Before We Die season 2 sees the return of Channel 4's remake of the Swedish noir thriller of the same name (known in Sweden as Innan vi dör), picking up the story after the breathtaking cliffhanger at the end of Before We Die season 1 that saw detective Hannah Laing (Lesley Sharp) become a killer in order to save her son Christian (Patrick Gibson).
"I'm delighted to welcome back this gripping crime thriller to the channel," says Channel 4's Head of Drama Caroline Hollick.
"Series one struck a chord with audiences, with over 12 million viewers tuned into the show on All4 — from the edge of their seats. I can't wait for audiences to enter back into this world — with more surprises, twists and turns in store, and I'm delighted to have Lesley Sharp back at the helm playing the formidable Hannah Laing, along with the rest of our brilliant cast."
The five-part series has been commissioned from Eagle Eye Drama, who have also produced Suspect for Channel 4, Professor T for ITV and Hotel Portofino for BritBox/ITV.
"To take part in a story that has a complex, ambivalent, older female character at the center of its beating heart is a privilege," says Lesley. "I am excited and honored to be part of this collaborative, creative team. Viva Hannah! Viva Channel 4! Viva Eagle Eye! Here's to the next chapter of Before We Die."
Here's everything we know about the show so far...
Before We Die season 2 release date
Season two of Before We Die launches on Channel 4 on Sunday June 25 at 9pm and continues every night at 9pm until Thursday June 29. The full series will be available as a box set on Channel 4 streaming from June 25.
Before We Die season 2 plot
*WARNING: SPOILERS FOR BEFORE WE DIE SEASON 1*
In season one of Before We Die, Detective Inspector Hannah Laing (Lesley Sharp) was working with Billy Murdoch (Vincent Regan), a specialist in Eastern European drug gangs from the National Crime Agency, to infiltrate the Mimica crime family, led by the ruthless Davor (Toni Gojanović) and overseen by matriarch Dubravka (Kazia Pelka). However, Hannah was in for a shock when she learned that her informant within the Mimicas was none other than her estranged son, Christian Radic (Patrick Gibson).
As Hannah, Billy and Christian got increasingly involved with the Mimicas in their bid to find out what the mysterious Operation Krajina involved, with Christian also becoming romantically entangled with Davor's sister Bianca (Issy Knopfler), the two sides were ultimately pulled together into a dramatic confrontation that saw Hannah shoot and kill Davor to save Christian, with Christian being forced to go on the run for his own protection.
Channel 4 have suggested that season 2 of Before We Die will not directly follow the storyline of the original Swedish series, but it will see Hannah squaring off against Dubravka, as these two determined women who would do anything for their families each plot to take the other down...
Before We Die season 2 cast
Lesley Sharp will be returning as Hannah Laing, alongside Vincent Regan as Billy Murdoch. Also confirmed to be returning are Patrick Gibson as Christian Radic, Issy Knopfler as Bianca Mimica and Kazia Pelka as Dubravka Mimica.
There will also be some new additions to the cast, including New Blood's Mark Strepan as Dubravka's nephew Goran, and Steeltown Murders' Priyanga Burford as Nicky Harris, an enigmatic figure who's set to go toe-to-toe with Dubravka.
Before We Die season 2 episode guide
Episode 1: Hannah and Billy join forces once again to find the source of the leak at Police HQ in Bristol. Meanwhile, Dubravka is joined by her nephew Goran and comes under pressure from the family in Zagreb to shift the stash of drugs she's been left sitting on, and Christian and Bianca discover that their hideout in Costa Rica isn't as safe as they thought.
Episode 2: Bianca is reunited with Dubravka against her will and soon finds herself a prisoner in her own home, while Christian attempts to evade the Mimicas and return to the UK undetected to come to her rescue. After finding the mole, Hannah and Billy strike a deal with him to tell them everything before Dubravka gets involved.
Episode 3: Hannah and Billy begin to suspect that they can't trust their boss, Chief Superintendent Kane. After learning that Bianca is back — alone — Hannah fears the worst has happened to Christian, and the race is on to find him before the Mimicas can.
Episode 4: Hannah and Billy try to find the rat who betrayed them, and this time Chief Superintendent Kane is willing to listen when they make a breakthrough in the case. But as they come ever closer to bringing down the Mimicas, they find themselves in major danger.
Episode 5: The police are closing in on the Mimicas and Nicky in Bristol, and the war between Hannah and Dubravka reaches a bloody conclusion.
Is there a trailer for Before We Die season 2?
There is! You can have a sneaky peek below:
Lesley Sharp interview for Before We Die season 2
Where do we find Hannah at the start of season two?
"Hannah is dealing with the fact that her son is out of the UK and she doesn't know where he is, what he's doing, or whether he's safe. She's also been tasked by her boss to investigate who might be responsible for [the leak] within her police cohort. She's full of anxiety, full of stress — she's having nightmares and trying to keep a lid on that.
She's also full of heat about Dubravka, and what Dubravka still has within her power to do about Christian, and the fact that she's failed as a parent, as a mother. The police have insisted that she deal with the events of season one by seeing a therapist, so she's in therapy — but she's there under sufferance because she needs to be there to keep doing her job, not because she wants to be there!"
What can you tell us about the impending conflict between Hannah and Dubravka?
"In series one, the two of them bump into one another at Dubravka's house, both playing what they think is a clever game — but both of them are clever enough to know the other one is lying, and very dangerous. In series two, those masks are off, and the pair of them are aware of the depth of love they have as mothers about their sons, and how far they will go to protect their family. That makes them very dangerous adversaries, and the motor of series two is about which of these two women is going to come out on top.
There's also another woman [Nicky] who, unlike Dubravka and Hannah, operates from a very different motor — she's very cold, very clear, very reasoned, very cool and is operating purely for her own gain. That also makes her very dangerous in a different way. So we've got three really interesting female characters, all pitted against one another."
How does Hannah and Billy's relationship evolve in this season?
"In season one, Billy and Hannah were united as colleagues against the Mimicas, and because Billy is part of the NCA and isn't a police officer, he's been able to go outside of the guidelines and behaviours that as a police officer you're not able to do, and Hannah has joined that. At the end of series one, she's a killer, and arguably that's because of Billy.
They are both linked by being damaged people, both of them have made huge mistakes in their personal lives, with their partners and children. Billy's done things that have caused him to suffer from PTSD, he's had to go to some pretty dark places and come out the other side, and that's sort of where Hannah is now.
Because of everything that happened with the Mimicas, there were some things that had to be kept secret, so there's no one Hannah can talk to about that, or how frightened she is for Christian's life, other than Billy. I think Billy recognises that Hannah is carrying a trauma and anxiety, so there's mutual respect, recognition, trust and care that they have for each other. You've got two characters who are finding a really deep connection, and I find that really moving."
Now that Hannah is a killer and she's out for revenge on Dubravka, how close is she to crossing a line that she can't come back from?
"She's very close! Series one begins with her being a mother who's made a mistake with her boy and she feels terrible about that. Actually, if Christian hadn't gone to prison because of her, none of this would have happened — that mistake she made in trying to teach Christian a moral lesson, and not being there in the way she arguably should have been, set in motion this massive propulsion into tragedy and darkness for the whole family.
She's gone from being a really great career cop to being a murderer, and she's going to places inside herself that she never imagined she would. She's trying to remain in control of her moral compass when actually what she wants to do is smash and kill and [take] revenge. That's a really difficult thing to carry inside, and what you have to present to the world is very different from the nightmare you've got inside you..."
