Jamie Dornan's The Tourist Is Getting A Second Life Thanks To Netflix

When a tense, twisty BBC thriller titled "The Tourist" dropped on Max in 2022, it became apparent that Jamie Dornan has a gift for playing dynamic, layered characters. This, of course, is not the first time Dornan has excelled in a complex role, as he is also brilliant in "The Fall," the Gillian Anderson-led crime drama that unravels like a tense, slow-burn psychological thriller. In "The Tourist," Dornan plays Elliot Stanley, an amnesiac who must investigate connected cases to uncover his identity, but is repeatedly thwarted by forces who wish to silence him for some reason. Given how tonally diverse "The Tourist" is, with its ability to flit seamlessly between anxiety-inducing reveals and tender epiphanies, it was a bummer for fans of the series when Max dropped it after it was renewed for a second season.

Thankfully, Netflix has acquired the rights for the first two seasons of the show for distribution in the U.S., with season 1 already available for streaming on the platform at the moment. According to Variety, season 2 of "The Tourist" will premiere on Netflix on February 29, 2024, and this new season will shift its focus to Ireland, where Elliot and his allies dig deeper for the truth. Since Two Brothers Pictures for the BBC still produces the show, and the BBC retains the rights for distribution of the show in the United Kingdom, the second season of "The Tourist" already premiered on BBC One for U.K. audiences and garnered mostly glowing reviews from critics.

There's good reason to celebrate the arrival of the newest season of the show on Netflix, as "The Tourist" makes for extremely compelling television, balancing wry humor with the darker impulses that haunt the characters who find themselves lost in the madness. 

When Elliot wakes up in a hospital in rural Australia with no recollection of his identity, it's clear something is amiss. (The prologue opens with his car being run off the road, after all.) Despite the familiarity of the amnesia trope within a thriller setting, where a seemingly innocent man pieces together his past only to discover something wholly unsavory, "The Tourist" evades these genre trappings pretty early on. As things become more complicated, Elliot attracts the attention of Constable Helen Chambers (Danielle Macdonald), who takes an active interest in his case and aids him, along with other shadowy figures with ulterior motives, who seem to know more than they let on.

Season 1 ends with the inevitable reveal that Elliot is not as blameless as he would like to think, but this familiar twist is delivered in such a taut, meaningful manner that the how becomes more relevant than any other pressing questions. "The Tourist" also finds a way to introduce dark humor via his character, and the juxtaposition between who Elliot really is and who he wishes to be after being struck with amnesia remains endlessly fascinating. With the involvement of crime gangs and other shadowy organizations, there is plenty of relentless action that keeps the narrative alight with kineticism, but the true merit of the show lies in the inner lives of the characters, often dissected with exaggerated dramatics just for the fun of it. 

With season 2 of "The Tourist" gracing Netflix pretty soon, this is the best time to catch up with Elliot's shenanigans and invest in the inner turmoils of a man whose amnesia might be more of a blessing than the cruel ramifications of the cold, hard truth. While this isn't the same as Netflix fully resurrecting a dead show (like they've done for countless series in the past, including "Arrested Development"), it's undeniable that the streamer distributing both seasons for U.S. audiences will breathe new life into "The Tourist" in a way that Max simply couldn't.