Detective John Rebus back on our screens as season two confirmed

Detective John Rebus will be back on our screens after the BBC confirmed a second season of the hit TV drama with Richard Rankin.

The drama, based on the books by Sir Ian Rankin, saw the detective return to TV for the first time in 20 years last year in a six part series. 

The debut episode attracted 6.3 million viewers across all platforms while last month it scooped three RTS Scotland awards for Best Drama, Writer and Director.

Filmed in and around Edinburgh and Glasgow, series two will see Outlander star Rankin reprise the role of Detective Sergeant John Rebus.

‘Season one of Rebus ended on a cliffhanger,’ executive producer Ian Rankin said.

‘Only screenwriter Gregory Burke knows what happens next. So I’m hugely excited that season two will soon be with us. Rebus is back – mean, moody and as magnificent as ever.’

The next season will explore the links between violent criminals involved in the drug trade in Edinburgh and the professional bourgeois world of law and finance, where police sometimes fear to tread.

‘After three wins at the RTS Scotland Awards 2025, we couldn’t be more thrilled to now share that we are reuniting with Ian Rankin’s celebrated Scottish detective, brilliantly portrayed by Richard Rankin, to bring a second series of Rebus to the BBC,’ said Paula Cuddy, Executive Producer and Co-CEO at Eleventh Hour Films.

‘No doubt it’ll pack a punch and there’ll be some sardonic Rebus comments along the way. We can’t wait.’

Writer Gregory Burke said: ‘I’m delighted to be given the chance by the BBC and Eleventh Hour Films to bring Rebus back to the nation’s TV screens once more.

‘Ian Rankin’s character and body of work are the perfect materials with which to explore contemporary Scottish society and the turbulent world that surrounds it.’

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