The second season of ITV's acclaimed detective drama After the Flood has arrived, bringing back the luminous Sophie Rundle as the tenacious PC turned detective Joanna Marshall. While the series remains a premium cut above standard crime fare, this new run risks being pulled back into familiar territory, retreading ground rather than boldly moving its compelling formula forward.
A Beacon in a Bleak Town
Set a year after the devastating events of the first series, Jo is now a fully-fledged detective, navigating a personal and professional landscape forever altered by the flood and the corruption it exposed. Separated from her husband, Pat (played by Rundle's real-life partner Matt Stokoe), she remains doggedly committed to bringing down the bent cop who secretly controls their perpetually rain-soaked Yorkshire town.
The discovery of a body on the moors kicks off a new, complex case. The investigation weaves through multiple potential causes: a chemical company dumping waste, controversial heather burning for grouse shooting, and rampant fly-tipping. Sophie Rundle continues to shine, her performance a masterclass in empathetic, curious policing amidst a community of villains and victims.
New Dynamics and Familiar Tropes
A welcome development is the expanded role of Jo's mother, Molly, played superbly by Lorraine Ashbourne. Now living together, their evolving parent-child relationship provides warmth and humour. Molly's encyclopaedic local knowledge and new position on the council make her an invaluable, if unconventional, sidekick, allowing the show to critique the inadequacy of local authorities in environmental protection.
Jo is paired with a new, inherently trustworthy partner, Sam (Jill Halfpenny). However, the central murder mystery—involving a body full of shotgun pellets that isn't a straightforward shooting—feels like a variation on season one's theme, where a death in a flood wasn't a simple drowning. The sense of déjà vu is palpable, and Jo occasionally slips into the routine of 'pootling' from clue to clue like any other TV detective.
The Missing Element
Perhaps the most significant absence, however, is the flood itself. The breathtaking opening disaster of season one was a powerful narrative device and a stark statement on the climate crisis and neglected northern communities. Its lack in season two, replaced by more diffuse environmental threats, subtly signals a lowering of ambition. The show's unique, urgent edge has softened.
Ultimately, After the Flood season two is still superior television, buoyed by Rundle's captivating lead performance and a strong supporting cast. It successfully juggles personal drama with a gritty crime plot and timely ecological themes. Yet, by indulging genre tropes it once transcended and revisiting its own past revelations, the series has begun to drift from its previously unmissable course.
After the Flood is available to stream on ITVX now.
