Red Eye season 2 premieres on 1st January 2026, with Jing Lusi and Lesley Sharp returning alongside new lead Martin Compston for the gripping thriller
ITV is starting the year with a bang, bringing back its popular original thriller Red Eye. Creator Peter A Dowling and director Kieron Moore are teaming up again for a fresh story that once more puts DC Hana Li (Jing Lusi) and MI5 director-general Madeline Delaney (Lesley Sharp) in serious jeopardy.
The first series centred on the spine-chilling events on an extradition flight to China, where an alleged murderer was embroiled in a complicated international conspiracy.
This latest chapter builds on those global political tensions, splitting time between a besieged US Embassy in London and a rigged flight back to the English capital.
If you’re excited to tune into Red Eye season 2 on ITV1 and ITVX, read on for everything you need to know about the show’s return.
Red Eye season 2 release date
Red Eye season 2 is set to premiere on ITV1 at 9pm on Thursday, 1st January 2026 (New Year’s Day). All six episodes will also be available on ITVX from that date, allowing fans to binge-watch ahead.
Red Eye season 2 cast: New and returning
Red Eye season 2 welcomes back Jing Lusi as DC Hana Li, who spent the first series untangling a complex conspiracy on a dangerous flight to China.
Lesley Sharp is back in action as Madeline Delaney, now the director general of MI5, who finds herself in a precarious situation on an overseas flight in season 2, mirroring Hana’s ordeal from the first series.
Other familiar faces include Jemma Moore (Lockwood & Co.) reprising her role as Hana’s sister Jess, a fearless journalist, and Robert Gilbert (Bergerac) returning as her boss, Superintendent Simon O’Brian. Notably missing is Richard Armitage as Dr Matthew Nolan, with Line of Duty’s Martin Compston stepping in to fill his shoes as Lusi’s male co-lead, playing US Embassy security chief Clay Brody.
In summary, here’s an overview of the Red Eye season 2 cast:
- Jing Lusi as Detective Hana Li
- Lesley Sharp as Madeline Delaney
- Martin Compston as Clay Brody
- Jemma Moore as Jess Li
- Robert Gilbert as Supt. Simon O’Brien
- Cash Holland as Ruth Banks
- Jonathan Aris as John Tennant
- Steph Lacey as Megan Campbell
- Nicholas Rowe as DSEC Alex Peterson
- Trevor White as US Ambassador Ronald Tillman
- Isaura Barbe-Brown as DCM Cece Redding
- Danusia Samal as Captain Sarah Wright
- Guy Williams as Air Marshal John Johnson
Red Eye season 2 plot: What is it about?
Red Eye season 2 once again divides its attention between another endangered flight and events unfolding on the ground, but this time around, Hana Li is grounded while Madeline Delaney is trapped thousands of feet in the air.
The synopsis reads: “Inside the US Embassy, the celebrations for a newly appointed US Ambassador to London are shattered when a call, threatening to blow a British plane out of the sky if anyone leaves, triggers an immediate embassy lockdown, trapping guests and staff inside.
“And that’s when the murders begin, landing Hana Li, as a British cop, in a political and jurisdictional nightmare. Compelled to join forces with the Head of Embassy Security, Clay Brody, played by Martin Compston, a former colleague who once screwed her over, Hana has to see her way past her distrust of him and focus on the investigation.
“Because this time it’s personal: The plane that will be blown up is a government jet, and Director General Madeline Delaney is onboard.”
Red Eye season 1 is available to stream on ITVX. Season 2 premieres on New Year’s Day 2026.
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