As After the Flood returns for its second series, newly promoted detective Jo Marshall (Sophie Rundle) finds herself navigating a town where the air is thick with the scent of moorland fires and the stench of long-buried corruption.
Series 2 picks up nearly a year after the dramatic conclusion of the first installment. While a flood wall now protects the town, thanks to a £10 million donation from local benefactor Alan Benson (Alun Armstrong), new threats are emerging.
For Jo Marshall, the professional and personal have become inextricably linked. Now a detective leading her own investigation, she discovers a body on the moors under ‘bizarre circumstances’.
‘What unfolds is this spider web of conspiracy and lies,’ says Sophie Rundle. ‘Something is going on within the community that she needs to unpick, and all is not as it seems’.
However, Jo’s primary mission remains undercover. While maintaining a ‘tentative truce’ with the corrupt Sergeant Phil Mackie (Nicholas Gleaves), she is secretly building a case to finally bring him down. ‘She’s still a dog with a bone, she’s not forgotten, and she’s just gearing up for the next attack,’ Sophie adds.
The heart of the series remains the tension between Jo and Mackie. While Phil believes he has successfully weathered the storm and maintained his position of power, he remains a desperate man, terrified of exposure.
‘There’s a real cat-and-mouse story between Sergeant Mackie and Jo Marshall that will hopefully drive us to a great finale,’ teases Nicholas Gleaves.
With deeper corruption surfacing and the stakes higher than ever, After the Flood Series 2 promises to be a ‘potent mix’ of human drama and high-stakes thriller. As Jill Halfpenny notes, ‘At the very end? There’s a very unexpected occurrence that I think will really take people by surprise’.
Cast
- Alun Armstrong (Alan Benson)
- Ian Puleston-Davies (Tony Rower)
- Jacqueline Boatswain (Sarah Mackie)
- Jill Halfpenny (DS Sam Bradley)
- Lorraine Ashbourne (Molly Marshall)
- Nicholas Gleaves (Sergeant Phil Mackie)
- Philip Glenister (Jack Radcliffe)
- Sophie Rundle (Jo Marshall)
Stream Series 1 on ITVX – Read more drama
Series 2 returns Sunday, January 18th, 2026 on ITV1 at 9:00pm