, however, that Jack’s appointment wasn’t quite as random as it at first appears…With a complex mystery at the heart of every story, featuring a wealth of well-known guest stars, marrying post-war nostalgia with the reckless and life affirming atmosphere of the times, Bookish is a stylish period detective drama with a difference.