Death in Paradise Season 12: What We Know Right Now

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Death in Paradise will be returning for season 12

Though season 11 of Death in Paradise only just made it to the US, many have been asking: Will there be a season 12 of Death in Paradise? The good news? The answer is YES. Season 12 was ordered at the same time as season 11. 

The even better news? There’s going to be another Christmas special, too!

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Table of Contents

Few details have been released as to what’s happening in Season 12 of Death in Paradise (so far)

Season 11 ended with some unanswered questions, and while we don’t want to spoil anything for those who aren’t caught up, season 12 will surely have to address those issues. Commissioner Selwyn Patterson’s storyline was left at a particularly juicy spot, with him learning a big secret.

We also expect there will be more on Neville’s ongoing search for love – but since Ralf Little has said in interviews that producers don’t ever want to see his character too happy, we expect he probably won’t have too much lasting success. Perhaps he’ll get to find a bit of happiness when they’re ready to switch detectives again.

It’s been confirmed that Ralf Little will be returning in series 12, though there’s been no word on whether he’ll stay the entire season or how many seasons he’ll do in total. Season 12 will be Little’s fourth season on Death in Paradise, and if he carries on to season 13, he’ll be the longest-serving DI of the series. Luckily, he’s gotten considerably less annoying since his first few episodes.

Picture Shows_Marlon Pryce (TAHJ MILES), DS Florence Cassell (JOSEPHINE JOBERT), DI Neville Parker (RALF LITTLE), Commissioner Selwyn Patterson (DON WARRINGTON)

Season 12 of Death in Paradise begins filming in Guadaloupe in May 2022. It typically takes a few months to get a season of 8 or 10 one-hour shows done, and they’re doing another Christmas special for 2022 – so it’s likely they’ll be wrapping up sometime around the end of summer.

It’s still too soon to have any firm air dates, even for the UK. While the Christmas special will logically come out somewhere in the BBC’s Christmas lineup, the season itself will most likely begin airing sometime in January (that’s when the new seasons usually air in the UK).

In the US, we would guess BritBox will offer the Christmas special at Christmas as they did in 2021, and that the full season will be released sometime in the spring of 2023.

Please keep in mind that none of these estimated dates are confirmed – they’re merely based on the filming dates and the timing that was used in the past. 

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Though not confirmed, we expect to see the return of Marlon Pryce (TAHJ MILES) and Naomi Thomas (SHANTOL JACKSON) in season 12

In season 11 of Death in Paradise, we saw the return of Ralf Little as DI Neville Parker, along with Josephine Jobert as DS Florence Cassell. As always, Don Warrington plays Selwyn Patterson, and Elizabeth Bourgine continues as Catherine Bordey.

New(er) character Marlon Pryce (Tahj Miles) returned, and Shantol Jackson joined the cast as Naomi Thomas. Voluntary officer Darlene Curtis (Ginny Holder) was another fantastic addition in season 11.

So far, there’s no official information about who’s returning in season 12 (aside from Ralf Little) – or what new characters might join the cast. Still, we can expect most of the season 11 cast members to return (with one key exception we won’t mention here since it’s a spoiler). With any luck, we’ll have more details on that as they begin filming.

While quite a few British TV mysteries are based on books, Death in Paradise is one of the rare exceptions where the books are actually based on the television series. While some shows make book adaptations of existing episodes (like the books for The Good Life/Good Neighbors or Rosemary & Thyme), the Death in Paradise books offer totally new mysteries. It’s like watching lost, un-aired episodes.

The best part? So far, all the Death in Paradise novels are about DI Richard Poole. If you find yourself missing the original DI, these books are a great way to enjoy him a little longer. Though we haven’t worked our way through all of them just yet, it would be wonderful if the character finally got a happy ending.

The Death in Paradise novels are written by Robert Thorogood, creator of Death in Paradise. You can view them all below – and fair warning, the format availability could be better. Not every book is available in all the standard formats.

The Marlow Murder Club

More recently, Thorogood has also released another cozy mystery novel, the first in what’s to become a series of books. The first entry in the series is called The Marlow Murder Club, and it follows the sleuthing adventures of 70-something Judith Potts. As I read, I can’t help but picture Miriam Margolyes in a TV adaptation – though Dawn French could also be fantastic, aged up a bit. 

Given the recent success of Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series, I would imagine Robert Thorogood’s series will also prove popular – and maybe it will also get a screen adaptation of some kind.

Even though we don’t always enjoy all the inspectors equally, Death in Paradise is still a nice, light series that’s always fun to come back to. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for season 12.

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