Latest news with #ValMcDermid
Telegraph
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
How novel to watch a TV detective who doesn't have a drink problem
TV's most normal detective is back. By which I mean that Karen Pirie (ITV1) doesn't have a traumatic emotional back story, or a drink problem, or neurodiversity dialled up to 10. She's just a regular person who works hard at her job while wearing sensible clothes. This sounds quite boring, but thanks to Lauren Lyle, who plays her, and Val McDermid, who wrote the source material, Pirie is a character you enjoy watching. The story is based on McDermid's novel A Darker Domain, although some elements have been changed by screenwriter Emer Kenny. We begin in 1984 – the scene is set with Simple Minds on the soundtrack and Arthur Scargill on the telly in the corner of the chip shop – and the abduction of a young mother with her two-year-old son. Her father is Sir Broderick Grant (played by James Cosmo), a Scottish oil baron. He receives a ransom demand, but Catriona is never heard from again. Then, 40 years later, a man's body is discovered, preserved in peat. In his pocket is a key to Catriona's car, which she was forced to drive by her abductor and was later found burnt out. Time for Pirie to get cracking on the cold case investigation. Usually, I find split timelines annoying, but this successfully switches between the 1980s and the present day without causing confusion. The drama also strikes just the right tone, treating the crime seriously but leavening it with shots of humour. Pirie can be funny, especially when assessing her own limitations – newly promoted to inspector and still in her 20s, she would much rather not be in a position of authority. Her sweet but uninformed colleague, DC Jason 'Mint' Murray (Chris Jenks) is also good for a laugh. Pirie describes Catriona as Scotland's John Paul Getty III. 'John Paul… as in, the Pope?' Mint asks. There's no slack in episode one, with every scene moving the plot along and introducing us to characters who will prove to be significant. The personal stuff – Pirie is secretly dating a fellow detective – fits nicely into the picture rather than detracting from the main event. I wish it kept this up but, alas, three two-hour episodes drag it out when it could have been done more satisfyingly in half that time, and the quality drops off. There were also points in the middle where I had to keep reminding myself who the supporting characters were. As for Pirie's sensible clothes, there is a certain quirkiness to the way she wears them: the collars of her Fred Perry turned up, her valuables safely stashed in a bum bag. But that's as singular as she gets.
Daily Record
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Karen Pirie season 2 start time, cast, episode count and how to watch
Karen Pirie, based on the Val McDermid Inspector Karen Pirie novels, is returning to screens in just hours with a second season The ITV detective drama Karen Pirie is set to grace our TV screens once again in mere hours, as it rolls out its second instalment. Launched in 2022, the series draws from the pages of Val McDermid's Inspector Karen Pirie novels and features Outlander's Lauren Lyle in a robust leading performance. She plays a young, fearless Scottish investigator "with a quick mouth and a tenacious desire for the truth". In its debut outing, viewers saw Pirie grapple with a 25-year-old cold case of a murdered barmaid, unravelling skeletons in the closet and deception to pinpoint the true culprit amidst a tangle of possible angles. Scripted by Emer Kenny and crafted by the minds behind Line of Duty and Bodyguard, Karen Pirie makes a much-anticipated comeback for season two, inspired by McDermid's second book in her literary sequence, A Darker Domain, reports the Express. In anticipation of the new episodes, Lauren expressed: "I'm thrilled that we will continue the life of our fearless young detective Karen Pirie, and of course, her bumbag. I've known for a while how well the show has gone down behind the scenes so it's been a joy to see audiences want more." She went on to say: "It's a creative honour to work alongside Emer Kenny with the backbone of Val McDermid's story. Season 1 was incredibly exciting building an original character we hadn't seen before. I look forward to getting the gang back together and finally being able to answer the question: 'Please say there will be a season 2?' with an 'Oh yes.'" For those eagerly awaiting, here is what you need to know about the upcoming season two. When does Karen Pirie air on ITV and how can I watch? Karen Pirie season two will air on Sunday, July 20, with the first episode premiering at 8pm on ITV1. All episodes will be available to