'Baptiste' creators confirm it won't return for a third season

Tchéky Karyo and Fiona Shaw in Baptiste
Tchéky Karyo and Fiona Shaw in Baptiste. (Image credit: BBC)

Baptiste will end after the second season, which is returning to our screens later this month. 

We know that there's plenty of drama in store for Baptiste Season 2, as it follows the disappearance of British Ambassador Emma Chambers' whole family as well as the personal struggles of police investigator Julien Baptiste.

However, we won't be seeing more of the character in the future, as series creators Harry and Jack Williams have ruled out the possibility of a Season 3. Speaking at a press event, Metro reports Harry revealed: "‘When we finished Baptiste series one, we had an idea for a trilogy and it was all great and very exciting. 

"And then we thought about it and what we didn’t ever want to do was somehow see him become another police officer. We’ve had the joy of doing every year with telling big, bold stories that give him a proper journey."

Baptiste is a spin-off series following on from the events of The Missing, where his character was first introduced. In the 2014 series, Tchéky Karyo starred alongside Keeley Hawes, David Morrissey, and James Nesbitt, and the character proved so popular that the self-titled series was born. 

But the Williams were concerned that his character would become too formulaic, and he wouldn't reflect everything fans had come to know and love about him. Harry continued: "I think we began to worry that it would become a formula. Do we suddenly make him just another cop? 

"When we wrote it we started to realise that if we did this, we wouldn’t get to do another one. It’s about doing the right thing for the character and not going 'Hey, we’ll be back next year with more crazy adventures.' It’s something great, that we all love and we’re proud of."

But despite the sad news that Baptiste will not be returning, Season 1 is available on-demand via iPlayer, and Season 2 will be arriving on Sunday, July 18 at 9pm.

Lucy Buglass
Senior Staff Writer

Lucy joined the WhatToWatch.com team in 2021, where she writes series guides for must-watch programmes, reviews and the latest TV news. Originally from Northumberland, she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in Film Studies and moved to London to begin a career writing about entertainment.


She is a Rotten Tomatoes approved film critic and has a huge passion for cinema. She especially loves horror, thriller and anything crime-related. Her favourite TV programmes include Inside No 9, American Horror Story, Stranger Things and Black Mirror but she is also partial to a quiz show or a bit of Say Yes to the Dress