ITV has renewed police drama The Bay for a second season. The pick-up comes a little more than a week after the show’s six episode first season wrapped its run on the channel. The Bay was a strong ratings performer for ITV, with the series attracting a consolidated audience of 7 million viewers and a 27% share across its six week run.
The Bay is set in the unique coastal town of Morecambe and follows Detective Sergeant Lisa Armstrong, a police family liaison officer. The drama series, which was created by Daragh Carville, is produced by Tall Story Pictures and stars Morven Christie and Daniel Ryan. ITV said that filming would begin later this year and that they would confirm casting for season two closer to the start of production.
“I am delighted with the audience response to The Bay. It’s very real and beautifully made by everyone involved, and as a result it held an audience of 7 million across 6 weeks”, said ITV’s Head of Drama Poly Hill, who commissioned the show’s second season. “I think that audience will enjoy seeing where Daragh takes Lisa and the team, when they return with a new case for series 2 next year.”
While Tall Story Pictures’ Creative Director Catherine Oldfield, who serves as executive producer on the series, added: “We are so thrilled that The Bay found such a large audience and that the fantastic world and characters brought to life by Daragh Carville will be returning to ITV. It was an incredible production, shot in a beautiful location and thanks to ITV’s belief in the story we wanted to tell, we get to do it all over again.”
