Charming Australian drama Darby and Joan season 2 is getting a fresh lease of life as it lands on U&Drama this Summer.
In the first series, retired British nurse Joan Kirkhope (Greta Scacchi) arrived in Australia looking for answers about her husband Ian’s mysterious death and teamed up with gruff ex-detective Jack Darby (Bryan Brown).
Now the second series, which originally streamed on Acorn TV last year, picks up a year after Darby and Joan season 1, with the mismatched pair on a quest to clear Jack’s name while solving episodic wrongdoings that wander across their path.
Here, Greta joins What to Watch for an exclusive chat to tell us more…
Darby and Joan season 2 release date
Darby and Joan season 2 will air weekly on U&Drama from Wednesday, July 2, 2025 at 8 pm. All six episodes will be available as a box set on the channel’s streaming service U.co.uk
Darby and Joan seasons 1 and 2 are also available to stream on Acorn TV.
Darby and Joan season 2 — what’s new
When series two gets underway with six new episodes, Jack and Joan are wending their way through Queensland on the hunt for the one person they believe can reveal the truth regarding an unexplained cloud hanging over Jack’s career and reputation. But soon they realise they aren’t alone on this journey and their quest becomes a dangerous race against time to uncover the truth after all these years. Will their search for answers unearth more questions than it answers?
“While the first series took place in the wake of Joan’s crisis and grief of losing her husband [Ian, played by John Waters in flashbacks] suddenly and the mystery surrounding him, this series explores Jack’s trauma, what he’s been through, and what is still unresolved. It’s a lot to do with Joan getting him to open up and also her starting to understand him. In each episode, there’s always a new theme, a new location and a new slice of life,” explains Greta.
“Both Joan and Jack have curiosity and a drive for justice, so they can’t let something go. I sometimes think that Joan is a busybody, but she’s also bright and gets to the bottom of things. I love her get-up-and-go and I relate to it because that's the surprising thing about ageing - you don’t see yourself as old. Joan and Jack are just 20-year-olds who look a bit crudier!”
Darby and Joan season 2 cast
Also reprising their roles alongside Greta Scacchi (Presumed Innocent, Brideshead Revisited, Versailles) and Byran Brown (Cocktail, A Town Like Alice, Gorillas in the Mist) in this second series are:
Anna McGahan as Joan and Ian’s daughter Rebecca, who lives in the UK. Anna has starred in Spirited, Anzac Girls, The Doctor Blake Mysteries and Picnic at Hanging Rock.
Jolene Anderson in her role as Jack’s daughter Detective Inspector Liz Darby. Jolene’s credits include Harrow, Home and Away, Rush and All Saints.
John Jarratt (Faraway Downs, Wolf Creek, A Country Practice) as menacing Detective Senior Sergeant Bill Carlton. His credits include.
Sigrid Thornton (Sechange, Wentworth Prison, Prisoner: Cell Block H) joins the cast as Jack’s ex wife and Liz’s mum, Miranda McNeil, an internal affairs detective.
Also joining in semi-regular roles are Debra Lawrance (Home and Away) as Anna, who believes Jack killed her son and Lisa Hensley (Brides of Christ), as plays Joan’s spirited sister Maxine.
Other guest stars to keep an eye out for include, Doris Younane (Apple Cider Vinegar, Heartbreak High) and Natalie Bassingthwaighte (AKA Izzy Hoyland from Neighbours).
Watch the Darby and Joan season 2 trailer
Darby and Joan season 2 — filming
Speaking about returning to Australia to film the second series, Greta reveals why the country holds a special place for her: “I’m actually an Australian citizen. I was born in Italy, moved to England when I was five and then, at 15, moved to Australia. I always felt a little bit foreign, but when I arrived in Perth and started school there, I felt I belonged for the first time. I love making this show and was thrilled and enthusiastic to film the second series.”
On why UK viewers love Australian drama, she says: “The British are culturally very close to Australians, there is a familiarity while being unfamiliar, and, of course, the locations are spectacular. As well as the sunshine and scenery, there’s a frankness in the Australian manner that makes for an easy connection with characters. Their self-irony helps a lot!”
Greta also revealed that there are some fun surfing scenes in season 2 for viewers to look forward to: “[Laughing] I wouldn’t call it surfing, and neither will you when you see it! Bryan, however, surfs like a dream. He was chuffed because he's a surfer from way back and the day we filmed these scenes, he caught a wave beautifully and looked fantastic. When I got into the water, I just looked like a hippopotamus. I was mostly giggling, swallowing water and rolling about, so I didn’t have to do much acting!”
Darby and Joan season 2 episode guide
Episode 1
The search for answers about Jack’s past leads him and Joan into the path of two warring brothers whose fight over the family farm escalates when one of the brothers is injured in a suspicious fall.
Episode 2
In a surfing town, Jack and Joan help Gillian, a nurse accused of hospital deaths, after she's a hit-and-run victim. They uncover potential motives to kill her as suspicions about the deaths linger.
Episode 3 - coming soon
Will there be a Darby and Joan season 3?
The short answer is: Yes!
During our interview Greta revealed, “I know that the writers are scribbling away on the third series and I can't wait to find out more about Joan and Jack.
“The cast and crew became very bonded after filming series one, and for the second series it felt as if everyone was even more in tune. It’s also been wonderful for Bryan and I to be allowed to have scope to inject our personal perspective on these older characters with the writers. It’s a very relaxing way to work and it’s very exciting to read the scripts because it was a collaborative, trusting and reciprocal thing.
"We are united that Jack and Joan shouldn’t [get together as a couple] because if they ever do, there’d be nowhere else to go and it could spell the end.”
