‘Vienna Blood’ return date confirmed: When does Season 2 start?

The BBC has announced when the new season of Vienna Blood will begin.

Based on the best-selling Liebermann novels by Frank Tallis, the period crime drama is adapted by Sherlock writer Steve Thompson.

Vienna Blood launched two years ago, and is back with three brand new feature-length 90-minute episodes very soon.

Matthew Beard (The Imitation Game) and Austrian actor Juergen Maurer are reprising their roles as Max Liebermann and Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt.

The pair are joined by Conleth Hill (Game of Thrones), Charlene McKenna (Peaky Blinders), Amelia Bullmore (Gentleman Jack), Lucy Griffiths (True Blood), and Luise von Finckh (Schlechte Zeiten).

The official synopsis reads: “Vienna Blood is set in 1900s Vienna – a hot bed of philosophy, science and art, where a clash of cultures and ideas play out in the city’s grand cafes and opera houses.

“A brilliant young English doctor, Max Liebermann (Matthew Beard), and Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt (Juergen Maurer) investigate a series of unusual and disturbing murders. Max’s extraordinary skills of perception and psychology and Oskar’s forceful tenacity lead them to solve some of Vienna’s most mysterious and deadly cases.”

Season 2 will premiere in the UK with ‘The Melancholy Countess’ at 9pm on Friday 10th December on BBC Two.

Set in Autumn 1907, the opening instalment finds a depressed Hungarian Countess dead in the bath of her lavish hotel suite. While at first it looks like suicide, a post-mortem reveals that the Countess was poisoned.

‘The Melancholy Countess’ will be followed by ‘The Devil’s Kiss’ and ‘Darkness Rising’ on the proceeding Friday nights.

All three feature-length mysteries will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer after Season 2’s first episode airs on TV.

Sue Deeks, BBC Head of Programme Acquisition, commented: “Welcome back Max and Oskar! After the great success of series one we are so looking forward to returning to the opulent, entertaining, and endlessly fascinating world of Vienna Blood.”

Season 2 is expected to air in the US on PBS in early 2022.

Executive producer Hilary Bevan Jones said: “To have had the pleasure of filming in the magical city of Vienna for a second series was such a treat, a real feast for the eyes, not only for us as programme makers but – we hope – for our viewers too.”

She added: “We have three more compelling stories written by the incredible Steve Thompson and once again inspired by the world Frank Tallis created in his Liebermann novels. With Matthew Beard and Juergen Maurer heading our fantastic international cast and Robert Dornhelm weaving his directorial vision we have been spoiled.”

Vienna Blood is available on DVD on Amazon.