ITV supremos will have been delighted with the popularity of its recent crime drama Liar.
Fans have been gripped watching the twists and turns in the case between rapist surgeon Andrew Earlham, played by Ioan Gruffudd, and victim Laura Nielson, played by Joanne Froggatt.
And the finale clearly left the door open for a return to the characters.
With the six-part series pulling in almost six million viewers, it’s no surprise that ITV bosses want to keep the momentum going with a new series as soon as possible.
And they’d like to take the show in an intriguing new direction – with the new series set before the events of the original.
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A source told The Sun: “Explaining the characters would appeal to fans who’ll be intrigued to see what underlying experiences sparked their actions.
“Bosses feel it would be the best direction to go in.”
But one thing still up for consideration is how far back into the characters’ pasts the show’s creators Harry and Jack Wilson would want to go.
It’s expected that they would want to continue using the popular actors from series one, which would mean being unable to travel back too far through their lives.
And with the finale seeming to put an end to this particular case, delving into their backstories would be a smart way of keeping the original cast intact.
Joanne Froggatt also seemed to confirm the direction of series two, telling Harper’s Bazaar earlier this month: “This absolutely does come to a conclusion in the sixth episode, but there is an offshoot…”
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ITV bosses reportedly signed off on a second series of the runaway hit show after just one episode had aired in September.
So now it’s just a matter of making sure it as good as the first – not easy, but we like the sound of things so far.