THE BEAST MUST DIE AXED BY ITV & BRITBOX AFTER ONE SERIES

ITV have pulled the plug on The Beast Must Die after one series, despite the broadcast revealing a second series was in development in 2021. The series landed on ITVX earlier this month after premiering on BritBox.

The drama was originally commissioned for BritBox UK and the first series premiered in 2021. Later that Summer ITV announced a second series was in development, also for BritBox. However, since BritBox became integrated with ITVX in 2022, plans for a second series have seemingly been scrapped.

The second series in development was entitled A Sword in my Bones, and was set to be based on an original story created by screenwriter Gaby Chiappe (The Beast Must Die, Shetland, Vera). Rising Star Billy Howle (The Serpent, MotherFatherSon, On Chesil Beach) was mooted to return to the role of Detective Nigel Strangeways.

In the fiirst series, after learning the police investigation into the fatal hit and run of her young son Martie has been dropped, Frances Cairnes (Cush Jumbo) takes matters into her own hands.

Posing as a novelist researching a new murder-mystery, Frances ingratiates herself with the family of George Rattery (Jared Harris), the man she suspects is responsible, and sets a plan in action to kill him. 

She’s tracked by detective Nigel Strangeways (Billy Howle, The Serpent, MotherFatherSon), who has reason to believe his department covered up George’s involvement in the incident.

Suffering from PTSD following the recent death of his partner, Strangeways throws himself into pursuing justice for Martie. But when he discovers an “undercover” Frances living with George and his family, Strangeways finds himself working to both prove George’s guilt and head off Frances’s plans for revenge before anyone else dies.

The Beast Must Die is available now on ITVX.