Keeley Hawes to Lead Season 2 of Sky’s High-Octane, Six-Part ‘Prisoner’ (Exclusive)

The Hollywood Reporter can reveal that the British actress, star of The Bodyguard, Line of Duty and more recently, The Assassin, will lead season two of Sky‘s six-part thriller Prisoner.

She’ll be joining Izuka Hoyle (Boiling Point, Big Boys), who is reprising her role as prison transport officer Amber Todd. Created by Oscar-nominated writer Matt Charman (Bridge of Spies, Hostage), the second series is again written by Charman, alongside deputy showrunner Sophie Petzal (Blood, The Last Kingdom).

The first season of Prisoner, also featuring Tahar Rahim, was one of the year’s most-watched Sky Original dramas, and Sky bosses moved quickly to back the show with an early second-season pick-up.

In season two, Hoyle’s Todd is scarred by past events. She’s struggling to move on and repair her fractured family when she becomes entangled in the expatriation of Dr. Regan Weaver (Hawes), a brilliant psychologist and notorious prisoner. Framed for murder, Todd is forced to go on the run with Regan, and the two form an unexpected bond as they are hunted by criminals, governments and rogue police, all desperate to get their hands on Weaver and the secrets she has spent decades hiding.

“Amber went to hell and back in season one, taking the audience with her every step of the way,” said Charman. “But to raise the stakes in season two, we needed a prisoner who would push her further than ever. Having Keeley join us is a dream come true. She’s one of our finest actresses, and she is mesmerising as Dr. Regan Weaver — and absolutely terrifying too.”

The Scotswoman caught up with THR about the intensity of the shoot as the project debuted in April this year. Hoyle said about her character: “She’s a great problem solver and a risk assessor, but even then, the greatest of those can’t make the right decision in such short spaces of time.”

New cast members confirmed for the second installment include Solly McLeod (Star City, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms), David Dawson (My Policeman, Elsinore), and Elijah Cook (The Diplomat, Silo). Returning for the show are Catherine McCormack, Leonie Benesch, Finn Bennett, Ken Nwosu, Daniel Betts, Jessica Barker-Wren and Michele Austin.

Prisoner is produced by Binocular in association with Sky Studios. Anthony Philipson (The Day of the Jackal) directs, with later episodes directed by Kasia Adamik (Star City). Executive producers are Matt Charman, Foz Allan, Sophie Petzal, Otto Bathurst and Adrian Sturges for Sky. Derek Ritchie (Luther) serves as series producer.

Season two will be available on Sky in the U.K. and Ireland, with NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution handling international sales.

The production received support from the Welsh Government via Creative Wales.