The Missing and Baptiste Creators Tease Franchise Return After Four-Year Hiatus
Nov, 1 2025
It’s been four years since detective Julien Baptiste last walked the rain-slicked streets of Amsterdam or Budapest, but the man behind the character might be coming back. British writing duo Harry Benedict Williams and Jack Benedict Williams, the creators of the critically adored crime anthology The Missing and its spin-off Baptiste, have quietly signaled that the franchise isn’t dead — just resting. During a March 2025 interview for The Radio Times Writers’ Room, the brothers hinted at the possibility of revisiting the dark, emotionally charged world they built around the brooding French detective, portrayed by Tchéky Karyo. No scripts. No networks. No casting confirmations. Just the quiet, knowing nod of creators who know they’ve tapped into something that still resonates.
Why This Franchise Still Haunts Viewers
The Missing didn’t just air — it lingered. The first season, which premiered on BBC One on October 28, 2014, and Starz on November 15, 2014, followed the desperate search for a missing boy in rural France. James Nesbitt and Frances O’Connor played the shattered parents, while Tchéky Karyo’s Baptiste, a weary but brilliant detective, moved through the chaos with a quiet, almost spiritual intensity. The second season, airing in 2016-2017, shifted to Germany and centered on a missing girl, with David Morrissey and Keeley Hawes delivering performances that left audiences breathless. Critics called it "cinematic television" — slow-burning, deeply human, and devastatingly real.Then came Baptiste, a natural extension that followed the detective after brain surgery, grappling with memory loss and personal grief. The first season, set in Amsterdam and airing in 2019, felt like a meditation on trauma. The second, filmed in Budapest and concluding on August 22, 2021, ended with Baptiste walking away from the job — a deliberate, poignant closure. "The detective is hanging it up," wrote Ani Bundel on Telly Visions in November 2021. At the time, fans accepted it. But now? Something’s changed.
The Quiet Power of a Creator’s Whisper
The Williams brothers haven’t been idle. Since 2021, their production company, Two Brothers Pictures, has been behind BBC’s Back and Sky’s Gangs of London. But neither project carried the same emotional weight as their crime anthology. In interviews, Harry has spoken about "stories that burrow under your skin," and Jack has admitted he still dreams of Baptiste’s face in the mirror after surgery. That’s not just nostalgia — that’s unresolved creative energy.
"We never said goodbye," Jack told Radio Times. "We just stepped back." Harry added, "Some stories don’t end. They just pause." That’s not a guarantee of a new season — it’s an invitation. And for fans who’ve waited since 2021, it’s enough.
A Resurgence in British Crime Drama
The timing is no accident. In 2025, British crime dramas are having a moment. Netflix’s Missing You, ITV’s Patience, and Channel 4’s A Thousand Blows are all drawing record audiences. Audiences aren’t just craving twists — they’re craving texture. They want characters who carry their past like luggage. They want detectives who don’t solve cases so much as survive them.
Two Brothers Pictures is uniquely positioned. Unlike studios chasing fast-turnaround procedurals, they specialize in slow, layered storytelling. Their work doesn’t just entertain — it lingers. And with All3Media, their global distributor, having offices in London, New York, and Sydney, the infrastructure for a global revival is already in place.
What’s Next? The Unspoken Questions
Here’s what we don’t know: Will Baptiste return? Will he be a consultant? A retired man pulled back in? Will the next season be set in the Balkans? In Beirut? Or back in France, where it all began? Will Tchéky Karyo, now 71, be physically up for it? And if so — will the story be a direct sequel, or a new chapter in the same universe, with a new missing person and a new set of broken parents?
The brothers haven’t said. And that’s the point. They’re not announcing a project. They’re testing the waters. A whisper, not a press release. A nod, not a contract.
What we do know: The Missing and Baptiste were never just TV shows. They were emotional experiences. And in a world of bingeable, forgettable thrillers, that’s rare.
Behind the Scenes: The Williams Brothers’ Legacy
Harry and Jack Williams didn’t just write these shows — they built them from the ground up. They co-founded Two Brothers Pictures in 2014, with a mission to make television that felt like literature. They cast actors for emotional truth, not fame. They shot in real locations — not sets. They let silence speak. In an industry obsessed with hooks and hashtags, they trusted their audience to sit with discomfort.
That’s why fans still talk about the scene in Season 1 where Baptiste finds a child’s shoe in the mud — no music, no dialogue, just the sound of rain. That’s why people still rewatch Baptiste’s final moments in Budapest, where he lights a cigarette and walks into the fog, knowing he’ll never return to the job.
They didn’t just create a detective. They created a myth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a confirmed new season of The Missing or Baptiste?
No official season has been greenlit as of March 2025. The Williams brothers only hinted at a potential return during a Radio Times interview, with no network, script, or timeline disclosed. Fans should treat this as creative interest, not production news.
Why did The Missing end after two seasons?
The series was designed as an anthology, with each season telling a standalone story. While critically praised, it never achieved mass ratings that would justify a third season. The Williams brothers have said in past interviews that they felt the story had reached its natural emotional endpoint, and they didn’t want to repeat themselves.
Could Tchéky Karyo return as Julien Baptiste?
Karyo, now 71, has never ruled out a return. He’s spoken fondly of the character in interviews, calling Baptiste "one of the few roles that felt true." Whether his age allows for a physically demanding role depends on the story’s direction — but his emotional connection to the part remains strong.
What’s the likelihood of a revival given current TV trends?
High. The 2025 surge in slow-burn British crime dramas — like Missing You and Patience — proves audiences crave depth over speed. Networks are actively seeking prestige crime content with emotional heft, exactly what The Missing and Baptiste delivered. A revival would fit perfectly.
Are there any rumors about where the next season might be set?
No official rumors exist, but fans speculate the next story could return to France — perhaps the Pyrenees or Marseille — tying back to the original series’ setting. Others suggest Eastern Europe, given Baptiste’s history in Budapest. The Williams brothers have hinted at stories "where borders blur," implying a transnational setting.
How does this compare to other revived crime dramas?
Unlike Line of Duty or Broadchurch, which returned with clear narrative hooks, The Missing’s anthology format makes a revival trickier. Each season is self-contained. A new season would likely need a fresh family’s tragedy — not a direct sequel — making it more like True Detective than Law & Order.
