Black Snow — Will the second season of Aussie mystery series be the last?

Review by C.J. Bunce

We reviewed Australian production company Stan’s 2023 mystery series Black Snow featuring Vikings and Dune: Prophecy star Travis Fimmel earlier this year and that first season propelled it to our Top 10 of TV series under the umbrella of the Commonwealth tied to the UK (for convenience only we refer to the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Australian programming as “British TV” in contrast with U.S. programming). This season the series follows Fimmel’s detective James Cormack as he attempts to discover what happened to a local young woman who was a popular radio disc jockey. Why did she disappear? Was she kidnapped or did she finally escape the town and family that drove her best friend to suicide? Although the second season wasn’t as tightly written as the first, and had a smaller variety of interesting supporting personalities, it did maintain a similar sense of dread and suspense as Cormack digs into the cold case and tries to settle his personal demons.

The series is subtitled Jack of Clubs. That reflects the deck of cards that include the names and photographs of missing children. It doesn’t reflect the missing victim of the season, but the ongoing thread of Fimmel’s character, James Cormack. It turns out his brother Richard Cormack is the face on the Jack of Clubs, and just as the story tracks the main subject of the season, the blanks are filled in to explain what happened to Richard.

Jana McKinnon plays the subject of the cold case, 21-year-old Zoe Jacobs, who viewers meet as her family and friends throw her a 21st birthday party in 2003. Zoe is actually leaving the party, carrying a distinctive backpack. Flash forward to the present and a cop named Samara Kahlil, played by Megan Smart, is following up on a drifter living in an abandoned radio station. Samara sees the backpack in a makeshift sleeping area behind shelves, and immediately recognizes its importance. It turns out Samara way back in 2003 was Zoe’s best friend.

Writers Lucas Taylor (Harrow), Beatrix Christian, and Huna Amweero, take viewers on a spin around Australia’s Glasshouse Mountains where Zoe lived as Richard follows every lead, partnering with junior cop Samara. Fimmel gets his first crack as a director, helming the final episode of the season. Last year’s co-star Talijah Blackman-Corowa also worked on the production of Season 2. What is Samara holding back? What’s the story with Zoe’s friend Cody, and was there more to his suicide than a dysfunctional family? Did they have anything to do with her disappearance? What about the real estate business her father was a part of, and the family that led the initiative, including Zoe’s on-again, off-again, creepy ex-boyfriend?

Standout in a dual role as the mother of Zoe in the past and present is Victoria Haralabidou. She believes Zoe is alive, as does Samara, who has been receiving mysterious calls from a burner phone–she believes the calls are coming from Zoe. Maybe the disappearance has more to do with Zoe’s dad’s mistress, who he promptly married after Zoe disappeared and he left Zoe’s mother.

This series is good at building a mystery that viewers can’t solve–because we never get enough information–yet the truth is always full of intrigue. In both seasons the result involves an unfortunate constellation of events that sideline a promising future for optimistic young women.

Along with the main mystery is Fimmel digging into the turmoil that prompts his character’s anxiety and heightening instances of self harm. Last season his father–who killed his mother–is trying to get in touch with James because he is soon getting out of prison. His father claims James’ brother is alive and he’s been in recent contact with him. But James isn’t buying it.

Resulting from James’ violence in handling last season’s case, he must seek counseling from a psychiatrist, played by Ella Scott Lynch. The writers dance a bit around the two having some sort of romantic relationship–pushed only by James, who appears at one session drunk. Fortunately this doctor plays it smart as a doctor woudl do in real life, distancing herself from the handsome if addled and unhinged James. More of the “troubled detective” trope, James has reasons for his neuroses that directly tie to his mannerisms when he’s alone–but he never let his personal life get in the way of his job in the first season. That changes this round. So many shows blur the lines on this point, forgetting real detectives must earn a living and get the job done. Fimmel makes it clear Cormack never forgets that. Will resolving the issue with his past make him a better detective in a third season? Maybe we’ll get a chance to find out.

Other actors on the series include Frederick Du Rietz and Benedict Samuel as Sean young and older, and Kat Stuart as Sean’s mother, the scheming mayor. Dan Spielman plays Zoe’s father and Amali Golden plays his new wife. Vinnie Bennett plays Joseph, a handsome drifter who also has a radio show. Nicholas Bakopoulos-Cooke is outstanding as Zoe’s friend Cody, who viewers unfortunately only get to know in the first episode. The actor’s believability, his energy and emotion make Zoe a more compelling lead and the plot stronger than it otherwise would have been. In the 2003 thread Alana Mansour is nicely cast as the young Samara. The only quirk is the actresses playing Samara don’t resemble each other. Renee Sim plays James’ boss, a refreshing twist on the police chief in that she is supportive of the eccentric James.

After two seasons the series remains one of TV’s most compelling and believable looks at police work, even if this season isn’t as strong as the first. Unfortunately it has yet to be renewed for a third season–the finale leaves possibilities open for future stories. Fimmel, one of the best actors of his generation, helmed the Vikings series and served as a central character of the first season of Dune: Prophecy (we interviewed him here at borg). Will his work on that much bigger series get in the way of his ability to continue on Black Snow?

The series is now streaming on AMC+. Consider the first season of Black Snow as must-watch TV. Had it made to to the States in 2023, the first would have made a good case to challenge the year’s top awards at borg and cinched the top spot for Fimmel as Best Actor in a TV Series.

Catch up with our reviews of other quality British TV series (including Australian and New Zealand shows you’d find on PBS, BritBox, or Acorn TV) beginning with our Top 10: Life on Mars/Ashes to Ashes, Zen, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?, Mr. Selfridge, Guilt, The IPCRESS File, The Hour, The Gentlemen, Black Doves, and Shetland. You could stay pretty busy with our full list of top British TV recommendations, including The Artful Dodger, Van Der Valk, the first season of Sherlock, Deadloch, Troppo, Case Histories, This is Going to Hurt, the second season of Black Snow dragged the series from the Top 10 tier down to here, Mystery Road: Origin, Death Valley, Dept. Q, Bodkin, The Bletchley Circle, Good Cop/Bad Cop, Grace, Hinterland, Glitch, Mystery Road, Culprits, Harrow, Annika, The Day of the Jackal, Code of Silence, Luther, Professor T, and Supacell. After you’ve seen all of those, try Viva Blackpool, Marchlands, Lightfields, State of Play, I, Jack Wright, Population 11, Protection, After the Flood, Traces, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Ordeal by Innocence, Unforgotten, The Bay, Wild Bill, Quirke, Requiem, The Gloaming, The Clearing, The One, The Tourist, The Tower, Collateral, Roadkill, Stay Close, The Salisbury Poisonings, and A Confession.

Other British series across genres that are worth checking out (a few still to be reviewed here) include fun romps like Monarch of the Glen, Para Handy, Cranford, Viva Blackpool, and As Time Goes By, and cozy mysteries Rosemary and Thyme, Father Brown, Hetty Wainthropp, and Death in Paradise. One of the best of all British productions is the reboot of All Creatures Great and Small, which is in our British Top 10 (and the original is good, too). Of course there’s always Doctor Who for your sci-fi fix (and spin-offs Torchwood and Class), The Watch for your fantasy fix, Truth Seekers and Sea of Souls for your supernatural fix, and Spaced for more sci-fi fun, and we really should add House, MD, for Brit lead Hugh Laurie’s one-of-a-kind performance. (We’ve also reviewed but don’t heartily recommend so much Dublin Murders, The ABC Murders, The Pale Horse, Reef Break, The One That Got Away, The Silence, The Five, The Missing, Thirteen, or Broadchurch, as well as No Offence, which could have merited a review for its first season but, like Sherlock, its later episodes were a disappointment).