Overview
When 2022 began, it kicked off with famous faces stranded in the Australian outback, all thanks to local streaming platform Stan. Zac Efron did the honours in the film Gold, while Jamie Dornan lost his memory amid this sunburnt country of ours in six-part TV thriller The Tourist — and if you were a fan of the incredibly easy-to-binge latter, it's coming back again for another round of twists and turns.
The BBC, which also had a hand in The Tourist, has announced that season two of the hit series is on its way. The British broadcaster also revealed that the show is its highest-rating series of 2022 so far, so stumping up for more is hardly surprising.
Screenwriters Harry and Jack Williams (Baptiste, The Missing, Liar) will return; however, the BBC is keeping quiet on details otherwise, including around timing, casting and storyline. Accordingly, whether Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar and Belfast's Dornan will be back, where the six new episodes will be set, what plot they'll follow and when they'll hit your streaming queue is still all under wraps.
If you haven't yet watched the The Tourist's first season, it starred Dornan as a man caught up in a mystery, and unfurled its specifics in cliffhanger-heavy instalments. It also had fun with its premise — and its onslaught of twists and turns. It knew that zigzagging thrillers that work from a clearcut roadmap should make their familiar pieces feel anything but, and should take their audience along for a wild ride. And, it was well aware that that should all be the case even when largely driving down a recognisable road.
Playing an Irish traveller in Australia, Dornan's character's name doesn't matter at first, when he's using the bathroom at a petrol station in the middle of nowhere. But after he's run off the road by a steamrolling long-haul truck shortly afterwards, he desperately wishes he could remember his own moniker, plus everything else about his past. Local Constable Helen Chalmers (Danielle Macdonald, French Exit) takes a shine to him anyway; however, piecing together his history is far from straightforward. His other immediate questions: why is he in the middle of Australia, why does a bomb go off in his vicinity and why is he getting calls from a man trapped in an underground barrel?
A well-greased concept, a confident approach, clever plotting, a fabulous cast: they're all on offer across the first season, and they all hit their marks. Add the script's smattering of memorable, nearly Coen brothers-esque lines and, whether hurtling in a straight line or zipping quickly around unexpected corners, The Tourist was easily 2022's first must-binge show.
Here's hoping the same proves true of season two — whenever it drops, and whatever it's about.
Check out the trailer for first season of The Tourist below:
The Tourist's first season is available to stream viaStan in Australia and TVNZ On Demand in New Zealand — and you can also read our full review. We'll update you with further details about the show's second season when they're announced.