The BBC train thriller that failed to impress critics has been renewed for a second season. When it premiered in 2024, fans compared it to the hit drama series The Bodyguard, but it was derailed on its path to critical acclaim.
Mixed Critical Reception
Nightsleeper, starring Alexandra Roach, Joe Cole, and Sharon Small, received a 42% score from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics were similarly divided. The Radio Times and The Guardian each gave the series two stars, with the latter calling it 'fantastically dreadful'. However, Gerard Gilbert of The i Paper enjoyed it considerably more, and he was not alone.
Massive Audience
Despite the poor reviews, Nightsleeper was the BBC's biggest new drama launch of that year, drawing 8.5 million viewers for the first episode. The first season followed passengers on a sleeper train from Glasgow to London that was hijacked by hackers.
New Setting: The Irish Sea
The second season will move off-land and into the ocean, aboard a ship sailing across the Irish Sea. 'Behind every cabin door is another story, another surprise,' says the broadcaster.
Series writer Nick Leather exclaimed: 'It's so exciting to set sail on season two! The passengers and crew on tonight's Belfast to Liverpool passenger ferry are about to experience six hours of non-stop thrills and spills, secrets and lies, triumphs and tragedies. 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…'
In recent years, tales of cruises gone wrong have made headlines, and this boat ride will be full of twists and turns. A sneak peek at the script for the first episode shows the title 'Belfast Lough', an area of the North Channel that connects the Irish Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, presumably where the journey begins.
Executive Producer Kate Harwood declared: 'Audiences embraced Nightsleeper in such a huge way, and we're incredibly excited to return with a bold new story. Nick has once again created a brilliantly tense thriller packed with new characters, twists, emotion and edge-of-your-seat drama. We can't wait to bring this new drama from the high seas.'
The second season's release date is not yet known, but the BBC has confirmed that filming will take place in Belfast later this year. Season 1 is available on BBC iPlayer.
