ITV viewers praise return of ‘refreshing’ detective series Karen Pirie

ITV viewers have been praising the second season of the detective series Karen Pirie, which returned to screens on Sunday after a three-year wait.

The series, based on the Inspector Karen Pirie novels by Val McDermid, stars Lauren Lyle as a recently promoted detective inspector tackling mysterious cold cases from decades prior.

The second season sees Karen and her team investigate the 1984 kidnapping of an oil magnate heiress and her son, who were taken at gunpoint outside a fish and chip shop in Fife, and never seen again.

A man’s body is found with links to the original kidnapping, which reopens the case and sees Karen lead the investigation.

Viewers have been praising the crime series for portraying a “normal” detective without complex personal issues, and for its engaging storylines.

“Great to have #KarenPirie back,” wrote one viewer on X/Twitter. “Refreshing to have a normal screen detective, fun and clever but not traumatised and grumpy.”

Another added: “@ITV thank you for bringing back #KarenPirie with Lauren Lyle and amazing Scottish cast.”

“35 minutes in and I’m hooked. This is brilliant #KarenPirie,” said one viewer. “That first episode was absolutely worth the wait!”

open image in gallery

However, some viewers complained that the length of the ad breaks had become frustrating.

“I’d enjoy #KarenPirie even more if there wasn’t an advert every 5 mins! Getting as bad as American TV,” said one viewer, as another commented: “Think I’ll record the series so I can fast forward through the ads.”

Speaking to The Independent ahead of the new series, Lyle said that audiences are often surprised by the show’s premise.

“Some people think ‘ITV detective’, and go to watch it and they’re like, ‘Woah. It’s so not what I expected it to be.’ And I love that.”

The show has also been praised for showing the real life of Karen’s character, such as her living in a house share with flatmates and having relationship issues.

open image in gallery

“It was really important to me to be able to show that frustration, and actually show what people do in their bedrooms, or f***ing screaming in the car,” Lyle said. “I love seeing the private life of Karen, dealing with her boyfriend.”

In The Independent’s review of season one of the programme, Sean O’Grady wrote that the story was told in “a refreshingly cohesive way” compared to other shows in the same genre.

“There are relatively few annoyingly random flashbacks and bewilderingly disjointed series,” wrote O’Grady. “There’s a discipline about the scripting that is curiously absent from too many others of the kind. The writers have understood that they really don’t have to make things too confusing for the jaded viewer slumped in front of a screen.”