NI’S Jimmy Nesbitt is back in Bloodlands

For years, when it came to ‘noir’ crime drama series, the Nordic countries, with their subtitles, deadpan expressions and questionable knitwear reigned supreme.

Then, in early 2021, the first series of sombre drama Bloodlands was unleashed on our small screens, and suddenly Northern Irish noir was all any of us could talk about.

With good reason – that initial season hooked – on average – 8.2 million of us. Audiences lapped up the slow-burning storyline and now James Nesbitt is back as his grim-faced alter ego DCI Tom Brannick with a fresh mystery to crack.

When the murder of a crooked accountant unravels a trail of greed that threatens to expose Goliath’s identity as legendary assassin, Tom and the accountant’s widow, Olivia (played by cast addition Victoria Smurfit), must keep each other dangerously close.

As they try to get to the bottom of the riddle her husband left behind, while also becoming more and more immersed in the puzzle of each other, the duo end up drawing in DS Niamh McGovern, DCS Jackie Twomey and DC “Birdy” Bird, as well as Tom’s daughter, Izzy.

Slowly, the situation escalates until deceit and betrayal build to a shattering climax.

It all sounds very serious, but the leading man is clearly delighted at slipping into Brannick’s shoes once more.

He says: “It’s brilliant to be back filming in Northern Ireland and reunited with the gang for the second series of Bloodlands. I couldn’t be happier to be welcoming Victoria to the cast, having first worked with her over 20 years ago! I can’t wait for audiences to see what’s next for the cunning and complex Tom Brannick.”

His co-star Victoria says: ”I’m beyond excited to be joining the cast of Bloodlands and to be working with Jimmy again. I adored watching the first series.” She’ll be among that 8.2 million then.

Of course, fans of Cold Feet will remember how James’ character Adam bumped into childhood sweetheart Jane (Smurfit) during his stag night, and it looks as if the sparks are set to fly between the actors in Bloodlands too.

Quite apart from that, the series will be a reminder for newcomers to James’ talents – if you only know him as that jolly dwarf from The Hobbit, the serious and downbeat Brannick may come as shock.

However, long-standing fans won’t be surprised by his range.

After all, the actor’s ongoing activism was sparked by his role as Northern Irish Civil Rights movement leader Ivan Cooper in the drama Bloody Sunday. He also showed his acting chops as the tortured father of a lost child in The Missing, and murderous dentist Colin Howell in The Secret.

James also famously crashed a conversation between Hollywood actress Uma Thurman and former US President Bill Clinton, simply so he could thank the latter for the part he played in the Northern Ireland Peace Process. He may have trampled poor Uma’s dress, but you have to admire his heartfelt gesture. Whether we’ll see such emotion from Brannick this time around remains to be seen…

Charlene McKenna, Lorcan Cranitch, Lola Petticrew and Chris Walley are among the supporting cast.