Everything We Know About Season 2 of Laura Donnelly’s ITV Thriller ‘The Dark’

‘The Dark’ has just premiered, but fans captivated by Laura Donnelly’s intense performance are already speculating about whether DI Monica Kennedy will return for another investigation. The six-part crime drama debuted on ITV1 and STV on Sunday, July 12, 2026, and its chilling storyline has viewers eager to see where the narrative might lead next.

For those who may not be familiar, ‘The Dark’ features Donnelly as a Scottish detective who probes the mysterious circumstances surrounding a young man’s body discovered in the wilderness, a case that evolves into a harrowing pursuit of a serial killer lurking in plain sight. Given the compelling source material and the show’s inherent franchise potential, the question of a second season feels more like a matter of timing than mere speculation.

‘The Dark’ is based on GR Halliday’s 2020 novel ‘From the Shadows’, with Matt Hartley adapting the story alongside writers Lena Rae and Nessah Muthy. Commissioned by ITVX in July 2025, the series is directed by Gilles Bannier, who also serves as an executive producer.

Donnelly portrays DI Monica Kennedy, a detective who finds herself embroiled in a perilous game of cat and mouse with a killer, all while her own troubled past threatens her judgment. Mark Rowley plays her new partner DC Connor Crawford, and Helen Baxendale co-stars as Bethany Morgan, a mother whose missing son becomes entwined in the investigation.

The production filmed extensively in Greenock and other scenic areas of the Scottish lowlands, providing the series with an atmospheric backdrop that has become a hallmark of ITV’s crime offerings. Donnelly has expressed what attracted her to the role, noting that the series emphasizes storytelling over gratuitous violence, and she found it significant that the focus is on missing men rather than the more common trope of female victims in crime dramas.

As for the renewal status of ‘The Dark’ for a second season, there is a crucial detail for fans hoping to see more of Monica Kennedy. When Deadline Hollywood reported on Donnelly’s casting in August 2025, they referred to ‘The Dark’ as a returnable serial killer drama, indicating that ITV always intended for this to be a franchise rather than a standalone miniseries.

However, as of now, no official announcement regarding season 2 has been made. ITV has yet to confirm a second season, and with the first episode just having aired, the network is likely waiting to assess ratings and critical reception before making a decision.

Tracking sites monitoring the show’s status indicate that its renewal is currently unknown, which aligns with ITV’s typical practice of not commissioning follow-up seasons until the initial run has concluded and been evaluated. Fans should anticipate any formal announcement to follow after all six episodes have aired and viewership data is collected.

One significant reason for optimism regarding a second season is the source material. GR Halliday’s ‘From the Shadows’ is the first book in a series featuring Monica Kennedy, providing the television adaptation with ample storylines to explore if ITV decides to greenlight more episodes.

The sequel is titled ‘Dark Matters’, with a third installment named ‘Under the Marsh’ continuing Kennedy’s journey. This gives showrunners a solid framework, allowing them to avoid the common challenge of creating a new case from scratch, as many crime dramas must do after exhausting their source material.

Halliday, who grew up near Stirling and has expressed a fascination with the unsolved mysteries his father investigated, designed the Monica Kennedy series as a multi-book saga. This further supports the notion that ‘The Dark’ was always intended to have longevity rather than being a one-off event series.

If ITV moves forward with a second season, it seems likely that Donnelly and Rowley will reprise their roles as Kennedy and Crawford, given their central partnership in the show’s dynamic. The return of Helen Baxendale’s character remains uncertain, as Bethany Morgan’s storyline is closely tied to the first season’s mystery.

A season based on ‘Dark Matters’ would likely shift the focus to a new case while continuing to explore Kennedy’s troubled past, which has already been hinted at as a potential liability. This kind of serialized emotional thread is often what keeps procedural dramas renewed season after season on British television.

Executive producer Ben Stephenson’s production company Poison Pen, in collaboration with ITV Studios, would presumably continue to guide the series if it returns. Given that ITV Studios also manages international distribution for ‘The Dark’, a second season could potentially reach a broader audience beyond the UK.

For now, all eyes are on how the six-episode debut performs with both critics and audiences during its airing. With a bestselling book series still largely unexplored and a format designed for renewal from the outset, ‘The Dark’ appears to be a strong candidate for a second season, even if ITV has yet to make it official.

What did you think of Monica Kennedy’s first case, and which Halliday novel would you like to see ‘The Dark’ adapt if season 2 is approved?