The BBC has announced the award-winning Gaelic drama series An t-Eilean (The Island) will return for a second season following a successful debut last year – the recommission comes as global partner All3Media has announced a clutch of international sales for the show, the first ever high-end Gaelic language drama series.
An t-Eilean iss the biggest, most high-profile drama in BBC ALBA’s history, and in a string of new deals All3 has has agreed two pan-territory deals: one with Acorn Media in the US, English-speaking Canada and the Caribbean, and a second with Canal+ for France, Africa and French-speaking Europe. Elsewhere in Europe, the Bafta Scotland-nominated series has been acquired by Antena TV (Romania), DR (Denmark), EITB (Basque Spain), Hellenic Telecommunications (Greece), RTBF (French-speaking Belgium and Luxembourg) and SVT (Sweden). The drama is also on SBS in Australia and Rialto Channel in New Zealand and Dazzler Media has acquired DVD rights for the UK and Eire.
Created by Nicholas Osborne and co-written with Mairead Hamilton, the new series will feature a gripping new mystery and will see Sorcha Groundsell (The Innocents, His Dark Materials) return in the lead role of Detective Sergeant, Kat Crichton.
The 4×47’ drama, produced by Black Camel Pictures for BBC ALBA, BBC FOUR and BBC iPlayer, will film largely on location in the Western Isles with production due to start in Spring 2026.
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The new series opens with Kat frustrated both at work and home, caring for her ill father and dealing with petty local crime. However, when the body of a young woman is washed up, Kat is thrust into the hunt for a killer stalking the islands. As the investigation deepens, it uncovers the hidden lives and devastating secrets of the community’s young people, forcing Kat to confront both the case and her own complicated ties to the place she calls home.
When her former nemesis Ruaraidh MacLean (Sam James Smith), now running the local youth group, shares his suspicion that there are other missing young islanders he finds himself drawn back in to Kat’s world as the case tightens around those closest to home. What follows is a terrifying and twisted game which leads them into a world of unexpected and chilling corruption in the hunt for a serial killer.
Bill MacLeod, commissioning editor, BBC ALBA, said: “We’re delighted to have recommissioned this international award-winning show. An t-Eilean will once again transport viewers to one of the most dramatic landscapes in the world with a taut and twisty story that will keep them on the edge of their seats until the final few frames.”
Arabella Page Croft, executive producer at Black Camel Pictures said: “It’s simply fantastic to be returning to An t-Eilean (The Island) for a second series. We have all been delighted with the success of the first finding both an audience at home and internationally. We can’t wait to get going with this brand-new gripping Hebridean mystery and thrilling tale with DS Kat Crichton at the helm.”
David Smith, director of Screen Scotland added: “An t-Eilean delivered Gaelic drama to the world for the first time and has reached further than we could ever have anticipated. Series two will be another step forward, and while Screen Scotland rarely funds second or subsequent series An t-Eilean has such cultural significance that we have been able to support it.”
An t-Eilean series two is funded by MG ALBA, BBC, Screen Scotland, Black Camel Pictures, Highlands & Islands Enterprise with location support from Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. The series is produced in association with All3Media International which acts as global partner.
Tom O’ Sullivan returns as director with Mairead Hamilton as co-director. Further cast will be announced in due course.
