Vigil Season 3 Drops First Chilling Look As Fan Favorites Return And Shocking New Faces Join The Case

A wave of fresh faces boards BBC thriller Vigil as it charts a darker course for the new season.

Suranne Jones is not slowing down. She has Netflix thriller Hostage on the resume, ITV drama Frauds with Jodie Whittaker drops later this week, and now she is back in uniform for Vigil season 3 — which just started filming.

New mission, new backdrop

This time, the show is swapping submarines and air bases for the far north. The action moves to Svalbard — Norway's Arctic archipelago — with Scotland still in the mix. The BBC has even shared a first-look image of Jones and co-lead Rose Leslie bundled up on a snowy set, which feels on-brand for a story that wants to get a little eerie and a lot icy.

What season 3 is actually about

Detectives Amy Silva (Jones) and Kirsten Longacre (Leslie) are pulled to a remote Arctic research station after someone shoots dead a member of a covert British special forces mission. It is not just a whodunnit — their hunt for the killer is tangled up in a brewing international flashpoint over who gets to control energy and resources as the polar climate changes. Careers are at stake. So is their relationship. No pressure.

Cast check: who is onboard

• Leads: Suranne Jones and Rose Leslie return as Amy Silva and Kirsten Longacre.
• Returning cast: Gary Lewis (Franklin) as Detective Superintendent Robertson; Dominic Mafham (Little Disasters) as Sir Ian Downing; Orla Russell (Deadwater Fell) as Poppy, Amy and Kirsten's daughter.
• New additions: Jeppe Beck Laursen (The Last); Tornike Gogrichiani (Extraction 2); Steven Miller (Dept. Q); Benjamin Wainwright (Maigret); Artur Zai Barrera (The Old Man); Jordan Duvigneau (Mood); Kaisa Hammarlund (Hijack); Adam Fidusiewicz (FBI International); Naomi Yang (Under Salt Marsh); Eric Godon (In Bruges); Conor Berry (Karen Pirie); Amy Manson (Rebus); Jason Tobin (A Thousand Blows); Steven Cree (All of You); Killian Coyle (Shetland); Derek Riddell (Industry); Alma Prelec (Secret Service); Dawn Sievewright (Undertow); Shereen Cutkelvin (Summerwater).

Character details for the new faces are being kept quiet for now, which in Vigil-speak usually means some of them will look very suspicious very quickly.

Behind the scenes

Writer Tom Edge is steering the series again, with BBC and World Productions backing another big-canvas mystery. He is not being coy about the scope this year:

"I'm grateful to the BBC and World Productions for backing the ambition of a story that takes Vigil to the Arctic. This series grapples with the issues that will define tomorrow's world: melting ice caps, conflict over resources, energy wars, and lives put at risk in pursuit of peace and profits."

Executive producer Jake Lushington says they are kicking off production with Jones and Leslie on the ground in Svalbard and that this is Vigil's most multinational cast so far, alongside a mix of new and familiar Scottish talent. Translation: expect lots of accents and a lot of snow.

Where we left Amy and Kirsten

Last season split the pair, with Kirsten staying in Scotland while Amy chased down a chilling drone attack in the Middle East. When season 3 was first announced earlier this year, Jones promised a full-tilt ride, and Leslie flagged that Kirsten finally gets to grab her go-bag and join Amy in the field. Both of them embedded in the Arctic? That should dial up the tension on both the case and their personal lives.

When and where to watch

No premiere date yet. Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming now on BBC iPlayer if you need a refresher before the snowstorm hits.