Streaming series review - The Traveller: Season 2

The Traveller: Season Two **** (out of 5) It’s been over two years since I praised Season One of this fine and unique French procedural. The protagonists were disenchanted cops who went rogue – and native – to solve their choice of cold cases, often finding previously undetected links among multiple murders or abductions. Here’s the link to my coverage of Season One:

https://patch.com/missouri/clayton-richmondheights/streaming-series-review-traveller

Season Two consists of eight more 90-minute telefilms along the same lines, but even better written than before. I thought the improvement must have been due to added writers, but Herve Korian is the only credited author for the whole series! