One of ITV’s most beloved crime dramas is returning for a sixth season. Unforgotten, which sees a small yet effective team of London detectives unravel the intricacies of various tragic cold cases, has once again been renewed despite the fifth season’s major casting change. In 2023, Unforgotten season 5 was one of ITV’s most-watched programs, so this renewal isn’t necessarily surprising—but it’s certainly a welcome one.
Here’s everything we know about Unforgotten season 6.
When will Unforgotten season 6 be released?
ITV has yet to reveal a release date, though filming reportedly began on season 6 in the summer of 2023, which would make a 2024 release window plausible. Unforgotten‘s premiere dates have never followed a set pattern, however—on average, there’s roughly a year and a half in between new seasons, though the hiatus between seasons 3 and 4 was well over two years long. As such, it’s impossible to say when the next season will be released until ITV provides us with new information. It has been confirmed that the new season will once again have six episodes, though. In the U.S., Unforgotten is available to watch on PBS Masterpiece.
The cast of Unforgotten season 6
Both Sinéad Keenan and Sanjeev Bhaskar will be reprising their roles as DCI Jess James and DI Sunil ‘Sunny’ Khan, respectively. Further casting details have yet to be announced, but given the show’s narrative structure, expect to see plenty of new characters in the sixth season (though you may very well recognize some of their faces from various other British TV dramas).
What will Unforgotten season 6 be about?
Unforgotten‘s fifth season had a lot to contend with—not only did it introduce a brand-new DCI to the team, but grief was a major theme, even more so than usual. Sunny, especially, was still grappling with the loss of his former partner, DCI Cassie Stuart (Nicola Walker), after she died in a tragic car accident in the season 4 finale. DCI James, meanwhile, had to learn how to lead a grieving team while also dealing with her own personal drama, as her husband revealed he’d been having an affair in season 5’s premiere episode. Given all the emotional turmoil, it’s no wonder that Jess and Sunny butted heads when they first started working together, though thankfully, by the end, they’d fallen into a solid working pattern.
We’d expect Unforgotten season 6 to build on the foundations of their partnership—one of the reasons Unforgotten is so beloved is because it doesn’t just care about the victims but about its leading characters, too. ITV promises “an exciting new partnership for fans to look forward to,” so it will certainly be interesting to see how their relationship develops.
There are no details on season 6’s new cold case, however. All ITV has revealed so far is: “Series six will follow DI Khan and DCI James as they investigate cold cases and unsolved crimes from the past, unravelling secrets and unearthing buried truths along the way.” All six episodes will be written by series creator Chris Lang.
We’ll just have to wait to see what happens next.
(featured image: ITV)
