The second series of Sky and CANAL+’s The Tunnel will reunite Stephen Dillane and Clémence Poésy – and hints at a new direction.
Sky Atlantic’s director Zai Bennett confirmed that the second series was in the works, saying: “Boasting fantastic nuanced performances by Clémence Poésy and Stephen Dillane and a totally gripping story, it is easy to see why the first series of this crime thriller struck a real chord with Sky Atlantic viewers.
“The Tunnel 2: Debris reunites the acting tour-de-force with world-class writing and production teams, ensuring this new original series will have customers on the edge of their seats once more.”
While the second series of The Bridge explored events triggered by the crash of a boat into the titular bridge, the new series of The Tunnel will begin with a passenger plane crashing into the English Channel.
It’s not clear if this change is superficial or if it hints at a wider divergence from the source material. While the first series was a success, it was faithful remake of the original Nordic noir hit The Bridge, trading the Oresund Bridge and the Danish-Swedish setting for the Channel Tunnel and an English-French setting. The US remake of The Killing deviated from the Danish original, despite the first season closely following the original’s footsteps.
Once again, Dillane will play the lead of grizzled British policeman Karl Roebuck with former Harry Potter star Poésy playing his French opposite number Elise Wasserman. Former Spooks scribe Ben Richards is also returning as a writer for the second series.
Sky TV and Now TV customers can now tune into Fortitude, a surreal drama starring Stanley Tucci and another ex-Potter star, Michael Gambon, set within the Arctic Circle. Although the show has received mixed reviews, the channel has reported a consolidated audience of 1.75 million for its first episode, making it Sky Atlantic’s most popular new drama launch to date.
With Game of Thrones, also starring Dillane, returning to screens in April and Mad Men back for its final run, along with “three of four” original British comedies, Bennett is obviously making long-term plans for Sky Atlantic. He told The Guardian “In volume of titles it is not as many [as HBO] but we are gearing up. This is a long-term play, this is what we are going to be doing for years to come.”
An estimated launch date for The Tunnel has not yet been announced.
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