stream on ITVX. Who is in the cast of Karen Pirie season 2? Lauren Lyle will return alongside series one stars including Sex Education actor Chris Jenks, Timestalker's Zach Wyatt, EastEnders actor Steve John Shepherd, Emer Kenny and Rakhee Thakrar. Joining the returning cast as new characters related to the case are Saskia Ashdown, James Cosmo, Frances Tomelty and John Michie. The cast also includes Julia Brown, Mark Rowley, Kat Ronney, Conor Berry, Stuart Campbell, Jamie Michie, Madeleine Worrall, Jack Stewart, Thoren Ferguson, and Helen Katamba, James Fleet, Tom Mannion, and Tommaso Basili. How many episodes are in Karen Pirie season 2? Just like the first season, series two will have three episodes, titled A Darker Domain: Part 1, 2 and 3. The official synopsis reads: "After her bittersweet success in series one, Karen has been promoted to Detective Inspector and seemingly given the authority she has long been fighting for. "Just as she's getting into the swing of her powerful new role, she is assigned an infamous unsolved case that will put her under intense scrutiny; from her boss, from the media, and ultimately, from sinister forces that would rather the past stayed in the past. "The 1984 case of Catriona and Adam Grant has confounded investigators and intrigued the public like no other. Catriona, the charming young heiress to a vast oil fortune, and her two year old son Adam, were brutally kidnapped at gunpoint outside a fish and chip shop in Fife. "The ransom notes that followed stirred up an uncontrollable press storm, but when the culprits fell silent, the police faltered, and Catriona and Adam were never seen again. "Now, a man's body has been discovered, with indisputable links to the original kidnap. With the first piece of evidence in decades, Karen must assemble an unbeatable team alongside her sincere and lovable sidekick DC Jason 'Mint' Murray (Chris Jenks) and the brilliant - but romantically complicated - DS Phil Parhatka (Zach Wyatt). "With the international renown of the kidnap and the constant pressure from Catriona's father, Sir Broderick Grant (James Cosmo), the team take on the biggest challenge of their careers to date. "As Karen delves deeper into what happened in the autumn of 1984, political grudges and painful secrets reveal themselves, and it soon becomes clear... the past is far from dead." Karen Pirie season 2 will air from Sunday 20th July 2025 on ITV1 and ITVX.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
ITV's thrilling crime drama Karen Pirie is back. Here's why the stars found it 'daunting'
Karen Pirie is back on the case as the Scottish detective returns for her toughest case yet in series 2 of the ITV police drama, and while the return was exciting for star Lauren Lyle and creator Emer Kenny they tell Yahoo UK how it felt like a completely different experience this time around. "I was nervous that I couldn't be funny again," Lyle admits of returning to the title role. "And I was worried about whether it would work again, that's like second album worry. But I think the minute I put on the bum bag and strapped it around my waist, put the Doc Martins back on, it all just fell straight back into place. "And I also think it's testament to the writing, I've been saying [to Emer] it's quite delicious that you must have been able to write for me now and being able to write Karen with my voice and the way I've been doing it in mind, sort of playing to strengths and the comedy feeling being natural to what I like to do. "It's been really fun and I think also testament to the foundations we put in at the beginning in season 1, being strong. I just start marching about again and so that worked." The second series finds Karen faced with a puzzling cold case involving the disappearance of billionaire heiress Katrina Graham and her child four decades earlier. A possible new lead gives Karen the chance to reopen the case and find answers for her family, once and for all. Kenny, who adapts Val McDermid's books for the screen, says she felt the pressure of returning to the second series because of the success of the first: "I was daunted because it was my first time lead writing a show and it was Lauren's first time as the lead, so there was this kind of mad, magic excitement that we had and we both really gave it everything we had, and I put a lot of my personal feelings about how it felt to be doing that for the first time in the story. "Karen's on a big case for the first time, so it really felt like everything we wanted to express. And so coming back to the show, you just hope that you can bring that same energy, and actually it was a completely different experience, and we felt really different. But the story really lends itself to