Alibi Channel

Bookish Trailer

Announced 24 June: Bookish will premiere on 16 July on U & Alibi.

I. & Alibi released the trailer for Bookish today:

London 1946 is the setting for series one, with viewers introduced to the appropriately named Gabriel Book (Gatiss) who owns a bookshop in Archangel Lane. If his War was packed with espionage and secrets, Book’s Peace is just as full of adventure! Now he helps the police solve the strangest of crimes and the knottiest of murders. But his close association to the force is not without its dangers. For although he is very happily married to his childhood best friend, the captivating Trottie, Book is a gay man living at a time when homosexuality was illegal. When Book and Trottie take in Jack it seems like an act of altruism: a second chance for a young jailbird.And Jack proves a worthy assistant both in the shop and in Book’s murder investigations.

It soon becomes clear, however, that Jack’s appointment wasn’t quite as random as it at first appears…With a complex mystery at the heart of every story, featuring a wealth of well-known guest stars, marrying post-war nostalgia with the reckless and life affirming atmosphere of the times, Bookish is a stylish period detective drama with a difference.

Bookish has also been renewed for Series 2!

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Bookish – First Look

Mark Gatiss writes and stars as the erudite and unconventional Gabriel Book who, from his antiquarian bookshop, helps the police to solve a variety of mysterious crimes. With three main cases in the series, each storyline spans two-episode instalments. The series will air on Alibi in 2025.

Further cast include Polly Walker (Bridgerton, Line of Duty) as Book’s colourful wife, Trottie, alongside Connor Finch (Everything I Know About Love) as Jack, Elliot Levey (We Were the Lucky Ones, Quiz) as Inspector Bliss, Blake Harrison (Still Up, World on Fire) as Sergeant Morris and Buket Kömür (Our House) as Nora.

The series also features a wealth of guest stars including Joely Richardson as Sandra Dare, Daniel Mays (The Long Shadow, Code 404) as Eric Wellbeloved, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (Bodies, The Great) as Stewart Howard, Paul McGann (Annika, Doctor Who) as Mr Kind, Michael Workéyè (Playdate, This is Going to Hurt) as Billy Fox, Luke Norris (Poldark, The Girl Before) as Jesse MacKendrick, Jonas Nay (Deutschland 83, Concordia) as Felix and many more.

London, 1946, is the dynamic, dangerous and chaotic setting for this stylish new detective drama, with the whip-smart and debonair Gabriel Book (Gatiss) at the very heart of the story: a maverick consultant detective to the local police. The thousands of books that line the shelves of his shop provide him with all the knowledge he needs to solve even the most puzzling of crimes.

Book has gathered around him a host of lovable, damaged misfits whom he informally protects, cajoles, and mentors. His wife Trottie (Walker) runs the wallpaper shop next door. She’s a charismatic adventuress whom Book loves deeply but not physically, for they are in a ‘lavender’ marriage to help conceal Book’s sexual orientation in a time when it was illegal to be gay.

Bookish marries post-war nostalgia with the reckless and life-affirming atmosphere of the times, creating a fast-paced and stylish detective drama.

Bookish is the latest U&Original series for Alibi and will air in 2025.

Follow Daniel Mays on and Instagram @danielmays9, Threads @danielmays9, and Twitter @DanielMays9