We have Death in Paradise, Beyond Paradise, and now the universe is expanding again with Return to Paradise – and this time the detective is going Down Under in Australia!
The exciting new six part spin-off will be set in the beachside hamlet of Dolphin Cove, and will follow London Met star Mackenzie Clarke who has to move back to her home in Australia – and murder isn’t far behind…
The official synopsis reads: “Australian ex-pat Mackenzie Clarke is the seemingly golden girl of the London Metropolitan police force – with an intuitive approach to detective work, she has built a reputation for being able to crack the most impossible of cases.
“However, she’s suddenly forced to up sticks and move back to her childhood home of Dolphin Cove, a beautiful, coastal paradise… and Mackenzie’s worst nightmare… Having escaped her hometown at the earliest opportunity six years ago, Mack vowed she'd never come back, leaving a lot of unfinished business and unanswered questions.
© Todd Anthony“On her return she’s still no fan of the town, and the people of Dolphin Cove are certainly no fans of hers. In fact everyone would prefer her not to be there, including Mackenzie herself. But when a murder takes place in Dolphin Cove, Mack can’t help but put her inspired detective brilliance to good use and determines, despite her reservations, that she needs to make the best of it, including tying up the loose ends with the man she left at the altar six years ago.”
Casting is yet to be announced, but Head of BBC Programme Acquisition Sue Deeks said: “Everything we all love about Death in Paradise - the humour, the beautiful scenery, the likeable characters, the ingenious plots - now in a fabulous Australian setting. I cannot wait for BBC viewers to be introduced to Detective Mack and the good (and not so good!) folk of Dolphin Cove. What a treat we have in store!"
© Denis GuyenonJoint-MD of Red Planet Pictures Alex Jones added: “We are so proud of the global success of both Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise – each selling to hundreds of territories, watched by millions, and regularly claiming the position of top rated drama in most of them.
“Return to Paradise is a brilliantly exciting new addition to ‘The Paraverse’ which we are sure audiences will love just as much. It is a completely original drama but takes the essence of what viewers love about Death in Paradise – the fish out of water premise coupled with the most cleverly plotted murder mystery – and gives it a uniquely Aussie flavour.”
© Denis GuyenonRalf Little, who stars as the detective in Death in Paradise, has previously opened up about making cameos on Beyond Paradise in an Instagram Q&A, saying: “Yeah, totally. I'm quite loving the fact, now that there is Beyond Paradise, there's a bit of a joke amongst us that like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that there is a Death in Paradise Cinematic Universe."
He added: "So who knows? Maybe [there will be] more. Maybe there's going to be Death in the States or Death in the Maldives would be quite nice. We are halfway through episode one, it's going to be very good. The Christmas special is done and dusted, it's going to be a pretty good one as well. It's all going very, very well."
