‘Death In Paradise’ Spin-Off ‘Beyond Paradise’ Greenlit By BBC & BritBox; Kris Marshall To Star

Max Goldbart
·2 min read
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The BBC and BritBox have commissioned a spin-off of BBC drama favorite Death in Paradise, with Kris Marshall’s DI Humphrey Goodman character making a return in the UK.

Marshall played the lead role in the show’s third-to-sixth season before being replaced by Ardal O’Hanlon and Beyond Paradise will spotlight his return to being a DI in his home nation. Beyond Paradise will be distributed internationally by BBC Studios and be available in all Britbox international markets outside of Australia.

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Having recently entered its 11th season, Asacha Media Group-backed Sanditon producer Red Planet Pictures’ Death in Paradise is one of the BBC’s most popular dramas of the past decade and was one of the first shows to return to production after the COVID-induced production hiatus in 2020.

The idea for a spin-off has been floating around for several years and BritBox Chief Creative Officer Diederick Santer, who used to run Broadchurch indie Kudos, described the greenlight as a “no brainer” and said BritBox has one or two similar ideas in development.

“Familiarity is so key and that comes with well-known IP, spin-offs, talent and location,” he added, referencing similar BritBox spin-offs such as Sister Boniface Mysteries from Father Brown. “This is so important and really cuts through.”

BritBox is onboard the spin-off and unveiled it at a swanky London do this morning along with a wealth of other co-produced content with its owners, the BBC and ITV.

The SVoD, which is available in the U.S., Nordics, Australia and South Africa, has commissioned a second season of Irvine Welsh adaptation Crime with ITV and a second season of Greg Davies’ comedy The Cleaner.

It has also jumped aboard Lenny Henry’s Three Little Birds with ITV and upcoming ITV thriller Karen Pirie, along with BBC factual series Make it at Market. 

Three Little Birds falls into BritBox’s “gamechanger” category, according to Santer and BritBox International CEO Reemah Sakaan, of which a “handful” will be commissioned per year.

“We want to challenge producers a bit,” said Santer. “If you say you want too much crime and mystery it’s too formal.”

In the UK, BritBox is soon to be folded into forthcoming ITV streamer ITVX.

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