ITV has set New Year’s Day 2026 for the return of its thriller Red Eye, with Jing Lusi back as detective Hana Li and Martin Compston joining the six-episode second run. The new story pivots to a fresh conspiracy as violence hits the U.S. Embassy and MI5, pushing Li and Compston’s Clay Brody toward a race to stop a plot tied to a government aircraft.
The network ordered the second series after a strong first-season performance, and production company Bad Wolf has framed the follow-up as a bigger swing on pace and scale. In ITV’s announcement marking the start of filming, Lusi said she was “thrilled” to return and to share the “rollercoaster” with Compston, while Compston said he hoped to “build on the massive success” of the first series and deliver “another thrilling ride.”
ITV’s later first-look release confirmed returning cast members Lesley Sharp and Jemma Moore, alongside Jonathan Aris, Robert Guilbert, Cash Holland and Steph Lacey, with new additions including Isaura Barbe-Brown, Nicholas Rowe, Danusia Samal, Trevor White and Guy Williams. The production will again run to six episodes created and written by Peter A. Dowling, with Jingan Young writing an episode; Kieron Hawkes directs the first block and Camilla Strøm Henriksen directs the back half.
Compston has leaned into the action side of the role in recent promotion, describing the on-set headspace between “action” and “cut” as a place where an actor can “be James Bond” for a moment. He also said the fights left marks, including a black eye that came out of a sparring session with director Hawkes.
Season 1 followed Li escorting a man on an extradition flight that spiraled into an international conspiracy, setting the show’s template for claustrophobic pressure and sudden reversals. ITV said the first series drew more than 8 million viewers and 29.3 million streams on ITVX, and Bad Wolf noted the show has played widely overseas through Sony Pictures Television distribution.
