Great news for fans of heart-pounding thrillers! The BBC’s high-octane series Nightsleeper has been recommissioned for a second season, two years after its 2024 debut. 

The original run followed a Glasgow-to-London sleeper train hijacked in a cyber attack, which forced two strangers – played by Peaky Blinders actor Joe Cole and Lazarus star Alexandra Roach – to team up and save its passengers. 

Hailed by viewers as a “nail-biting” and “edge-of-your-seat” thriller, the show became a breakout hit thanks to its high-stakes, real-time narrative and ticking-clock premise.

Keep reading to find out all we know about series two. 

What to expect from season two

Trading the tracks for the open ocean, the second season shifts the setting from a sleeper train to a ship crossing the Irish Sea. 

The synopsis promises another high-stakes mystery, teasing: “Behind every cabin door is another story, another surprise.”

BAFTA-winning writer Nick Leather teased “non-stop thrills and spills, secrets and lies, triumphs and tragedies” in a statement. He said of the passengers and crew onboard the ship: “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.”

Meanwhile, executive producer Kate Harwood said audiences can expect a “brilliantly tense thriller packed with new characters, twists, emotion and edge-of-your-seat drama”.

What happened in season one? 

Billed as an adrenaline-fuelled thriller, the series follows two strangers who attempt to save a hacked sleeper train heading for destruction. 

The logline reads: “Time is running out. When hackers send a train hurtling towards death and destruction, can two strangers stop it before it meets its final destination?”

While the show received a mixed response from critics, it became the BBC’s biggest drama launch of 2024 with 8.5 million tuning into the first episode.

Who stars in season two? 

The BBC has yet to share any details about the cast, so it remains unclear if Joe and Alexandra will be reprising their roles in season two. 

When will Nightsleeper return? 

The second, six-part series will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One. With filming set to begin in Belfast later this year, we’d expect the episodes to arrive sometime next year. 

Nightsleeper is available on BBC iPlayer in the UK and BritBox in the US.