The Capture creator speaks about series future - and whether season 3 could be the last

Contains major spoilers for season 3 of The Capture.

A lot has changed since BBC’s crime drama The Capture, a cyber thriller all about deepfakes, first aired in 2019, with the technology now being far more advanced and insidious.

Now, the acclaimed series has returned for a long-awaited third season that kick-starts with the shocking death of fan-favourite character from season two, Isaac Turner (Paapa Essiedu).

There are several shocking revelations and tragedies throughout the first few episodes that raise the stakes for Carey (Holliday Grainger), higher than ever before, with the new season taking the intensity levels up a notch or two. This is, in part, due to the fact that creator Ben Chanan admits that he prefers to write each season with the conviction that it could be "the last."

"I always write each season like it might be the last, so just don't hold on to people who have got to go and you may as well enjoy offing them," Chanan tells Radio Times.

"Now, what it does for Carey is like the wheels are off… when [certain characters] go, it’s like the wheels spin, she finds it discombobulating."

The creator also opened up about the motive behind Isaac’s death and teased you’ll find out in "season six why it came to be" before correcting himself that he meant episode six. Though, we can all hope that was just a little slip up and the beloved series will be renewed for another season or three, perhaps.

"Sorry, there’s no season six," he adds, before joking, "Ever since season one, I’ve been playing the long game. I've written season six, no, I’ve barely written season three."

Read more:

• The Capture season 3 airs update on Callum Turner’s Shaun Emery - and he almost had a much bigger role
• The Capture season 3 episode 2 first look as writer breaks down thrilling twist – and teases what next for Rachel Carey

Chanan also addressed how complex writing The Capture can be, as he balances science fiction with reality, and this can lead to a long wait time between seasons. After all, season two first aired four years ago, which, in an age of streaming services where new instalments drop every year, is a long time for audiences to wait.

"We always try and tread the tightrope between you don't want to be too far advanced that it seems like sci-fi," Chanan begins, "At the same time, you don't want it to be old hat and we have to think ahead.

"It takes a couple of years to make a series, so even when we start plotting it and start writing it, we've got to think ahead to how people are going to feel in a couple of years’ time and frankly, it's just a bluff. We just go for it and the world either catches up or we're catching up with the world."

For its third outing, Chanan was still writing the series, as it went into production, so even the cast didn’t know how the conflicts would resolve, as it hadn't been finalised yet.

"It’s a real page turner," Holliday Grainger teased about this season’s story, "I’m like, what? How is he going to do it? How is he going to figure that one out? I love reading scripts because of that. In season one, we got all six scripts at once, we filmed them all. This season, Ben was still writing as we went.

"So, we were filming one and two and that was all I’d read, I actively decided, seeing as Carey doesn't need to know anything, because she doesn't know that I didn't find out anything until I read the scripts come in, which was great, which meant it was like genuinely exciting to see that drop in my inbox to find out what happens next."

Ben Miles, who returns as a now retired former Commander, Danny Hart, said the pilot episode in particular, with the revelation of Isaac’s killer being none other than the new Commander, Noah Pierson, was "fantastic."

He says: "I just thought, this is fantastic. This is the kind of twist that - it's the best kind of twist because you just don't see it coming. And when that last page lands of episode one, I was just so delighted. I was like, 'yes, that's the next step. What happens, what happens, what happens?'"

The Capture season 3 will continue on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Sunday 15 March 2026.

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