that; it's a completely different case. "It's a kidnap case, it's not a murder — although there is a body at the heart of the show. And I think that lends itself to be a bit bigger, a bit more epic. There are a lot of bigger twists and hooks that I think hopefully everyone will enjoy." The writer took inspiration from her own life to inform the narrative she put to paper, as she goes on: "I had just had a baby when I started writing this, I was writing when he was 12 weeks old and so a lot of my protective, new mother emotions went into how I wrote her and I found that it was just a new thing to add to my writing." For Lyle, it was interesting to try and do something different with Karen, because she's no longer the same kind of person she was to begin with. "I loved that she started as this reluctant boss, and now she's still this sort of weird late 20s woman who shouldn't probably be there, but is there and has always wanted it," Lyle reflects. "Emer and I, we often talk about how when we got to this place of a bit of success, and if it gets really hard and it's quite intense, we go 'we have prayed for this, we have prayed for this, so we cannot complain.' "And I feel like Karen's in that place where she's always wanted this but doesn't quite know what to do with it, and it's really fun to let that play out and just getting to boss around some men all the time and playing off loads of people that are taller than you." "I think that's what sets the show apart," the Outlander star adds: "Is that often you see these shows are centred around detectives and they're quite often middle-aged men. He's got a drinking problem and hates his life and hates his job, whereas Karen loves her job and enjoys her life. "She's a 20-odd-year-old girl who's going to the pub with her boyfriend but is having to be a normal girl navigating that while also dealing with this insane pressure of being the boss where you kind of look at her and think she shouldn't be, and she doesn't think she should be." It was also an aspect of the character that Kenny wanted to highlight in series 2: "In the first season, she was kind of an underestimated newbie to the team, and she really proved herself. "So the second season, she's coming off a bittersweet success, and she's given a massive new case that has international renown, so there's a lot more pressure on her. But she has a lot more authority, so she's kind of grappling with that as well." The show not only focuses on the case at hand, though, the drama also centres on Karen and her life outside of the police, which is an important distinction that Kenny wanted to include. And it was something that Lyle also appreciated: "Often with detective shows you're watching a case unfold, and that's sort of the plot. "Whereas, with this, you're really falling in love with the characters and with Karen, and the steps that she takes in her love life and her home life. It was cathartic at times, there was things happening in my personal life that wove into the show occasionally, and I loved it." For both Lyle and Kenny, Karen Pirie has been a vehicle they needed to grow their respective crafts and become comfortable and confident with them. Lyle shares: "I really enjoyed having to sort of grow up with the first season, I really felt like I was throwing my own part as number 1. You do sort of set the tone, and I hadn't done that before. I'd learned from all the other number ones that I'd watched on other jobs and picked the bits that I wanted — it really felt like you were throwing your own party, you just wanted everyone to have a good time. "And the second series was quite nice, we felt settled that we had a good time and that we'd set a great tone and it was a good show. You didn't have to try so hard to get people excited, people just were excited. So there was a lovely [atmosphere], and it felt a bit more grown up." "I really became a lot more confident during the first series," Kenny concurs. "Because I learned that I knew what I was doing and I think there was a lot of validation when the show came out and people got what I was trying to do, they connected with Karen and the show in general. "So the second time around I didn't want to change anything, but I did want to enjoy it more. Like just worry less about the reception and just be in the moment because the making of the thing is really joyful, and exciting, and brilliant. "And so I think I was a little bit less fearful and I think it actually made me more confident and ambitious because I wasn't so worried about it." The hope, of course, is that audiences are as drawn to the crime drama's second series as they were with the first. Kenny admits she "felt huge relief" when series one became a hit "because [she] had thought about nothing else" for months, even going so far as waking in the middle of the night thinking about the show and where it could go next. "It was just an extreme relief that people liked what we'd spent so long and put so much effort into," she says, adding: "I hope that the same audience comes back and we deliver to them a show that is just as good, and better, more epic and more ambitious and more filmic, and more exhilarating. I just wanna make them all happy." One thing that Lyle found funny was that viewers would often tell her they watched the series with no expectation, only to realise how good it was. She hopes that now that won't be the case: "I do hope that people come to it having heard how good the first one was and are excited to watch the second one. It's one of those things that you are by the water cooler at work, and everyone's recommending it, that's like a dream for [us]." Lyle continues: "It makes me really giddy when you hear people saying that they watch it, I'm still a bit in disbelief when it happens. When I used to get stopped on the street it would be be for Outlander, and now it's quite nice to be like 'what's it for Karen Pirie?'" If audiences enjoy it as much as the cast and crew do then they are ready and willing to return and bring more of McDermid's books to life. Kenny says: "Val has just written another book so there's absolutely scope for more Karen Pirie, and ITV really love the show so they're very keen for it to run and run if the audience love it. It's just about whether it's received in the way that it has been. "So everyone watch it! If people want it, we'll give the people what they want." Karen Pirie premieres on ITV1 on Sunday, 20 July at 9pm.
Scotsman
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Karen Pirie: How hit TV series changed Val McDermid's character after actor's 'personal recce' of Fife town
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The producers of a hit TV series based on a book by Val McDermid changed the occupation of a key character after being inspired by an actor's 'personal recce' to Fife. Lauren Lyle, who plays detective Karen Pirie in the eponymous show, which is has just filmed its second series for ITV, said she had been inspired by a sea view from Methil, where the detective is from. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It came from being in Fife and seeing the oil rigs on the horizon,' she said, adding that she had also witnessed the ongoing impact of the 'abandoned pits' in the community. 'When I first got the job, I went up to Methil, which is where Karen's meant to be from, and did my own personal recce, wandering about listening to accents. Lauren Lyle as DS Karen Pirie in the ITV adaptation of Val McDermid's crime novels. Pic: ITV/Shutterstock 'Once you're up at Methil, you can see the landscape and it's just oil rig, oil rig, oil rig. It really is an industrial town. And it gave me such a clear sense of what Karen could be and where she came from.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ms Lyle, from Glasgow, spoke to writer Emer Kenny, who decided to change the occupation of character Sir Broderick Grant from property tycoon, as he was in McDermid's Inspector Karen Pirie series of novels, to oil magnate. The second series of the show focuses on the disappearance of oil heiress Catriona Grant and her son Adam, who were kidnapped at gunpoint in 1984. Pirie is tasked with re-opening the case. The first series was also set in Fife, reopening an historic case in St Andrews. Ms Kenny said changing Sir Broderick's occupation added an extra element to the background of the story, juxtaposing the oil and the coal mining industry. The Scottish coal mining industry, which at its peak employed 150,000 men in 500 pits across the country, was decimated in the 1980s. The miners' strikes, which began in 1984, lasted a year, plunging large swathes of the local community into poverty. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ms Kenny said: 'There wasn't that much about his [Sir Broderick's] background in the book. The property tycoon element was just how he made his money, whereas we brought the oil industry into the story a little bit more, and it gave us more to work with. 'I thought it was very interesting because the miners' strike is very present in the book and I thought it was very interesting that the North Sea oil boom was at a similar time in the 1980s.' She added: 'I just thought, thematically, to look at those two fossil fuel industries and the disparity between the wealth and then the poverty during the strike - that that could be an incredible thing to look into as a background for a story, and also the relevance of it to Fife.'
