Kelly Reilly’s 10/10 Detective Thriller Officially Returns With Major Season 2 Change
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
Sky has renewed the Kelly Reilly-led mystery thriller Under Salt Marsh for a second series after a strong debut, marking another prominent television success for the former Yellowstone star. The renewal matters because the programme’s audience and critical response have positioned it as a valuable thriller for Sky and its Peacock streaming distribution.
The first episode drew 1.8 million viewers in its first seven days, reportedly surpassing Sky’s Day of the Jackal, while series one holds a 100% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. Filming on series two is due to begin next year, but the story will move from the fictional Welsh village of Morfa Halen to a remote Scottish mining village, where Rafe Spall’s detective Eric Bull investigates a new murder and confronts secrets from his past.
- Under Salt Marsh has been renewed for a second series.
- Series two moves the mystery from Wales to Scotland.
- Its premiere attracted 1.8 million viewers in seven days.
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Under Salt Marsh is a crime thriller led by Kelly Reilly, set in the fictional Welsh village of Morfa Halen. Its first series follows a murder investigation and the people and secrets connected to it, with Rafe Spall playing detective Eric Bull.
The programme is made for Sky and is also distributed through the US streaming service Peacock. Its second series is set to move the story to a remote Scottish mining village, with Bull investigating a new case; the change of setting means the story will introduce a different community and its history.
Full account
Sky has renewed the mystery thriller Under Salt Marsh for a second series, extending the run of a drama led by Kelly Reilly after a strong launch. The programme follows Jackie Ellis, a former detective now working as a teacher, whose life is disturbed when a pupil, Cefin Hill, is found drowned. The case revives the unresolved disappearance of Jackie’s niece three years earlier and brings her back into contact with her former police partner, Eric Bull.
Reilly, best known to many viewers for playing Beth Dutton in Yellowstone, is both the star and an executive producer on Under Salt Marsh. Rafe Spall plays Eric, while the supporting cast includes Jonathan Pryce, Harry Lawtey, Brian Gleeson and Maggie Yang. The first series is set in the fictional Welsh community of Morfa Halen, where the inquiry gradually exposes connections between the boy’s death and Jackie’s earlier family trauma.
The renewal was announced by Sky on 26 August. Sky said the opening episode drew 1.8 million viewers across its first seven days, a figure it presented as exceeding the launch performance of Day of the Jackal. The drama has also attracted a favourable critical response; the supplied report notes a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, with attention focused particularly on Reilly’s performance and the series’ layered mystery.
The principal change for series two is its setting and apparent focus. Rather than remaining in Morfa Halen with Jackie at the centre of the investigation, the story will move to Scotland and follow Eric to an isolated mining village. He is expected to investigate another killing while confronting questions about his own history. Filming is scheduled to begin next year, with creator Claire Oakley describing the move as an opportunity to explore a different part of the UK.
Where outlets differ
Source 1 directly concerns Under Salt Marsh and provides the renewal, audience, cast, plot and Scotland-setting details. Source 2 is chiefly about Netflix crime dramas, especially Legends, and does not substantively report on Under Salt Marsh or Kelly Reilly; it therefore does not provide a conflicting account of this story.
Source 1 stresses Reilly’s role and the Welsh-to-Scottish shift, whereas Source 2 emphasises Netflix performance figures and a separate renewal.