The first trailer and brand new pictures of the highly anticipated series Return to Paradise, the Australian spin-off of the smash-hit murder mystery franchise Death in Paradise, have been released by BBC and series co-producers Red Planet Pictures and BBC Studios Australia Productions today. The series arrives in full on BBC iPlayer on Friday 22 November, and will air on BBC One from 8pm that night.
Featuring the picturesque setting of Dolphin Cove, the new pictures and trailer reveal Anna Samson (Dead Lucky, Wake in Fright, Jack Irish) as DI Mackenzie Clarke and Detective S. C. Lloyd Griffith (Ted Lasso, Nolly) as Colin Cartwright in the midst of solving a case. Tai Hara (Home and Away, Colin from Accounts, Austin) appears to be the epitome of coastal cool as Glenn Strong, alongside Celia Ireland (Wentworth, Total Control) and Aaron McGrath (Gold Diggers, Preppers) as Police volunteer Reggie Rocco and PC Felix Wilkinson, the unlikely double act key to the team’s coastal investigations. The series also stars Catherine McClements (Total Control, Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries) and Andrea Demetriades (Mother and Son, The Artful Dodger).
Return to Paradise follows DI Mackenzie Clarke, an Australian ex-pat who’s made a name for herself in London’s Metropolitan Police for cracking uncrackable murder cases. When she is accused of tampering with evidence, Mackenzie returns to Australia, back to the last place she ever wanted to be – her hometown of Dolphin Cove. Having fled the town six years ago, infamously leaving her ex- fiancée Glenn at the altar, Mackenzie is not welcome here.
But with no other job options, and a unique talent for solving a mystery, no matter how challenging, a reluctant Mack joins the team at Dolphin Cove Police Station. Once a case lands on her desk, she can’t rest until she’s figured it out, and the killer is in handcuffs. It’s that tenacity and work ethic that might just, over time, help Mackenzie win over her new colleagues, and the people of Dolphin Cove.
Return to Paradise is produced by BBC Studios Productions Australia and Red Planet Pictures. The series is co-created and executive-produced by Peter Mattessi, James Hall and Robert Thorogood. Di Haddon is producer. Executive producers for BBC Studios Productions Australia are Kylie Washington and Warren Clarke, for Red Planet Pictures are Belinda Campbell and Tim Key and for ABC are Rachel Okine and Brett Sleigh.
Internationally distributed by BBC Studios, all six episodes of Return to Paradise will be available on BBC iPlayer from 6am on Friday 22 November, with the series airing weekly on BBC One from 8pm that night.