Tom's Guide
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
How to watch 'Karen Pirie' season 2 online — stream the Lauren Lyle drama from anywhere
"Karen Pirie" – the critically acclaimed detective drama – is back for 2025. Season 2 see her run the gauntlet of the twin terrors of legacy media and old money, by cracking open the 40-year-old case of a missing oil baron's daughter and grandson, and the publicity-hungry perpetrator who suddenly went quiet. Here's how to watch 'Karen Pirie" season 2 online from anywhere with a VPN — and potentially for free. "Karen Pirie" season 2 premieres on Sunday, July 20 in the U.K.. Watch from abroad with NordVPN with our exclusive deal.• U.K. — FREE on ITVX (July 20) • Watch anywhere — try NordVPN 100% risk-free A three-part adaptation of Val McDermid's novel "A Darker Domain", "Karen Pirie" season 2 starts with a death that cracks open a door to 1984. The deceased had once been a suspect in the kidnapping of oil heiress Catriona Grant and her two-year-old son Adam, who were taken at gunpoint outside a chip shop in Fife. The subsequent ransom notes captured the imagination of the press, turning it into one of the most infamous missing persons cases in Scotland's history. But when the notes stopped, the trail went cold. Karen, now a Detective Inspector, is tasked with reactivating the case with a small team and in complete secrecy, but Catriona's wealthy father, Sir Broderick Grant (James Cosmo), is a master chess player with politicians in his pockets and axes to grind. Read on and we'll tell you how to watch and stream "Karen Pirie" season 2 online – from anywhere. "Karen Pirie" season 2 premieres on Sunday, July 20 in the U.K.. All episodes will be available to stream live and on demand on ITVX for free. Just note that you need a valid TV license to stream content live. At the time of writing, the full details of the release schedule are under wraps. This article will be update when that changes. Outside of the U.K. when it's on? Use a VPN to get around the geo-restrictions that will prevent ITVX from working. Scroll down for more information and instructions. Thanks to the wonders of the best VPNs, "Karen Pirie" season 2 should be available to Brits no matter where they are. The software allows your devices to appear as if they're back in your home country regardless of where in the world you are. Our favorite is NordVPN – and you can find out why in our NordVPN review. There's a good reason you've heard of NordVPN. We specialize in testing and reviewing VPN services and NordVPN is the one we rate best. It's outstanding at unblocking streaming services, it's fast and it has top-level security features too. With over 7,000 servers, across 110+ countries, and at a great price too, it's easy to recommend. Get 70% off NordVPN with this deal Using a VPN is incredibly simple. 1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite. 2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you're in the U.S. and want to view a British service, you'd select U.K. from the list. 3. Sit back and enjoy the show. Head to ITVX and stream "Karen Pirie" for free. In the U.S., the first season of "Karen Pirie" hit Britbox (7-day free trial) on October 25, 2022, less than a month after its U.K. premiere. We're expecting "Karen Pirie" season 2, therefore, to land in August. A subscription to Britbox costs $8.99 per month or $89.99 per year after the free trial. Brits traveling in the U.S. could look into using a VPN to stream for free, just as they would back home. The first season of "Karen Pirie" hit Britbox (7-day free trial) on October 13, 2022, a fortnight after its U.K. premiere. We, therefore, expect "Karen Pirie" season 2 to arrive in Australia in August. After the free trial a subscription to Britbox costs AU$13.99 per month or AU$139.99 per year. Remember, if you're traveling and geo-blocking won't let you connect to the streaming platforms you use back home, purchasing a VPN will allow you to watch "Karen Pirie" online, no matter where you are. In Canada, the first season of "Karen Pirie" hit Britbox (7-day free trial) on October 25, 2022, less than a month after its U.K. premiere. We're expecting "Karen Pirie" season 2, therefore, to land in August. A subscription to Britbox costs CA$10.99 per month or CA$109.99 per year after the free trial. Brit abroad in Canada? Signing up to NordVPN (save 70%) will help you access your preferred streaming service when you're overseas. We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
