Homegrown global hit Deadloch promises Top End crocs and killers in eagerly-awaited second season

After wowing audiences around the world with a blend of comedy and crime, the second season of Deadloch is heating up with a new cast and a sun-drenched Top End setting.

Kate Box and Madeleine Sami in the Amazon Prime Video comedy mystery Deadloch.

Australian-made international success Deadloch has swapped the dark and freezing temperatures of Tasmania for blazing heat and deadly critters as filming gets under way in the Top End.

The first season of the black comedy crime mystery was a hit with critics and viewers alike last year, and was nominated for 10 AACTA Awards, winning five, including Best Actress in a Comedy for Kate Box and Best Screenplay in Television for its creators and writers Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan. It was also nominated for three Logie Awards.

Box once again returns as buttoned-up detective Dulcie Collins, as do Madeleine Sami as her forthright and sometimes filthy partner Eddie Redcliffe, stand-up comedian Nina Oyama as aspiring forensics expert Abby Mayuda and Offspring star Alicia Gardner as Dulcie’s wife Cath.

New additions to the cast include Steve Bisley (Mad Max, The Big Steal), Shari Sebbens (The Sapphires, The Office), Nikki Britton (How To Stay Married), Genevieve Morris (Bloom, No Activity), Damien Garvey (Jack Irish, The Artful Dodger), Bev Killick (Savage River) and Ursula Yovich (Top End Wedding, Mystery Road).

Australian actor Kate Box won an AACTA for Deadloch.

Filming on the six-part series is currently taking place in the Northern Territory, including Darwin and surrounds, before production moves to Brisbane. Season Two of Deadloch will launch globally on Prime Video – most likely next year – in more than 240 countries and territories.

Creators, executive producers and writers Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan said, “We are so excited to be bringing the second season of Deadloch to life in beautiful Garramilla/Darwin and we’re beyond thrilled to be working with this exceptional crew and cast of actors, dogs and crocodiles. We can’t wait to share the new season with audiences across the globe on Prime Video.”

The blend of black humour and Scandi-noir-style crime drama (described by one critic as Vera meets Sea Change) – and a motley collection of oddball characters in the tiny titular Tasmanian town – made Deadloch an immediate hit when it was released last year. After it was first embraced in Australia it also found a global audience, reaching the Top 10 TV Shows in more than 165 countries and territories on Prime Video including the U.S., UK, and Canada.

Kate McLennan and Kate McCartney accept the AACTA Award for Best Screenplay in Television for Deadloch during the 2024 AACTA Awards. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for AFI

The second season heads to the Top End as the home of Sami’s character Eddie, to solve the mystery of what happened to her former policing partner Bushy. And of course, there will be new mystery to solve when the body of a Top End icon is discovered in a remote town and Eddie and Dulcie are flung into a sweatier, stickier investigation.

Deadloch, which earned a rare 100 per cent score on review site Rotten Tomatoes, was also lauded for its celebration of female and queer characters, which are also expected to be front and centre in the second season. After this year’s triumphant AACTA Awards, creator McCartney wrote online: “I really like us. I’m really proud of the show, but on a human level, I’m also just really proud of this little group of queers and our adopted blonde ally.

“I blubbed like a fool when Boxy won. I’m just so grateful to her for lending her immense talent to our show.”

McCartney and McLennan celebrated their success by expressing their gratitude for everyone who had embraced the show.

“Particularly the lesbians who have passionately shared their love for this show like a cold sore being passed around a dance floor during mardi gras. This is for you.”

Originally published as Homegrown global hit Deadloch promises Top End crocs and killers in eagerly-awaited second season