Updated on 17 August:

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: sunshine, sex and a good old-fashioned murder mystery are something of a lethal cocktail when it comes to must-watch TV. It’s understandable, then, that we fell hook, line and sinker for Netflix drama White Lines. And it’s every bit as understandable, too, that we’re so mad the much-anticipated second season has been axed.

Hailed as “intriguing, compelling, and overwhelmingly silly” by yours truly, the first helping of the show was released to the joy of everyone in lockdown earlier this summer.

Jumping between a 20-year timeline of Manchester drug raves and Ibizan party culture, the series followed the story of Zoe (Laura Haddock) as she did her best to determine what happened to her brother Axel (Tom Rhys Harries) – a wannabe DJ who was killed on the Balearic Island in seriously shady circumstances two decades prior.

While the 10-parter did actually wrap things up (sort of) in the season one finale, we were promised that there were more episodes on the horizon. Promised. So we were thoroughly disappointed when Line Of Duty’s Daniel Mays, who played Marcus Ward, announced that the show wouldn’t be picked up for a second season after all.

“Following the reports in the press over the past couple of days and for all those asking me on here, it’s with a heavy heart I post the White Lines season 2 ship has well and truly sailed,” he wrote on Instagram.

“Huge thanks, respect, and admiration for the ride of a lifetime. Love to the incredible cast and crew and to all the amazing fans for watching around the globe. Your support for the show meant the world to us. So THANK YOU! Farewell Marcus………you were my favourite.”

Of course, not everyone loved White Lines. In fact, Rotten Tomatoes scored the series at 63%, with some critics insisting that the non-linear timeline was too confusing to follow.

That being said, though, the series was warmly received by Netflix viewers, securing itself a spot in the Top 10 list for several weeks here in the UK. 

If you missed it the first time around, the show is still available to watch in full over on the streaming platform.

As previously reported: White Lines served up hedonism, cocaine and sun-dappled violence aplenty. And we can’t wait to sink our teeth into another run of bingeable episodes.

Here’s what we know so far about season two of this year’s runaway drug-drama hit.

Álex Pina will be creating season 2 of White Lines

The man behind acclaimed Spanish crime series Money Heist (La Casa de Papel in Spanish) will continue to take the reigns for season two of White Lines. Pina teamed up with Andy Harries and Sharon Hughff , executive producers of The Crown,  to bring season one’s powerhouse concept to life. Netflix snapped it up from the creators’ first meeting together, and now they’re on a roll.

““It’s a real achievement [to work together],” Harries tells Deadline.com. “It demonstrates that you can make shows for the Spanish and English speaking audiences without any compromises.”

White Lines season 2 will still be filmed on location

Part of the appeal of White Lines is that it lays out a series of sunny, sepia-tinted Ibizan landscapes that chime perfectly with the lockdown wanderlust we all feel right now.

“Shows full of sunshine, full of light, full of beautiful landscapes are always important,” producer Harries says. “[…] People can’t go to the Balearic Islands right now and this is the next best thing.”

Happily, season two will continue delving into this vibrant theme of escapism.

“I know that there are recces happening for season two; they’re location scouting, if and when that goes ahead – or that was happening prior to the global pandemic,” the show’s star Rhys Harries tells LAD Bible. 

“But I think everybody would be really keen to go back and visit Alex [Pina]’s world again, because it’s just so out there and colourful and sort of bonkers. It’s just a fun place to live in for a little bit.”

The plot of White Lines season 2 could go back in time

Discussing where the White Lines sequel could go next in season two, Rhys Harries has indicated that scriptwriters may cover a previously missed period where his character, Mancunian DJ Axel, and his crew of teen friends become fully established on the Ibizan club scene.

“There’s a couple of years on the island, where Axel – my character – and the younger cast members, we don’t see them establishing their sort of clubs there,” he says. “Because at the end I own five clubs at the point of my death, so there’s a world where we could explore those missing years.”

However, as creator Pina is known for his love of non-linear storylines – season one of White Lines certainly leaps about time zones a fair bit and you have to ditch that phone to keep track – the sky’s the limit as to where the plot of season two may take us.

The full cast is likely to return for the second series

Without giving too much away, season one of White Lines closed on both a shocking revelation and a classic cliffhanger. Season two will likely follow up on the fate of Axel’s killer, as unveiled in the finale of season one: but will they get the comeuppance they deserve? So much has yet to be resolved.

With that in mind, we can expect to see the return of White Lines’ main gang for season two: Zoe (Haddock), Boxer (Nuno Lopes), Marcus (Daniel Mays), Kika (Marta Milans), Oriol (Juan Diego Botto), Andreu (Pedro Casablanc), Conchita (Belén López), Anna (Angela Griffin), David (Laurence Fox) and Jenny (Tallulah Evans). 

Of course, Rhys Harries’ character Axel is technically long dead, but the time-jumping element of the plotline means he will still probably get a look-in on season two: “I hope they don’t go again without me!” he jokes.

Again, this means the new season either rewinds in time, continues with the present-day plot or – most likely – focuses on a mixture of both.

Coronavirus and social distancing may have an impact 

As Rhys Harries already indicated, the current coronavirus situation means both scouting and filming for the new series of White Lines may be delayed as the health crisis unfolds.

Actor Angela Griffin has already joked that, were the show to follow events in real-time, they’d have to seriously rethink her character Anna’s penchant for arranging sex parties for Ibiza’s elite.

“There’s so many things that have to have to change for us to be able to do a second season,” Griffin tells the Metro. “If we can get past all of those social distancing things because you know, Anna’s life isn’t about social distancing – she needs people to be able to touch each other.”

There’s no trailer or release date yet

But of course, we’ll stay tuned on the matter and keep you posted as soon as we know more. 

Will there be a White Lines season 3? 

Netflix producers had always planned on a three-season run of White Lines, according to industry insiders at Deadline.com. So rest assured, there’s still plenty of death, drugs and debauchery to come on the horizon.

In the meantime, remind yourself of the brilliance of the show overall with a look at the season one trailer, below. Sunshine and murder here we come…

Images: Netflix