A Scottish BBC crime drama set in Edinburgh has received an exciting update as a beloved detective returns.
Based on Sir Ian Rankin’s best-selling novels, Rebus is a gritty BBC crime drama following Detective John Rebus, portrayed by Richard Rankin, as he tackles organised crime and personal challenges in Edinburgh.
This television adaptation of the Inspector Rebus novels consists of six episodes and was originally aired in May 2024, with each instalment penned by Gregory Burke, then helmed by Niall MacCormick and Fiona Walton. A second series of Rebus received the go-ahead in July 2025, with Rankin now confirming production on the new episodes has wrapped.
Speaking on Tuesday’s edition of BBC Breakfast (October 13), Rankin confirmed that the new detective drama is returning to television imminently, reports the Mirror.
The writer told presenters Jon Kay and Sally Nugent: “They have finished shooting season two, it will be on early next year, I think. They have just sent me episode one, which I haven’t watched yet, as I’m on the road. It’s all looking good; Richard Rankin is back playing Rebus, the same cast are back, same writer.”
In the upcoming new series of Rebus, audiences can anticipate seeing Sir Ian Rankin as he makes a cameo appearance in a police station sequence featuring Detective John Rebus. Jon enquired: “And are you in it? Because last time you teased us, and said ‘I’m going to be playing a cameo in the first season’ and you weren’t.”
Rankin replied: “Yeah, they forgot about me, they left me in the back room of the Oxford bar and just forgot me, and by the time I looked out, they had all gone to the next scene.”
He added, “This time, yeah, we have definitely shot me, we have definitely filmed me getting dragged out of a patrol car in handcuffs and taken into a police station, as Rebus is running out to jump in his car.”
Rankin joked: “They were proper handcuffs and I kept a close eye on the person who had the key”, as Sally chipped in: “It’s a bit like Hitchcock.”
“You know, crime writers always pop up. Lee Child pops up in one of the Jack Reacher films with Tom Cruise, yeah, we loved doing it,” Rankin confirmed, “Morse, Colin Dexter, was almost in every one; he kept popping up all the time.”
Jon enquired: “You’re going to get the taste for this?”, as Rankin joked: “I don’t think so. I don’t think anyone is trembling in their boots.”
Following Rebus’s broadcast on BBC One, the miniseries has garnered critical acclaim, even achieving a rare 100% score on the respected review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
One reviewer observed: “Richard Rankin is so perfectly believable in the role that you never tire of watching him and keep rooting for him even when he’s being a complete and utter idiot.”
Another enthusiast explained: “This is a very good series. Richard Raskin is much different from Ken Stott, but he’s great in the role. I also liked Rebus’ partner and ex-wife, too. This series reminded me of ‘Crime’, starring Dougray Scott.”
One admirer commented on IMDb: “Compelling new take on a Scottish crime classic. Gritty crime thrillers have long been one of Scotland’s greatest art forms and most successful export industries, and this reimagining of Sir Ian Rankin’s classic Inspector Rebus novels is a stroke of genius”. While another added: “A gritty reimagining, still worth watching.”