If you’ve worked your way through all the murder mystery series on UK TV, and need a new detective drama, we’ve travelled all the way to New Zealand for the second series of one of our favourite shows, A Remarkable Place to Die. With big family dramas, dramatic landscapes and a couple of determined investigators it's like Happy Valley meets Broadchurch. And, after the cliffhanger ending, the second series is set to be even bigger than the first. It's a five-star rating from us.
The first series, which aired in New Zealand in 2024, follows detective Anais Mallory (Chelsie Preston Crayford) who returns to her hometown to try and crack a very personal case, as well as some baffling small-town murders. Whilst making significant headway, the first series culminated in a shock death leaving fans desperate to know what happens next. Now Anais’s investigation will pick up where she left off - and the team’s trail takes them all the way to Europe.
Ahead of A Remarkable Place to Die series 2 landing on our screens this November, here’s everything you need to know about the detective drama, including the cast, plot and how to watch it.
What is A Remarkable Place to Die about?
The first series of A Remarkable Place to Die takes us to Queenstown and follows the determined detective Anais Mallory (Chelsie Preston Crayford) who returns from Sydney to her hometown. Across four feature-length episodes she investigates a series of baffling cases, from the discovery of a body in a mine to a double-murder on a campsite.
But what truly draws Anais back is the unsolved murder of her sister and father, which she quietly works on in the background. However, every time she gets close to unravelling the mystery, someone pushes her back.
Meanwhile, she must deal with the ghosts she left behind. Her ex-fiancé Luke (Charles Terrier) is now married to her former best friend Maja Staunton (Indiana Evans) and her relationship with her volatile mother Veronica (Rebecca Gibney) is not in good shape.
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What will happen in A Remarkable Place to Die series 2?
FIRST SERIES SPOILER ALERT
The second series will bring even more twisty investigations for Anais. The first series concluded with the shocking discovery of Maja's body, paving the way for this instalment's central mystery. Anais is still preoccupied by the death of her sister and is convinced the cases are linked, so she launches her own secret inquiry.
Her hunt soon attracts unwanted attention. Someone is determined to stop Anais before she gets too close. The whānau (the Māori word for extended family) step in to help follow the trail Maja left behind. Their investigation takes them all the way to Europe, where they are able to draw a link between Maja’s murder and a series of killings all over the world, where victims are staged as grotesque works of art.
Fingers start pointing to those closest to Maja and a tense race against time unfolds. But will she be able to stop the killer before another victim becomes part of their twisted collection? As well as trying to find the gruesome murderer, she simultaneously works on a string of uniquely Queenstown crimes - from a deadly neighbourhood war over rabbits to a missing priceless jewel.
Who’s in the cast of A Remarkable Place to Die series 2?
The cast of A Remarkable Place to Die series 2 includes:
- Chelsie Preston Crayford (The Royal Treatment) as Anais Mallory
- Matt Whelan (The Tank) as Detective Simon Delaney
- Roimata Fox (Waru) as Sergeant Hoana Rata
- Dahnu Graham (The Gulf) as Constable Jarrod Renner
- Michala Banas (Always Greener) as Kylie Shorrack
Is there a trailer for A Remarkable Place to Die series 2?
While there isn't a trailer for A Remarkable Place to Die series 2, you can watch the trailer for A Remarkable Place to Die series 1 below.
Is A Remarkable Place to Die any good?
Yes! This series has shades of our favourite British police dramas Happy Valley and Broadchurch - albeit a lot cosier and against the stunning backdrop of New Zealand’s South Island. It’s easy to draw parallels between Anais and Happy Valley’s Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire). They’re both wildly resilient and refuse to leave any stone unturned until they find out what happened to their family members. Also, If you miss the atmospheric setting and close-knit community of Broadchurch, it’s the perfect alternative to tune into next.
How can I watch A Remarkable Place to Die series 2?
While U hasn’t yet shared a release date for A Remarkable Place to Die series 2, we do know that it will air in November. As soon as we have a confirmed date, we’ll share it here. In the meantime, you can catch up on series 1 on U and Channel 4 now.
What other crime dramas can I watch now?
For another addictive mystery, we’d recommend Passenger which follows former city detective Riya Ajunwa (Wunmi Mosaku) who finds herself stuck policing in her ex-husband’s sleepy village. But when a local girl mysteriously vanishes, Riya soon realises Chadder Vale is hiding a dark web of secrets and the disappearance is just the tip of the iceberg. Passenger is available to watch now on ITVX. For something more cosy, try Agatha Raisin. The series follows PR hotshot turned private detective Agatha (Shetland’s Ashley Jensen) as she tackles crimes in the fictional Cotswold village of Carsely. Agatha Raisin is available to stream now on Acorn TV via Prime Video.
