HBO Max has picked up cozy crime series Bookish for its service in Australia. The show comes from the pen of Sherlock’s Mark Gatiss. He also stars in the series, which is heading into its second season.

Set in 1940s post-war London, the drama follows bibliophile sleuth Book (Gatiss) who helps the police solve their knottiest cases. He is a gay man at a time when homosexuality is illegal, and in a lavender marriage to childhood friend Trottie, played by Polly Walker (Bridgerton).

Bookish is proving a valuable addition to the library of Beta Film, which sells it internationally. It has racked up new sales in addition to HBO Max, including to Radio Canada, Sky New Zealand, Viasat World for CEE, BBC Brit for Africa and Italian pubcaster RAI.

The deals mean the series has now crossed the momentous 100-territory mark. Cozy crime is in vogue internationally and the show has been well received. Earlier sales saw it land with AMC Networks for Latin America and Brazil, BBC First for Benelux, TRT for Turkey, HRT for Croatia, DR for Denmark and SVT for Sweden among others.

Bookish is for UKTV in the UK where is goes out the U&alibi channel. The launch episode averaged 1.5M viewers, its second highest-performing premiere ever.

Season 2 is about to drop. Gatiss, Walker and Connor Finch all return. Other cast include Elliot Levey (Quiz), Blake Harrison (World on Fire), and Buket Kömür (Our House).

Joining the cast for the new season are Jason Watkins (The Game) Miranda Richardson (The Last Anniversary) and Simon Callow (Étoile).