Calling all crime drama fans! ITV’s detective show After The Flood is returning for a second season and, by the looks of the new trailer, it’s set to be an explosive one.

Picking up after the bombshell of season one, the series follows newly promoted detective Jo Marshall (Sophie Rundle), who is once again investigating a twisty murder in Waterside.

Set against the backdrop of moorland fires and the renewed risk of flooding, Jo must navigate rising tension in the town, as well as the slippery corruption of her father figure, Sergeant Mackie (Nicholas Gleaves), who was revealed to be a bent copper last season.

The six-part thriller is written, created and executive produced by BAFTA-nominated writer and actor Mick Ford and produced by Manchester-based Quay Street Productions for ITV and BritBox.

As someone who’s had a sneak peek at the new season, I can safely say it’s sure to satisfy fans of the show. Jo’s increasing responsibility in the force is in constant tension with Mackie’s corruption and as she and Pat (Matt Stokoe) try to keep their enemy close, their own position within the police becomes increasingly precarious. If you’re a fan of gritty crime dramas set against moody British landscapes like Line of Duty and Ridley, then After The Flood should be your next watch.

Read on for everything you need to know about the returning series…

close-up of woman in field © ITV

Sophie Rundle plays Jo

What is After The Flood season 2 about?

Promising “intense drama”, season two brings us back to the changing town of Waterside, where Jo Marshall and her new partner, DS Sam Bradley (Jill Halfpenny), investigate mysterious murders.

The synopsis reads: “The second series of After The Flood finds newly promoted detective Jo Marshall (Sophie Rundle) on the trail of a baffling new murder investigation. As tensions simmer in Waterside amid the rising threat of moorland fires and the subsequent risk of further flooding, a body is discovered in bizarre circumstances.

“Jo’s race to stop the killer brings her into direct conflict with powerful and influential forces within the town, ultimately drawing her into an investigation that becomes deeply personal. One that will require her to operate in secret if she is to have any hope of rooting out the corruption that has blighted the town’s police force – and her own family – for decades.”

two women in changing room© ITV

Lorraine Ashbourne plays Jo’s mother, Molly

Who stars in After The Flood season 2?

After The Flood boasts a huge cast, expertly led by Sophie Rundle (Gentleman Jack, Peaky Blinders) as Jo Marshall. She’s joined by Lorraine Ashbourne (Alma’s Not Normal, Sherwood, Bridgerton) as Molly Marshall, Nicholas Gleaves (The Crown, The Rising) as Sergeant Phil Mackie, Philip Glenister (Belgravia, Life on Mars) as Jack Radcliffe and Matt Stokoe (The Hunt For Raoul Moat, The Bodyguard) as Jo’s husband, Pat Holman.

Alun Armstrong (Breeders, Sherwood) joins the cast as Alan Benson, alongside Jill Halfpenny (The Red King, The Long Shadow) as DS Sam Bradley, Ian Puleston-Davies (Pennyworth, Tin Star) as Tony Rower and Matthew McNulty (The Jetty, The Rising) as Xav Palmer.

two men standing in living room © ITV

Nicholas Gleaves as SGT Phil Mackie and Philip Glenister as Jack Radcliffe

Also new to the show is Anil Desai (The Night Manager season two, Sex Education) as DCI Balsara, alongside Steph De Whalley (Doctor Who, Midnight Taxi) as Harriet Benson, Nathalie Armin (Showtrial season two, Maigret) as Layal, Tony Marshall (Sister Boniface Mysteries, Casualty) as Fraser Tempest, Roger Morlidge (The Bank of Dave, Chemistry of Death) as Geoff Dixon, Oliver Nelson (The Gathering, Home Fires) as Declan Rower, Jenny Platt (Versailles, Waterloo Road) as Donna Rower and Lola Brown, a newcomer, as Izza.

Rounding out the cast are Faye McKeever (Adolescence, The Responder) as Kelly Kamali, George Bukhari (Ridley, Black Cab) as Keith Kamali, Maui Connock as Sophie Kamali, Tripti Tripuraneni (House of the Dragon, Casualty) as PC Deepa Das, Heider Ali (You Don’t Know Me) as DS Babak, Leo Flanagan (Gentleman Jack, Four Lives) as Finn and Jacqueline Boatswain (Little Disasters, The Sandman) as Sarah Mackie.

two female detectives kneeling in horses stable© ITV

Jill Halfpenny plays DS Sam Bradley

What have the cast said about returning to the show?

Sophie, who plays Jo, expressed her excitement when the renewal news was confirmed: “I am thrilled to be returning to After The Flood  for another series alongside the fantastic cast and team at Quay Street Productions. I can’t wait to get started and see what mystery is next in store for Jo to solve now she is officially a detective.”

Matt Stokoe and Sophie Rundle at the launch photocall for "After The Flood" © Jo Hale

Matt Stokoe and Sophie Rundle are partners in real life

The new season also marks an on-screen reunion between Sophie and her real-life partner Matt Stokoe, who described to HELLO! what it was like to work with the actress. “This is the fourth thing we’ve done together, so we’ve definitely got a shorthand and we’re not the kind of couple anyway that just goes around all over each other.

“Since 2016, we’ve on and off worked together so we know each other as colleagues almost as well as we know each other as partners, so we have a way of working. It’s not a case of being professional or being discreet or anything like that. It’s just I go to my trailer, you go to your trailer and then when we get home, we don’t talk about lines because otherwise it just engulfs your life.”