The BBC has confirmed that the hit legal drama, The Split, is returning for a very exciting two-part series later this year.
Two years after we last saw the Defoe family in all their wonderful chaos in The Split season 3, we are set to be reunited with formidable family lawyer Hannah Defoe (Nicola Walker) and her clan as they head off to Spain for a family wedding.
We left the final series back in 2022 with Hannah and Nathan attempting to divide up their twenty years together while also trying to navigate their way through a 'good divorce', questioning whether that is even possible.
However, now all our favourite characters are set to return as the family gathers for a beautiful wedding at a magnificent vineyard, nestled in Catalonia’s wine region. Set across one sun-soaked weekend, The Split Barcelona will encompass break-ups, reunions and like all good weddings, plenty of romance.
As the sun rises over the glorious Spanish countryside, Hannah is compelled to banish the ghosts of her past and open herself up to the possibility of love again. Can she find the courage to take the leap into a new future?
The new mini-series, which will be made up of two one-hour episodes and once again penned by the multi-award-winning Abi Morgan, will see Nicola Walker (Hannah), Stephen Mangan (Nathan), Annabel Scholey (Nina), Fiona Button (Rose), Deborah Findlay (Ruth), Ian McElhinney (Ronnie), Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Glen), Elizabeth Roberts (Liv) and Alex Guersma (Gael) all return for the Spanish extravaganza.
But there will also be a host of new characters including Toby Stephens (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Black Sails) as hot-shot family lawyer, Archie Moore. But who is Archie and what link does he have to the Defoe family?
Abi Morgan says, “In a world of brutal break ups and tantalising make-ups, the Defoe family are invited to a destination wedding of their own, promising all that audiences have grown to love about The Split. Problematic prenups, scandalous wedding crashers, and low-flying marriage proposals, as rom-com meets gone wrong, in a chaotic and riotous weekend that guarantees to crack open the heart, before the last of the guests have gone home.”
Executive Producer Lucy Dyke says, “It is a joy to reunite with Abi and our wonderful Split team for this two-parter for the BBC One and iPlayer. We have missed the Defoe family and their messy, complex lives so we couldn’t be more excited to send them to beautiful Barcelona for a glorious, romantic weekend.
"In this chapter, Abi explores the often terrifying prospect of facing new romance after divorce and promises a rollercoaster of emotions along the way. And welcoming the brilliant Toby Stephens to our ensemble, as lawyer Archie Moore, it’s safe to say, sparks are going to fly.”
The news of the special comes shortly after it was announced by the BBC that there would be a spin-off to The Split called The Split Up, a new six-part series that features the high-stakes world of Manchester’s divorce law circuit, where one family of lawyers, the Kishans, reign supreme.
The Split Barcelona will air later this year on BBC One. In the meantime you can watch seasons 1 to 3 on BBC iPlayer.
