Season 2 of Karen Pirie just ended, and fans already want more. The final episode aired on Sunday, 3rd August, on ITV1. This season followed Karen, now promoted to Detective Inspector, as she looked into a cold case from 1984. The story focused on the kidnapping of Cat and Adam Grant, which had been reopened after decades.
Each season of the show is based on a book by Val McDermid. Since there are more books in the series, there are plenty of stories left to tell. That gives hope for another season. Right now, viewers are waiting to hear if the show will come back with a season 3. There’s been no official announcement yet, but the demand is strong.
People want to see what Karen takes on next and how her character keeps growing. For now, fans will have to wait and see if ITV gives the green light.
Will there be a Karen Pirie season 3?
Right now, it hasn’t been confirmed if Karen Pirie will return for season 3. But it does seem likely. There are still more books in Val McDermid’s series that can be turned into future seasons. So the story isn’t out of material yet.
ITV will probably wait until all of season 2 finishes airing and then check the viewing numbers before making a decision. That usually takes some time. After season 1 ended, it took about four months for season 2 to be officially confirmed. So, fans might need to be patient again.
If the show does come back, the next season would most likely be based on McDermid’s third Karen Pirie book, The Skeleton Road. That book came out in 2014 and could bring a whole new case for Karen to solve.
There’s no news yet, but updates will come once the network decides what’s next. Fans are just hoping they don’t have to wait too long.
Karen Pirie season 3 release date speculations
It’s still too early to say when a third season of Karen Pirie might come out. That’s because the show hasn’t officially been renewed yet.
What we do know is that there was a big gap between the first and second seasons. It took three years. Part of that delay happened because the show’s writer, Emer Kenny, had a baby in early 2023. In normal conditions, the gap wouldn’t likely be that long.
So if season 3 does happen, it probably won’t take until 2028. A more realistic guess would be sometime in late 2026 or early 2027. For now, there’s no confirmed release date, but fans are hopeful it won’t be such a long wait this time.
Karen Pirie season 3 cast details
If Karen Pirie does return for a third season, Lauren Lyle will likely be back as Karen. She plays the lead and is a big part of why fans love the show. The writer, Emer Kenny, would also likely return as both the creator and as her character, River Wilde.
The rest of the main cast would probably come back too. That includes Chris Jenks as Jason Murray, Zach Wyatt as Phil Parhatka, Steve John Shepherd as Simon Lees, and Saskia Ashdown as Isla Stark. Rakhee Thakrar might also return as journalist Bel Richmond, depending on how the new case unfolds.
Like the past seasons, season 3 would bring in a new group of actors. These new faces would play the main people involved in the next case. The show has done this in both seasons 1 and 2, so it’s safe to expect the same approach again.
Here’s the full list of actors from season 2 that we’d expect to return in season 3 if it gets confirmed:
- Lauren Lyle as Karen Pirie
- Chris Jenks as Jason Murray
- Zach wyatt as phil parhatka
- Steve John Shepherd as Simon Lees
- Saskia Ashdown as Isla Stark
- Emer Kenny as River Wilde
- Rakhee thakrar as bel richmond
All of these characters form the core of the team, and fans would want to see them again.
