THE LONG CALL SHELVED BY ITV AFTER ONE SERIES

EXCLUSIVE

ITV detective drama The Long Call, starring Ben Aldridge and Pearl Mackie, will not be returning for a second series.

The four-part event drama, which aired in Autumn 2021, was based on the best-selling novel of the same name from Ann Cleeves. The ITV showing was adapted by Kelly Jones and directed by Lee Haven Jones.

ITV have now confirmed that they have no plans for a second series of The Long Call. The series was stripped across one week in October, and opened to an audience of over 6m, before falling to under 4m for the final episode.

The series follows Detective Inspector Matthew Venn, who has returned to live in a small community in North Devon with his husband, Jonathan (Declan Bennett), not just to grieve for his father, but to lead a murder investigation.

Matthew is now forced to re-engage with the community he left, including the most painful and challenging of relationships, with his mother Dorothy played by award-winning actress Juliet Stevenson (Riviera, Truly Madly, Deeply).

After the body of a man is found on the beach close to Matthew’s home, the investigation throws a cast of doubt on the whole community. Matthew and his team have to get to the bottom of a case which bring with it old wounds and a deadly secret in order to expose the killer.

Further casting included Martin Shaw as the spiritual Brethren leader Dennis Stephenson and Anita Dobson who played Grace Stephenson.

Series 1 of The Long Call is available to stream on ITV Hub.