The star of the original Life on Mars returns today for his second season as another great detective solving crimes in the BritBox original series from IPT, Grace. John Simm, known for his run as a detective unstuck in time as well as the key villain of Doctor Who, plays Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, a cop sent down to desk duty a few years ago for embarrassing the bureau by bringing in a psychic to help solve a crime. Only last year television viewers got to meet the next great TV detective with the airing of the show’s first season, and this year he’s joined in the second season opener by former Doctor Who star Arthur Darvill. We at borg named it the runner-up for best new TV series of 2022 (see our review here). The second season of Grace begins in the U.S. today, exclusively here on BritBox via Amazon.
This season adapts the next three novels in the Grace series of novels by Peter James: Not Dead Enough, Dead Man’s Footsteps and Dead Tomorrow. Here’s a series preview for some background.
The first season was Shetland without the scenery (although bits of Brighton aren’t half bad in the background), and D.S. Grace’s brooding was not the dreary stuff of Hinterland. But Shetland and Hinterland are definitely of the comparable vibe as Grace.
The series co-stars Richie Campbell (The Frankenstein Chronicles, The Silence) as Grace’s former colleague, and Rakie Ayola (Shetland, Dredd, Doctor Who, Sea of Souls, Black Mirror) as the textbook cantankerous boss.
Simm discussed the show, as well as preliminary discussions of bringing Life on Mars back in this interview last year:
We’re always on the lookout for the next great British/Irish/Scottish/UK police procedural or mystery. The first season of Grace was of the high-quality of Marchlands, Lightfields, Zen, Quirke, and the first season of Sherlock, and must-watch viewing for those who liked any of Collateral, Roadkill, A Confession, Dublin Murders, The Silence, The Five, The Missing, Thirteen, or Broadchurch.
With a third season already greenlit with filming beginning this year, it’s time to check out this great series. John Simm returns in Grace, streaming its second season beginning today exclusively here on BritBox via Amazon.
C.J. Bunce / Editor / borg
