Mark Gatiss Drama ‘Bookish’ Returning For Third Chapter & Festive Special
Mark Gatiss's cosy crime drama Bookish has been renewed for a third season by UKTV's U&Alibi channel, alongside a two-part Christmas special due this year. The renewal underlines the show's strong international performance, having sold to more than 100 territories, and confirms its status as one of UKTV's flagship dramas.
The new six-episode third season is set to launch in 2027 and will begin production later this year, while the festive special, titled Bookish: The Crown of Destiny, sees Gatiss's bookshop owner Book caught up in a seasonal mystery. The series, created by and starring Gatiss, follows Book as he helps police solve crimes in post-war Britain while concealing his sexuality through a lavender marriage to Trottie, played by Polly Walker. It is produced by ITV Studios' Eagle Eye Drama with Happy Duck Films, distributed internationally by Beta Film, with PBS Distribution handling North American rights.
- Bookish renewed for six-episode third season, launching 2027.
- Two-part Christmas special, The Crown of Destiny, airs this year.
- Mark Gatiss's drama has sold to over 100 territories worldwide.
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Bookish is a British crime drama set in the years after the Second World War. Mark Gatiss created the series and plays Gabriel Book, a bookshop owner who helps the police solve crimes.
Book lives with Trottie, played by Polly Walker, in a lavender marriage: a marriage that allows them to conceal their sexuality at a time when being gay was criminalised in Britain. That background shapes the characters’ lives as well as the period setting.
The series is made by Eagle Eye Drama and Happy Duck Films for UKTV’s U&Alibi channel, with Beta Film distributing it internationally. Its sales to more than 100 territories have made it one of UKTV’s flagship dramas.