McDONALD and DODDS ( season 2) - JASON WATKINS INTERVIEW

Who doesn’t love a good British detective series? One of Britain’s gems, McDonald & Dodds is back with Season 2 and BritBox is bringing it Canada!

Jason Watkins (The Crown, Hold the Sunset) and breakout star Tala Gouveia lead in this three-part detective drama as the unlikely pair, DCI McDonald (Gouveia) and DS Dodds (Watkins).

Featuring contemporary crime stories told with warmth and humour, the series follows this mismatched duo as they solve crimes in Britain’s historic city of Bath. DCI McDonald and the unassuming DS Dodds return with a growingly rumbustious, and ultimately highly effective crime solving partnership.

As McDonald adjusts to life in picturesque Bath, she and DS Dodds investigate three deaths across the supposedly sleepy Avon Valley. In each episode, they must investigate a new and compelling crime.

Through three captivating cases, in which five friends go up in a hot air balloon and only four come back down alive and a girls' weekend gone wrong, it becomes clear that there’s far more to the Avon Valley than first meets the eye.

Returning cast members include James Murray (Always and Everyone) as Chief Superintendent Houseman and Jack Riddiford (Dunkirk) as DC Darren Craig. New cast member Lily Sacofsky (Bancroft) will play DC Milena Paciorkowski.

Each episode will have a new set of guest stars including Rupert Graves (Sherlock), Martin Kemp (The Krays), Patsy Kensit (Absolute Beginners), and Cathy Tyson (Mona Lisa). Gavin & Stacey fans will be happy to see Rob Brydon as Roy.

Star Jason Watkins is an English stage, film and television actor. He played the lead role in the two-part drama The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies, for which he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor.

He has also played William Herrick in Being Human, Gavin Strong in Trollied, Simon Harwood in W1A, Gordon Shakespeare in the film series Nativity and British Prime Minister Harold Wilson in Season 3 of The Crown.

I spoke with Jason via ZOOM from his home in the U.K about McDonald & Dobbs, why he thinks Canadians are crazy about anything British and much more.

The second season of McDonald & Dodds, launchies exclusively on BritBox in Canada this August 3.

 Check out our interview below.

Episode 1: The Man Who Wasn't There

Five friends venture out for a hot-air balloon ride over the city of Bath, but only four make it safely back down to earth. The fifth, Frankie Marsh, is found dead on the ground. DS Dodds is assisted by Roy Gilbert (played by Rob Brydon), an aviation accident investigator whose ties to the case may be more significant than he lets on.

Episode 2: We Need to Talk About Doreen

A girls' weekend out in Bath is disrupted when a body is discovered in a train tunnel – and that body turns out to be a guest from a party the ladies attended the previous night. Though Dodds initially thinks it's a simple case, he soon realises the group's dark horse is leading him in all the wrong directions.

Episode 3: The War of the Rose

After a social media influencer decides to have plastic surgery at a clinic run by a soon-to-be-divorced couple, tragedy strikes. McDonald and Dodds are brought in to investigate the clinic and its staff. 

BritBox is available for $8.99 per month or $89.99 per year— after an introductory free trial period  —on Roku®, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV 4th Gen, Samsung, LG and all iOS and Android devices, Chromecast, and online at https://www.britbox.com/ca/. BritBox is also available on Amazon Prime Video Channels for Prime members and on Apple TV Channels on supported devices.

About BritBox North America

BritBox is a digital video subscription service offering the largest collection of British TV in the U.S. and Canada. Created by two British content powerhouses—BBC Studios, the subsidiary arm of the BBC, and ITV, the UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster—the service features iconic favourites, exclusive premieres, and current series and soaps—most available within 24 hours after their UK premiere.  BritBox also offers expert curation and playlists that enable fans to easily find programs they know and discover new favourites via the web, mobile, tablet and connected TVs.