May 16, 2024 – Filming has begun in Northern Ireland on the third series of the Acorn TV Original hit crime drama Dalgliesh, produced by New Pictures (The Long Shadow, Champion, Des) for Acorn TV and Channel 5 in association with All3Media International, with lead actor Bertie Carvel making his debut as one of the directors on the series.

Another three novels from P.D. James’ international best-selling murder mysteries are being adapted for this latest series, with each being told over two, hour-long episodes. Carvel (The Crown, Agatha Christie’s The Pale Horse, Doctor Foster) will reprise the role of the uniquely enigmatic detective, Chief Inspector Adam Dalgliesh, for all six new episodes.

We meet Commander Dalgliesh on the cusp of Thatcher’s rise to power, as he is called to investigate three highly sensitive murder cases:

In Death in Holy Orders, Dalgliesh travels to a remote seminary overlooking a windswept lake, where a body has been found gruesomely murdered. Nearly everyone in the seminary has reason to resent the victim, and Dalgliesh and DS Tarrant must unpick a complicated set of motives to find their killer.

In Cover Her Face, Dalgliesh investigates a murder in the Essex home of the Mehtas, a staggeringly wealthy family with connections to the British government. With the help of local detective Clive Roscoe, Dalgliesh builds a picture of events in the weeks leading to the crime, confronting a blanket of secrecy among his guarded suspects.

In Devices and Desires, Dalgliesh is sent on an urgent mission to investigate a terrorist plot against a nuclear power station on the Kent coast. He is soon drawn into a complex and highly charged hunt for a serial killer, working once more alongside former colleague Kate Miskin, now an acting DCI.

Carlyss Peer (Kate Miskin) and Alistair Brammer (Daniel Tarrant) both return to the series with guest stars including Anton Lesser (Endeavour), Lloyd Owen (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), Claire Goose (Silverpoint), Liz White (The Long Shadow), Adam James (Mr Bates vs The Post Office), Richard Lintern (Silent Witness), Ellora Torchia (The Gold), Parth Thakerar (Gangs of London), Soni Razdan (War) and Josie Walker (Belfast).

Bertie Carvel says: “I’m thrilled to return to Dalgliesh; this time behind, as well as in front of, the camera, directing a bold adaptation of PD James’ first ever Dalgliesh novel, Cover Her Face. It’s a story with powerful and unsettling contemporary resonance and it’s my privilege to direct an exemplary ensemble cast who are giving knockout performances.

Acclaimed screenwriter and playwright Helen Edmundson (The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, An Inspector Calls, Small Island) returns as lead writer and executive producer for the third series with Colette Kane (Temple, Moving On, Department Q) joining as writer for Death In Holy Orders and Kam Odedra (Lupin, Hijack, Whitstable Pearl) on Cover Her Face. Bertie Carvel directs Cover Her Face, Geoff Sax (Us, Endeavour, Victoria) returns to direct Death In Holy Orders and Roger Goldby (Belgravia: The Next Chapter, Finding Alice, The Durrells) directs Devices and Desires. Leon McGeown-Fee (London Kills, Hope Street) will produce the series with Elaine Pyke, Willow Grylls and Bertie Carvel serving as Executive Producers for New Pictures. New Pictures, an All3Media company, produces the series with additional funding from Northern Ireland Screen.

Dalgliesh is available via Acorn TV in North America, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, with All3Media International distributing for the rest of the world. The series is executive produced by Catherine Mackin and Bea Tammer for Acorn TV and commissioned by Sebastian Cardwell, Deputy Chief Content Officer, UK, Paramount.