Wolf season 2: will there be a second series of BBC adaptation of Mo Hayder novel - how many books are there?

Intense BBC drama Wolf, based on Mo Hayder’s 2014 novel of the same name, follows two stories that become interwoven, as detective Jack Caffrey works to track down the owners of a dog with a plea for help written on its collar, whilst the wealthy Anchor-Ferrers family are terrorised and tortured in their own home.

The six part series was adapted for the screen by Megan Gallagher and stars Blindspot actor Ukweli Roach as Caffrey. Other cast members include Game of Thrones stars Iwan Rheon and Owen Teale, and Atlantis actress Juliet Stevenson. 

The gripping series finale airs tonight, as the Anchor-Ferrers who are still alive fight for their survival and Jack Caffrey races to stop a sadistic killer.

This is everything we know about the finale of Wolf and if there will be a second season.

*spoilers for the Wolf finale ahead*

What happened at the end of Wolf season one?

In the season finale it is revealed that the Donkey Pitch murders were the work of two killers -  Molina and Lucia Anchor-Ferrers.

In the penultimate episode, Molina is unmasked as a killer when Becca’s body is found, and he claims that he murdered her to prevent her from coming to the house. 

We learn that the Anchor-Ferrers family had been taken captive and terrorised so that Molina could force Oliver to transfer him the family's wealth, and as an act of revenge for sending Lucia away.

Honey, learning that Molina was psychopathic, decided to flee, but tried to save the family before getting away himself. After untying Matilda, she killed him, slashing his throat with a coathanger, because she believed that he was even more unhinged than Molina.

Oliver died of a heart attack brought on by his lack of access to medication and the stress of his captivity. Matilda was the only member of the family to escape, reaching the roof of the home and being reduced by Jack.

Will there be a second season of Wolf?

The BBC has not yet confirmed if the show will return for a second season. The season finale ended on a major cliffhanger, with Jack learning that his brother may still be alive.

If the series is greenlit for a second season following on from the first, it will not be based on a book. However, there are plenty of opportunities for more adaptations set in the same universe. 

When the BBC does update fans on the fate of a second season we will update this story, so watch this space.

How many Mo Hayder books are there?

Mo Hayder wrote seven novels in her Jack Caffrey crime series, following the cases of the titular detective. 

Wolf was the final novel in the series, and the last that Hayder wrote before her death in 2021. Another of her books was published posthumously last year, under the pseudonym Theo Clare, and another is due for release this year, though neither of these are part of the Caffrey series.

Therefore, any sequel that goes beyond the events of the Wolf novel will necessarily be an original story.

If the BBC where to adapt another Jack Caffrey novel, all of which can be read as standalone stories, there is plenty of source material to work from.

The first Caffrey novel, Birdman, published in 1999, follows the detective as he hunts for a sexual serial killer, whilst the next in the series, The Treatment, sees Caffrey on the hunt for a missing child, and the third, The Ritual, is an exploration of drug addiction, occult ceremonies, and murder.

The fourth instalment, Skin, follows the detective as he digs deeper into a supposed suicide, in novel number five, Caffrey aims to stop a carjacker who takes vehicles with children in the passenger seat, and in penultimate book, Poppet, Caffrey investigates unexplained outbreaks of self-harm among patients of a psychiatric hospital.  

Wolf was the last novel of Mo Hayder's released before her death in 2021. One more novel of Hayder's has since been released in 2022, published under the pseudonym Theo Clare. Another Theo Clare novel is expected this year, but neither of these are related to or in the same series as Wolf.

How can you watch season one of Wolf?

The season finale of the series will air on BBC One at 9pm tonight (15 August). However, the full series including the finale is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.