Deadloch season two review – every bit as wonky, devilish and potty-mouthed as the first
deadloch returns with a second season that trades chilly Tasmania for the sticky Top End, premiering its new episodes on March 20 (ET). The Emmy-nominated series, created and written by Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan, again pairs senior sergeant Dulcie Collins with the thunderous Eddie Redcliffe as they chase a croc-centred mystery. This season leans hard into croc tourism, bawdy dialogue and a queasy, mouldy visual style that keeps the show’s dark comedy intact.
Deadloch’s move to the Top End shifts tone and stakes
The show pivots location and mood: deadloch abandons the sleepy Tasmanian seaside town of season one for the humid, crowded Top End and the entrepreneurial oddballs of croc tourism. Directors Beck Cole and Gracie Otto bring verve and a veneer of grotesquerie, matching the series’ damp, slightly off colour grading. The central hook is blunt — a dead crocodile discovered with a human body part in its jaw prompts an initial official identification that senior sergeant Dulcie Collins quickly questions, handing the mystery to her partner Eddie Redcliffe and setting them on a hunt to identify both the human remains and the dead croc.
Characters, tone and key players keep the engine running
deadloch’s emotional centre remains the mismatched pairing of the calm, considered Dulcie, played by Kate Box, and the decorum-shredding Eddie, played by Madeleine Sami. Eddie’s dialogue is loud, rough and often explicitly profane, anchoring much of the season’s potty-mouthed pride. New and returning supporting players add texture: Nina Oyama appears as Abby, a sweet but naive young cop; Jean Tong plays Leo, a bored local journalist; and Steve Bisley joins as Eddie’s father, Frank, a character described as loud and grubby. Luke Hemsworth arrives in the ensemble as a celebrity wildman figure that amplifies the show’s chaotic charm. The writing continues to subvert genre expectations, letting oddball dialogue, anonymous tips and revealing photographs drive the procedural forward while the plot saunters through darkly comic set pieces.
Responses, creator notes and what to watch next
deadloch retains a braided mix of satire and genuine whodunit, and the creators treated this second chapter as a distinct unit. Kate McCartney, co-creator and writer of the series, joked that if the story keeps moving locations she could imagine an even colder next stop: “Antarctica. ” McCartney and co-creator Kate McLennan have positioned this season to feel like a self-contained evolution of the show’s tone and world. The series premiered its new episodes on March 20 (ET), with all episodes available at once, and the present creators have approached this run with the sense that it could be a capstone should no further season follow.
For viewers, the immediate next watch is clear: settle in for deadloch’s second season to absorb its strange, gluggy ambience and let the mismatched detectives lead you through croc-related misadventures. Behind the scenes, the creative team’s relocation of the story to a sweltering environment suggests future chapters will continue to play with place as a character in itself; whether deadloch returns beyond this follow-up will depend on how audiences respond to season two’s noisy, foul-mouthed, and devilishly joyous ride.
