EXCLUSIVE: The BBC is returning to high-stakes thriller Nightsleeper, with production switching from Euston Films to Element Pictures.

Season 1 of Nick Leather’s show starred Joe Cole (Peaky Blinders) and Alexandra Roach (Killing Eve) as two strangers forced to work together to save the lives of its passengers.

Season 2 will switch to the open water, as a new thriller unfolds aboard a ship travelling across the Irish Sea. No more detail was disclosed but there will be a fresh cast, with Cole and Roach not returning. The show is following a similar pattern to hit BBC-Peacock drama Vigil, which has aired three seasons, the first on sea, the second in the air and the third in an Arctic research station. Cameras will roll in Belfast later this year.

Season 1 became the BBC’s biggest new drama launch of the year when it premiered in September 2024. It has also been a big hit for distributor Fremantle, selling to 176 territories including BritBox in the U.S. No word yet on whether BritBox will go for Season 2.

Season 1 of Nightsleeper was made by Fremantle label Euston Films, which was shuttered around the time it launched as all staff were made redundant, although brand and IP remains with Fremantle. Fremantle label Element, the indie behind Normal People and Poor Things, has stepped in to produce Season 2.

Leather said: “It’s so exciting to set sail on season two. The passengers and crew on tonight’s Belfast to Liverpool passenger ferry are about to experience six hours of non-stop thrills and spills, secrets and lies, triumphs and tragedies. None of them are quite as they seem. Nothing in their lives will ever be the same again. Not all of them will make it to the other side. The new Nightsleeper is going to be more nightsleepery than ever.”

Nightsleeper Season 2 is the first big show to be unveiled since the BBC announced it will be cutting 15% of its development spend and axing some shows as it builds towards hefty savings targets.

Nightsleeper was commissioned by BBC drama boss Lindsay Salt and is made with support from Northern Ireland Screen. The series will be directed by James Kent (The White Queen) and Chris Baugh (Wreck). Kate Harwood, Rachel Dargavel, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe and Chris Aird will executive produce for Element alongside Leather and Kent, with Gaynor Holmes is executive producing for the BBC. The series producer is Jonathan Curling, with Maria Mulhall serving as producer.