Mystery Road: Origin returns to ABC

10th August 2025

Mystery Road: Origin returns for season two this September 

The ABC and Screen Australia are pleased to announce the highly anticipated return of critically acclaimed and multi-award-winning series Mystery Road: Origin, premiering Sunday 21 September at 8.15pm on ABC TV with all episodes available to stream on ABC iview.

It’s Easter 2000, six months from when we last saw young Detective Jay Swan, played by AACTA Award-winning Lead Actor and proud Nyikina man Mark Coles Smith (We Bury The Dead, Beasts of War) and his partner Mary, played by AACTA Award-winning Lead Actress Tuuli Narkle (NCIS: Sydney, Territory). We find them attempting to forge a new life together on her mother’s Country, in the fading timber town of Loch Iris. It doesn’t take long though for the majesty of the tall trees in the brooding surrounding forests and the deep lake that shimmers at the edge of town to take on gothic dimensions. 

As Jay begins to investigate an unfolding case, Loch Iris closes ranks around him. The more he pieces together the crime, the more he realises the entire town has been hiding a shadowy past. It's a past that is still rippling through to the present and with it, a secret that threatens to tear Jay and Mary apart.  

Mystery Road: Origin season two is written by an entirely First Nations writing team, alongside acclaimed directors Jub Clerc (Sweet AS, Total Control S3) and Wayne Blair (Mystery Road Series S2, Total Control). 

Coles Smith and Narkle will be joined by an impressive ensemble cast including Robyn Malcolm (After The Party, The Survivors), Clarence Ryan (Territory, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga),  Geoff Morrell (Lord Of The Rings: Rings of Power, Ice Road 2: The Road To The Sky), Nicholas Bell (Elvis, Bay of Fires), Luke Carroll (Scrublands S2, The Artful Dodger), Helen Morse (The Eye Of The Storm, The Doctor Blake Mysteries), Aswan Reid (The New Boy, Beasts of War), Steve Le Marquand (Population 11, Christmess), Pippa Grandison (Population 11, After the Verdict), Rarriwuy Hick (Wentworth, True Colours), Shantae Barnes-Cowan (Sweet As, Firebite), Tammy Lee Rock (The Sapphires, Boxing Day), Marley Sharp (The Circuit, Redfern Now), Alex Malone (The Royal Hotel, Colin From Accounts), Greg Tait (Firebite, Mad Bastards) and introducing Eloise Hart

Relive Mystery Road: Origin season one & discover a range of compelling First Nations stories on ABC iview now.