Return to Paradise stars tease show’s future beyond season 2 – and hopes for a Christmas special
"The Christmas episode would be one that we'd all love to do."
We may only be part way through the airing of Return to Paradise season 2, but given how long-running Death in Paradise has been, and the fact that spin-off Beyond Paradise is now heading towards its fourth season, thoughts naturally turn to the future.
Will the Australian-based show continue on for more episodes and seasons? If stars Anna Samson, Tai Hara and Lloyd Griffith have anything to do with it, it seems so.
RadioTimes.com spoke with Samson exclusively, and asked the Mackenzie star whether she would like to return for a third season, and also whether she would be interested in a Christmas special, as Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise both get annual ones.
"Yeah, they do don’t they? Those lucky buggers," she responded.
Samson continued: "When we're on break from filming, Peter Mattessi, our showrunner and our head writer, texted me something just about the show, and then he wrote, 'I'm sorry, you're probably not thinking about the show at all at the moment, you're on your break.'
"And I said, 'Mackenzie Clarke is always a little bit in my mind. I'm never quite not thinking about the show.' So she is still alive in me and a character I love, and I'm not ready to put her story fully to bed yet. We'll see what the audience has to say about it. And in terms of a special, I'd absolutely love one. Aussie Christmas, where it’s hot!"
RadioTimes.com also spoke with Griffith and Hara exclusively, and the former said he had been "pestering" Matessi and the team for a Christmas special, because he is "obsessed with how Christmas is in Australia".
"It is bonkers," he said. "I am a traditionalist. It's all about snow, all about carols, it's all about it being dark about 2pm around the Christmas period. And the fact that these guys go to the beach, have a barbecue, eat prawns, there’s not a turkey in sight, I can't get my head around that. I think it's just quite a nice story for Colin.
"So whilst he loves Australia, he just can't get around the fact that this is Christmas. ‘What is going on?’ I've got a lot of friends that live in Australia now. They tell me the tales of what happens around Christmas, it sounds clinically insane."
"In the morning, we do prezzies and then we go to the beach," Hara chimed in.
"I keep banging the drum of trying to do Christmas Special and then do season 3, season 4, season 9," Griffith added, before confirming: "I’m being serious."
"The Christmas episode would be one that we'd all love to do," Hara said. "And I think what was so brilliant was at the end of season 2, we found out that we were nominated for a Logie and season 1 picked up Best Drama.
"So that was already so exciting at the end of season 2. And I think I can easily speak for everyone that we would be so thrilled to come back and do some more."
Hara also teased that season 2 "definitely finishes on a bit of a cliffhanger" – so fans can look forward to seeing how that plays out.
Return to Paradise season 2 will continue at 8pm on Friday 14th November on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
