The BBC has confirmed that Ludwig will return for its second season later this month, with all six episodes to be released as a box set on iPlayer from the same date.

The newly confirmed premiere date is Thursday 20 August 2026 at 9pm on BBC One, locking in what the BBC had previously teased only as an August 2026 return (via an earlier first-look clip).

The added treat for fans is that, rather than waiting week by week, they will be able to binge through the entire box set on iPlayer as soon as the opening episode airs. Will you be among the first to unravel its mysteries?

David Mitchell reprises his role as John ‘Ludwig’ Taylor, the reclusive puzzle-setter thrown into the world of policing after his identical twin brother James, a detective chief inspector, vanished without explanation.

No longer masquerading as James, he is “more Ludwig than ever”, brilliant at puzzles but hopeless at almost everything else – the fate of his brother, though, still eludes him.

Returning alongside Mitchell are Anna Maxwell Martin as Lucy Betts-Taylor, Dipo Ola as DI Russell Carter, Dorothy Atkinson as DCS Carol Shaw, Ralph Ineson as Chief Constable Ziegler, Karl Pilkington as DI Matt Neville and Dylan Hughes as Henry Betts-Taylor.

The new season also brings in fresh faces, including Mark Bonnar (Guilt, Line of Duty) as newspaper editor Gareth Fisher and Sian Clifford (Fleabag) as local MP Joanne Kemper.

Ben Ashenden and Rumi Sutton co-star as DC Ethan Cole and DC Caitlin Sullivan respectively.

The BBC will be hoping to repeat the runaway success of the first run. Ludwig launched in 2024 to strong reviews and sizeable audiences, drawing more than 9.5 million viewers and ranking among the BBC’s biggest scripted hits of the year.

It also earned a 97 percent score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, cementing its reputation as a comfort-watch detective drama with a puzzle-box twist. You can remind yourself of Radio Times’ own Ludwig review here.

Fans can get a taste of what’s to come in the BBC’s official first-look clip from season 2.

Ludwig will be on BBC One at 9pm on Thursday 20 August 2026, and will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer from the same date.

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