Season 2 of After the Flood isn’t too far off from the first season, just with a couple of necessary tweaks. The BritBox series uses a different type of natural disaster as its backdrop, and there’s been a considerable time jump to keep things interesting. But it’s still The Nest alum Sophie Rundle who guides the audience through the chaos.

The second season takes place a year after the first, and be aware that there’s not much of a refresher; viewers will want to watch the Season 1 finale to have a decent grasp of what’s happening in Season 2. Rundle’s protagonist Jo Marshall has been promoted to Detective Constable in the wake of the first season, her baby is celebrating her first birthday, and of course Jo is having to juggle work with her newly expanded home life. It’s all familiar ground for crime show fans, but Rundle is what makes that work; Jo continues to feel like an ordinary, relatable person who just happens to be a cop.

The thematic hook of After the Flood Season 1 was creator Mick Ford mixing crime stories with climate change ideas, and that carries through here. Ford goes to the obvious next disaster: instead of another flood, now it’s a series of fires. There’s also a farm that’s irreparably damaged by irresponsible dumping, and an argument about the harm that controlled burns do to land. Some audience members may find all of this distracting from the murder mystery, but Ford and the other writers in Season 2 keep the environmental part of the story from being too heavy-handed. The underlying ideas are clear, yet rarely does anyone get up on a soapbox.

The third element in Season 2 is Jo’s personal life, including her shifting relationship with Pat (a returning Matt Stokoe) and the continuing story of her mom Mollie (Riot Women‘s Lorraine Ashbourne). The latter also means the return of the always-welcome Philip Glenister, as Jack Radcliffe comes back to town looking for a fresh start. However, Jo would rather her mom be anywhere other than near Jack. Sometimes the personal dramas feel a little bit like diversions, but After the Flood isn’t piling on much more than other TV crime dramas.

It’s the murder mystery that is most important, and Season 2 serves up several elements that genre fans know and love. Aside from the ongoing corruption drama with Phil Mackie (Nicholas Gleaves), the season brings in an enigmatic yet powerful family in the Bensons, including New Tricks star Alun Armstrong as Alan Benson. There’s a clear “haves and have nots” vibe as the season unfolds, and like the flood, the fires start to feel like a visual metaphor for what’s really going on in Waterside. After the Flood Season 2 may meander a bit, but Rundle’s performance is always there for viewers to hold onto. And the mix of elemental disaster with man’s disasters is still a pretty interesting combination.

After the Flood Season 2 premieres April 23, 2026 on BritBox. Photo Credit: Courtesy of BritBox.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.