Crimes in Paradise Fill The Mallorca Files

Glam locales and suspect happenings headline The Mallorca Files' new season

Glam locales and suspect happenings headline The Mallorca Files’ new season

Each episode of The Mallorca Files may be centred around a clever whodunit, but it’s no mystery to star Elen Rhys why audiences have flocked to this crime procedural set in paradise. “Nobody’s been able to go on holiday, we’re all stuck at home, the news is so terrifying and doom and gloom, and you can travel away with us to beautiful scenery with people being funny,” she says. “It’s pure escapism.”

COVID-19 shut down production on the series before all 10 intended episodes of season two were completed. But fans eager to see what happens in the wake of the first-season finale, when workaholic police detective Miranda Blake passed up a sweet London promotion and chose to stay in Mallorca with annoyingly easy-going partner Max Winter (Julian Looman), will have six new episodes to dig into.

“Season one was all about her trying to get off the island. She never wanted to be there in the first place, let alone be stuck there and partnered with somebody who’s the complete opposite of her,” Rhys explains. “But Max has started to affect her, and with the trust built between them as work partners, as well as friends, and perhaps something else, romantic-wise, she decided that she would stay… You actually see her shed some of her layers and become a bit more open and I think that’s due to Max.”

Rhys and Looman are by no means oblivious to the fact that fans of the series are asking, “Will they or won’t they?” The romantic chemistry that appears to percolate under the surface certainly remains, but there are many obstacles to this professional pair becoming an off-the-clock couple. “We wanted to be very careful because Miranda knows he has a girlfriend, and she and Carmen [played by Tábata Cerezo] get on. We didn’t want it to be crossing into murky waters,” says Rhys.

Yet despite their best intentions to keep things above board, there are still moments of sexual tension between Max and Miranda that are undeniable. “[The season] has a slight payoff, especially with the Max and Miranda storyline that runs as the heart of the whole series,” says Rhys. “But it’s a shame because we knew what was coming at the end of the second [season]—it was a big crescendo and a really nice storyline for Max and Miranda’s relationship. So that’s a little bit sad, but hopefully, if we get to go again, we’ll see those episodes, because they’re ready to go.”

A problem often faced by shows that tease an inevitable romance, is dealing with the happily ever after—as those making The Mallorca Files are well aware. It’s because of that age-old dilemma that Rhys feels like there is no urgency to couple up this unlikely duo. “There’s something joyous about watching people in conflict, especially when it’s done in a light tone like we’re doing it,” she says. “A lot of the fun moments for me are the Max and Miranda bits, because there’s always that tension and conflict, in a way where there’s a lot of teasing and a lot of affection. Even though in the second [season] they become better friends and better work partners, it still needs that conflict for the drama.”

This second season has doubled down on the comedy and the action. “Not to take anything away from season one. It’s just a natural progression with anything, isn’t it?” Rhys muses. “I think we took all the strengths and built on that. And it does feel like it’s found its feet a little bit more. It’s such a shame that, after six episodes, we had to shut down, because we felt like we were in the flow.”

Rhys and her colleagues look forward to a renewal for season three, and a return to the Spanish paradise in its sleepier months, where dodging tourists becomes less of a challenge. For the actress currently in lockdown in England, the professional experience has been a true joy and she can’t wait for more. “Genuinely, it is incredible. Let’s start with Mallorca; it’s such a beautiful island. The lifestyle there, being in the sun over the winter months, you have incredible mountain ranges, beautiful beaches. Palma is just stunning. Living there is a true joy.” But it’s also the company she keeps that makes this a trip worth taking. “It is like a family from home,” says Rhys. “I don’t know what it is about the show, but there’s a lot of lovely people working on it. And the show itself is so great because we get to do such fun things all the time and no two days are the same. All in all, it has been a little bit of a dream job.”

The Mallorca Files streams on BritBox