Traces season 2 release date: guide to forensic crime drama

The Scotland-set series originally aired in 2019, but it gained further popularity when it aired on BBC One earlier this year, with 6.7 million tuning in to watch the first episode.

Season two, which will air later this year, promises to delve further into the world of forensic science.

Season one followed three women who utilise forensics to uncover the truth about a deeply personal unsolved murder case, while season two will see the team reunite to solve "a series of cruel bombings in Dundee".

The drama features three female leads - Breaking Bad’s Laura Fraser, Three Girls’ Molly Windsor and Continuum’s Jennifer Spence - in addition to Line of Duty's Compston.

The tense series reached a shock conclusion in the season one finale, but the show's renewal means that the forensic team will be returning for a different, second case.

The crime drama is something of a flagship show for Alibi, which is now branching out further into scripted television with Nicola Walker's upcoming series Annika.

Read on for everything you need to know about Traces season two.

Will there be a second season of Traces?

Yes, Alibi has announced that Traces will return for another six-part run later in 2021. It's not yet known whether the series will air on BBC One again. We'll keep this page updated.

Is there a release date for Traces season 2?

Not yet. But on 2nd March 2021, Martin Compston shared an update that he was "back tracing", alongside a shot of the cover page for episode one.

RED Production Company also tweeted: "We had a great readthrough for #Traces series 2 this afternoon, looking forward to getting started."

Traces cast

Emma Hedges (Three Girls’ Molly Windsor), Prof. Sarah Gordon (Breaking Bad’s Laura Fraser) and Prof. Kathy Torrance (Continuum’s Jennifer Spence) are the three main leads in the Traces cast, and will likely all return for season two.

Speaking about the female-led series, Fraser told RadioTimes.com: "This wasn't even 50/50 – it was actually predominantly female and I really appreciated it, it felt so comfortable."

She added: "I would love to see more of that. It'd be great if the pendulums swings, and then balances out so it's 50/50 – that would be incredible."

And while the season two cast hasn't yet been confirmed, we've no doubt that Emma's off-on love interest, the troubled Daniel (Martin Compston), will return.

"He's just a flip from Steve [Arnott, my Line of Duty character]," Compston told RadioTimes.com. "The thing with Daniel is, he just seems like a nice guy in a bad situation, and things are getting out of control for him.

"Whereas Steve's completely driven by ambition and his own ego, Dan just seems a likeable guy who's trying to do right by people, so there's definitely that contrast, which is appealing to play."

Traces recap for season one

*Warning: spoilers ahead for season one*

Traces season one finished with Emma finally discovering who murdered her mother, Marie, after her unsolved cold case resurfaced in an unexpected twist at the beginning of the series.

The culprit was revealed to be Daniel's father Phil MacAfee, who was married but previously having an affair with Marie's best friend, Izzy. When Marie called him out on it, in support of her friend, he killed her.

Despite the shock reveal, the season ended on a more peaceful note, as Emma attended her mother's funeral before reconciling with Daniel.

Albi said of season two: "Audiences will be reunited with the forensic team as they work to uncover the criminal responsible for a string of bombings in Dundee.

"Tensions in the city mount as people begin to anticipate when and where the next bombing will take place."

Traces season one aired weekly on BBC One, and is now available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Check out what else is on with our TV Guide.