What a croc! Deadloch series 2

If you like your murder mysteries with a side order of comedy, then good news, Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan’s Deadloch is back for a new series on Amazon. And in this second series, Detectives Dulcie Collins (Kate Box) and Eddie Redcliffe (Madeleine Sami) are in Darwin, trying to solve the mystery of what happened to Eddie’s partner, Bushy. Except, inevitably, they find themselves drawn into a case in the town of Barra Creek – Eddie’s hometown – where the body parts of local crocodile tour entrepreneur Don Darrell keep turning up in the water.

And if the idea of dead men turning up in waterways reminds you of the first series of Deadloch, then there’s more where that came from… Gender politics, and woke versus absolutely-not-woke, are key themes of the show once again, alongside a subplot about relations between the area’s indigenous people and local landowners. Plus, series one regulars Cath, wife of Dulcie (Alicia Gardiner) and Constable Abby Matsuda (Nina Oyama), are here too, both as anxious as ever, although at least Abby has a purpose in life: she’s joined the NT Police as a trainee forensics officer.

New to the series are nerdy local journalist Leo Lee (Jean Tong), aspiring true crime podcaster and source of a surprising number of new leads, Jason Wade (Luke Hemsworth), a sort of Steve Irwin-type, croc-themed visitor attraction owner and TV star, and Frank McCallister (Steve Bisley), a growly old guy in a scooter, who turns out to be Eddie’s dad.

Which, give or take a few sovereign citizen conspiracy nuts and assorted other bogans and boofheads, sets the stage for a complicated storyline where Dulcie and Eddie try to deal with the latest parts of Don Darrell to pop up out of the creek, surprise evidence about Bushy’s death, and, oh yeah, there are some missing Swedish backpackers as well.

If you struggle to follow the plot at any point, you’re not alone! But we imagine it’ll all become clear, or at least semi-clear, by episode six. Meanwhile, there are a decent number of laughs to be had, especially in the first couple of episodes.

Of particular note is the way in which the character of Eddie, whose non-stop shouty, aggro behaviour in the first series seemed so out of place compared to all the other characters, finally makes sense. Because just about the entire population of Barra Creek speaks and acts just like her, permanently turned up to 11. And while Eddie’s shouty, sweary anger felt a bit exhausting to watch in series one, it seems to work better in this series. Being turned up to 11 is the default setting for Barra Creek. In fact, we’re pretty sure some of the locals are turned up to 12, or even 13.

McCartney and McLennan also have some of their trademark fun picking apart the idiocy of groups of men. Jason Wade and his boys, resplendent in their too-short shorts, are quite a thing to behold, only to be outdone by the needlessly aggressive all-male squad of detectives trying to find the backpackers. Not that the women characters are in any way measured and thoughtful… Shout out to Nikki Britton as Don Darrell’s daughter, Amber, who assumes that anything another person says to her is a grave insult. You know the type. And let’s not forget the woman who pisses on the floor of the pub during episode four, which, while gross, kinda makes you want to shout “Straya!”.

So, while you might struggle to follow who’s currently in the frame for the murder and dismemberment of Don Darrell, you can at least laugh at some of the most relentless, accurate and all-Aussie characters out there.