Showtrial season 2 to launch Sunday 6 October, BBC confirms

The BBC has announced the launch date and released the trailer along with new artwork for Showtrial. The five-part series will be available on BBC iPlayer from 6am on Sunday, 6th October, and will air on BBC One on Sunday nights at 9pm. Created and written by Ben Richards, Showtrial is produced by World Productions (Vigil, Line of Duty, Save Me) for the BBC.

The trailer features BAFTA award-winner Adeel Akhtar (Fool Me Once, Sherwood, Ali & Ava) alongside Nathalie Armin (Home, Unforgotten, The Batman), Michael Socha (The Gallows Pole, Chernobyl, This Is England) and Joe Dempsie (Pieces of Her, Game of Thrones).

Telling a brand-new, original story, the latest instalment in the anthology series follows climate activist Marcus Calderwood (Barney Fishwick), who is left for dead in a violent hit-and-run. In his dying moments, he seemingly identifies his killer — a serving policeman.

From Calderwood’s last breath to the jury’s final verdict, Showtrial introduces us to the charismatic and cocky police officer Justin Mitchell (Michael Socha); Sam Malik (Adeel Akhtar), an anxious defence solicitor known for winning lost causes; DI Miles Southgate (Joe Dempsie), brought in from a neighbouring force to investigate; and Leila Hassoun-Kenny (Nathalie Armin), a driven CPS lawyer leading the case against the accused. As public outrage reaches fever pitch, the series explores what happens when a trial is shaped by cultural divisions and asks whether the truth is ever clear-cut. Is a fair trial even possible when tensions are this high?

Showtrial also stars Fisayo Akinade (Heartstopper, Dangerous Liaisons), Tom Padley (The Lost Pirate Kingdom, Silent Witness), Kerrie Hayes (Blue Jean, Tin Star), and Barney Fishwick (Living, The Buccaneers), as well as BAFTA-winner Francesca Annis (Flesh and Blood, Home Fires), Nina Toussaint-White (Bodyguard), Zoe Telford (Men Only), Ali Khan (A Haunting in Venice), Daniel Kendrick (Inside Man), Frankie Wilson (Against the Ice), Anna Próchniak (The Tattooist of Auschwitz), Anna Wilson Jones (Victoria), John Light (Around the World in 80 Days), Aidan McArdle (Spy/Master), Daisy Badger (The Sandman), Flora Montgomery (The Crown), Pearce Quigley (Detectorists), John Marquez (Doc Martin), and Anna Healy (Mother’s Day).

Showtrial is created and written by Ben Richards. The executive producers are Simon Heath and Emma Luffingham for World Productions (an ITV Studios company), along with Nawfal Faizullah and Katherine Bond for the BBC, and Ben Richards. Julia Ford (Everything I Know About Love, Safe) is the director, and Ken Horn (Line of Duty, The Moorside) is the producer.

Filmed in Belfast with additional scenes shot in Brighton, Showtrial is produced with support from Northern Ireland Screen, in association with ITV Studios, which will also manage international distribution.

Showtrial’s first series, which aired on the BBC in 2021, is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.