‘Deadloch’ Season Two Bites Back Hard with Crocs, Chaos & Carnage – Review
Every time Prime Video drops a fresh release, it’s worth paying attention, but when Deadloch rolls back into town, you lean in. After the breakout success of its 2023 debut season, this razor-sharp Aussie buddy-cop crime comedy returns with bite, bark, and a whole lot of blood in the water.
This time, creators Kate McCartney and Kate McLennon rip us out of Tasmania and drop us deep into the sweltering chaos of the Northern Territory. Darwin and the backwater chaos of Barra Creek become the new playground, and trust us, it’s a wild one. Secrets fester, egos clash, and the crocs? Yeah, they’re always circling.
Forget Tassie Noir – Deadloch is entering its Tropical Gothic era with the new season set in Australia’s sweltering Top End, aka the Northern Territory. Detectives Dulcie Collins (Kate Box) and Eddie Redcliffe (Madeleine Sami) are in Darwin to investigate the death of Eddie’s former policing partner Bushy. However, their plans are soon diverted when a body part is discovered in a remote town called Barra Creek. With the Northern Territory police force focused on a large-scale search for two missing backpackers, Dulcie and a very reluctant Eddie are tasked with identifying the John Doe.
Sticky, sweaty and juggling comprehensive thrush infections, the detectives find themselves embroiled in a world of crocodile-fuelled tourism, overstretched Indigenous rangers, cagey locals, and seven-metre prehistoric predators – all of whom call Barra Creek’s stretch of land, and water, their home. As the humidity builds, and Eddie and Dulcie dig deeper, more questions arise for our duo – not only about the case, but the many secrets that lie beneath the surface of this small town.
Dulcie & Eddie: Back on the Beat
At the heart of Deadloch is its perfectly mismatched duo: the tightly wound, by-the-book Dulcie Collins (Kate Box) and the gloriously unfiltered loose cannon Eddie Redcliffe (Madeleine Sami). Season Two wastes no time throwing them back into each other’s orbit.
Dulcie, supposedly on a peaceful getaway with her wife Cath (Alicia Gardiner), quickly finds herself knee-deep in another murder investigation when bodies start piling up in Barra Creek. Enter Eddie: loud, brash, and impossible to ignore. Their reunion is anything but smooth, but that friction? That’s where the magic lives.
What unfolds is a conspiracy-laced mystery, packed with clashing personalities, local rivalries, and a growing sense that something much bigger and far more dangerous lurks beneath the surface.
Turning Up the Heat (and the Stakes)
Season One laid the groundwork. Season Two detonates it.
McCartney and McLennon crank everything to eleven; more action, sharper comedy, and an emotional undercurrent that hits harder than expected. This isn’t just another case-of-the-week setup; it’s a far more personal story, especially for Eddie. As the narrative digs into their ties to Barra Creek, Madeleine Sami gets the space to stretch in a way that adds surprising depth to their otherwise chaotic, expletive-fuelled persona.
Meanwhile, Kate Box continues to anchor the madness with a performance that balances rigidity and vulnerability. Together, they’re electric, two completely different energies colliding in the best possible way.
A Rogue’s Gallery of Scene-Stealers
The shift to the Northern Territory opens the floodgates for a fresh batch of eccentric, scene-stealing characters.
Luke Hemsworth charges in with full alpha swagger as croc-wrangling entrepreneur Jason Wade; a man whose ego might just outsize the Outback itself. Jean Tong brings spark and persistence to journalist Leo Lee, while Nina Oyama returns as the ever-eager Abby Matsuda, still stumbling into chaos with wide-eyed enthusiasm.
Veteran presences Damien Garvey and Steve Bisley round things out as Superintendent Col Culkin and Frank McAllister, delivering just the right mix of authority and absurdity to keep things humming.
Mystery, Mayhem & Mouthfuls of Mayhem
What Deadloch continues to nail is its balance. The mystery is dense, layered, and genuinely gripping, with enough twists to keep you guessing, and second-guessing, right to the end. But it’s the comedy that hits like a sucker punch. Sami, in particular, is unleashed here. Her rapid-fire, profanity-laced tirades are a masterclass in controlled chaos—improvised, unpredictable, and laugh-out-loud funny. It’s crude, it’s chaotic, and it absolutely works.
Final Verdict: Dramatically Daring, Dangerously Funny
Season Two of Deadloch doesn’t just match its predecessor; it sharpens its teeth and goes in for a deeper bite. With a killer setting, a more personal story, and performances that crackle with energy, it’s another knockout for Aussie television. Dark, daring, and dangerously funny, this is one hell of a ride. Strap in, watch your back, and maybe stay out of the water.
Deadloch Season Two is now streaming on Prime Video.
Image: Prime Video
