Five Days and Criminal Justice will return to BBC

The BBC is planning second seasons of Criminal Justice and Five Days but with a new cast, new storylines and story settings.

The returning shows will feature new casts, storylines and stories. One thing which is likely to remain the same however, is the format of both shows – including stripping them across five consecutive nights on BBC One.

Criminal Justice aired on BBC One during the summer of 2008 and followed a case through the criminal justice system, starting with the police investigation through to the court case. It shares some similarities with Law and Order, of which a UK version has just launched on ITV1, but the format is slightly different.

While Law and Order follows a case from investigation to trial it is usually in the space of one episode. Criminal Justice is spread out across five episodes allowing more depth to its representation of the justice system. The series starred Lindsay Duncan, Bill Patterson and Pete Postlethwaite but its unlikely any of these would return for the proposed second season.

Five Days followed the investigation of a disappearance, across different days in the investigation, and covered the impact the disappearance and investigation had on a community – specifically five characters. The series starred, amongst others, Hugh Bonneville, Janet McTeer, Penelope Wilton and Nikki Amuka-Bird. Earlier this year a two-part spin-off, Hunter, saw Hugh Bonneville and Janet McTeer reprise their roles from Five Days. It’s unknown at present whether any further episodes of Hunter will be made.

Re-commissioning Five Days and Criminal Justice is part of the BBC’s plans to develop more returning contemporary returning shows. Peter Moffatt will return to write the second season of Criminal Justice while Gwyn Hughes will write the second season of Five Days. Criminal Justice will return towards the end of this year while Five Days isn’t likely to air until next year.