Crime season 2: ITVX release date of Irvine Welsh TV series, and cast with Dougray Scott and John Simm

Almost two years on from the release of the first season, Crime returns to ITVX, with Dougray Scott reprising his role as troubled detective Ray Lennox. 

Scott will be joined by his son House of the Dragon and His Dark Materials star Gabriel for the second season - he will play Lennox’s nephew Fraser.

Season two of Crime sees Lennox return to the Edinburgh Serious Crimes division, ready to put his breakdown suffered during the case of The Confectioner - the focus of season one - behind him.

But things have changed since Lennox took some much needed time away – his boss Bob Toal seems to have lost his mojo, his former partner Amanda Drummond has been promoted, and two new faces on the force, Tommy Stark and Norrie Erskine, are likely to rub him the wrong way.

Lennox is thrown into a new case when a former colleague is attacked, and the incident is linked to the attempted murder of a high ranking public figure. The mysterious case takes the detective through Edinburgh’s dark underbelly, as he seeks to get to the bottom of a major cover up. 

Is Crime season 2 based on a book?

Yes, the first season of Crime was based on the 2008 novel of the same name by writer Irvine Welsh, which was itself a sequel to an earlier novel Filth, which has been adapted into a 2013 film starring James McAvoy.

The second season is adapted from Welsh’s sequel to Crime, The Long Knives, which was published last year and billed as the second instalment in the Ray Lennox trilogy.

Welsh’s other well-known novels include Trainspotting - made into the 1996 film with Ewan McGregor - Porno, Ecstasy, and Glue.

Where was Crime season 2 filmed?

Both seasons of Crime are set in Edinburgh, however, as well as shooting in Scotland’s capital, filming also took place in Glasgow last year.

In November several streets in Glasgow were closed as filming took place, including Bell Street, Albion Street, Shuttle Street, Hanson Street, and Claremont Place. Additionally residents of Dennistoun, an area in Glasgow’s East End, received letters asking for the use of properties for filming.

Series star Joanna Vanderham said of filming Edinburgh-set scenes in Glasgow: “we knew we wouldn’t fool real Scots, but I think we got away with it as far as the worldwide audience goes.”

She added that the shoot was not without its problems, as they inadvertently shot a scene involving someone being repeatedly hit with a bat outside a nursery, whilst in another scene in which a character is thrown down a flight of stairs, police rushed over to intervene. 

Some scenes were also shot on location in Edinburgh - and the city's most famous landmark, Edinburgh Castle, can be seen throughout the show.

Who is in the cast of Crime season 2?

• Dougray Scott as DI Ray Lennox
• Joanna Vanderham as DS Amanda Drummond
• Ken Stott as CS Bob Toal
• John Simm as  Gareth Horsborough
• Derek Riddell as Richie Gulliver
• Gabriel Scott as Fraser
• Rebecca Root as Lauren Fairchild 
• Dylan Blore as Victor Maslo
• Moyo Akandé as Maria Pearson
• Laura Fraser as Sally Hart 
• Rob Black as Scott Durie

When is the release date of Crime season 2?

Crime season two will be released on ITVX on Thursday 21 September - there are six episodes in the new series and they will be released in one go. Like season one, the second season will air on ITV1 in weekly instalments at a later date.

Will there be a season 3 Crime?

A third season of Crime has not yet been confirmed, but with a third instalment in Welsh’s Ray Lennox novel series expected, it is likely that a new season will be in the works following the book’s release.

A title and release date for the final novel in the series has not yet been revealed, and the plot remains unknown.