Will there be a Karen Pirie season 3?

With a new case each season, adapted from Val McDermid's book series, there's certainly no lack of stories to be adapted into future seasons, but will there be a follow-up for Karen and the others?

For everything you need to know about Karen Pirie season 3, read on.

Will there be a Karen Pirie season 3?

We don't yet know whether there will be a Karen Pirie season 3. It would certainly seem that that's the intention – after all, there are still plenty more of Val McDermid's novels to adapt.

However, we will likely have to wait until sometime after all of the season 2 episodes have aired on ITV1, and the broadcaster has had a chance to assess the viewing figures, before we hear more about the show's future.

It took four months between season 1 finishing its run and season 2 being officially confirmed – so we might be in for a similar wait this time around.

If the show were to return for season 3, we would expect it to adapt the third of McDermid's Karen Pirie novels, The Skeleton Road, which was first released in 2014.

We will make sure to keep this page updated as and when we get any news regarding the future of Karen Pirie.

When could a potential Karen Pirie season 3 be released?

It's hard to say when a third season of Karen Pirie would be released, given that the show hasn't officially been renewed yet.

What we do know, is that there was a very long break between seasons 1 and 2 – three years, in fact. That delay was in part because writer Emer Kenny had a child in early 2023, and it doesn't seem like the show would take that long to produce in usual circumstances.

Here's therefore hoping that we could get a third season sooner than 2028 - hopefully more like late 2026 or early 2027.

We will keep this page updated if we get any news.

Who would be back to star in a potential Karen Pirie season 3?

If Karen Pirie were to return for season 3, then we would certainly expect Lauren Lyle to be back as the titular detective, while Emer Kenny, who writes the series, would likely also be back as her character River Wilde.

We would expect the rest of the central cast, including Chris Jenks, Zach Wyatt, Steve John Shepherd and Saskia Ashdown to also be back, while Rakhee Thakrar could also return as journalist Bel Richmond.

Meanwhile, a whole host of new actors would likely join the show to play the central characters in the case for season 3, as has happened with both seasons 1 and 2.

Here is a full list of the actors and characters from Karen Pirie season 2 that we would expect to return for season 3:

• Lauren Lyle as DI Karen Pirie
• Chris Jenks as DC Jason Murray
• Zach Wyatt as DS Phil Parhatka
• Steve John Shepherd as DCS Simon Lees
• Saskia Ashdown as DC Isla Stark
• Emer Kenny as River Wilde
• Rakhee Thakrar as Bel Richmond

Is there a trailer for a potential Karen Pirie season 3?

There isn't a trailer for Karen Pirie season 3 yet, as not only has it not been filmed, but it hasn't even been confirmed.

We will make sure to add a season 3 trailer in if and when one becomes available.

Karen Pirie season 2 is available to stream in full on ITVX now.

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