Bay of Fires, the popular Australian crime drama starring and co-created by Marta Dusseldorp, has returned to the UK with its long-awaited new season. With plenty more tension coming, how has the second season fared?
The series sees Dusseldorp portray Stella Heikkinen, a figure who relocates to Mystery Bay in Tasmania with her two children, Iris (Ava Caryofyllis) and Otis (Imi Mbedla), after she is attacked by assassins. Trouble, however, follows her everywhere.
Following a successful first season in 2023, the crime drama returned earlier this year in its native Australia, but UK fans can now rejoice after all eight instalments from the second season began streaming on ITVX today.
“Season two opens with Stella, now the leader of the Mystery Bay residents, juggling solo parenting and keeping her criminal bosses at bay,” reads the logline. “Mystery Bay is prospering under Stella’s guidance – albeit in a somewhat chaotic fiscal manner.
“But such joys are short-lived when she and her kids find themselves sandwiched between an unhinged apiarist drug lord, a maniacal millenarian doomsday cult, the resurrection of her nemesis, Russia, and a growing civil war in the town.”
ITV
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“Slowly, it dawns on Stella that she may be the cause of much of this nightmare. Perhaps the only way out is to go back to the source and blow it sky high,” concludes the synopsis.
In addition to Dusseldorp, who created the series alongside Max Dann and Andrew Knight, the cast for Bay of Fires includes Toby Leonard Moore, Nicholas Bell, Pamela Rabe, Kerry Fox and Tony Barry.
Though not widely reviewed by professional critics, the crime drama has been a moderate success with general audiences, with IMDb currently reporting a solid approval rating of 6.6 out of 10 from 1,300 reviews.
Brook Rushton//ITV
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“Bay of Fires is proving to be everything l wanted and more – Tasmania looks amazing, the suspense has me on the edge of my seat, the characterisation is quirky and I want to know them more, and it’s a total escape from my reality,” wrote one viewer.
“Wow! What a fantastic show Bay of Fires is. With a wonderful cast of actors, talented writers and stunning cinematography, this show promises to be one of the best series on television this year,” said another fan.
Bay of Fires is streaming on ITVX.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. Â His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
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