Bookish returns to Viasat Epic Drama for its second season, bringing Mark Gatiss back to the fog and rubble of postwar London.
Set in the 1950s, this crime series pairs dry wit with murders that are rarely what they first seem. Season 2 brings new cases for the bookshop’s unlikely team and more of the secrets its owner works so hard to keep.
A Former Spy Behind the Counter
Mark Gatiss plays Book, an eccentric bookshop owner with a past he rarely discusses. Before he sold first editions, he was a spy, and the instincts from that life have never left him. The police call on him when a murder defies the usual methods, which gives each episode its investigative backbone. What keeps him interesting is how little he gives away, even to the people closest to him.
Jack, the Recruit Who Asks Questions
Connor Finch plays Jack, a young ex-convict who finds work at the bookshop and a welcome he didn’t expect. In the first season that welcome soon felt suspicious, as Jack began to wonder whether his hiring had been planned all along. His mix of gratitude and doubt remains one of the strongest threads in the series.
Three Themes That Define Bookish
The first is the gap between appearance and reality: a quiet bookshop makes an unlikely front for espionage and murder. The second is trust, and how it is built, used and occasionally earned. The third is reinvention, as both Book and Jack try to move on from pasts that keep catching up with them.
Postwar London on Screen
Director Carolina Giammetta gives 1950s London a lived-in feel, with austere interiors, wet cobbles and a city still repairing itself after the war. The setting shapes the crimes as much as the characters do. Polly Walker plays Trottie, Book’s wife, in a cast that treats the period with real care.
Why It Works for Modern Audiences
The series refuses to simplify its people. Book is brilliant but evasive, Jack is likeable but wary, and the crimes they investigate turn on familiar failings such as ambition and betrayal. Viewers are trusted to stay with characters who never quite tell the whole story.
Where to Watch
- Episode Premieres:
- Wednesdays
- 11 November 2026 to 16 December 2026
- 21:00 CET
- See full TV schedule
FAQ
Q: What genre is Bookish?
A: It is a crime drama set in 1950s London that mixes period atmosphere with espionage and mystery. It follows an ex-spy bookshop owner who helps the police with murder investigations, alongside a young ex-convict he employs. Viasat Epic Drama is showing season 2.
Q: Who stars in Bookish?
A: Mark Gatiss plays Book, with Polly Walker and Connor Finch in the main cast. Carolina Giammetta directs, shaping the show’s period look and tone.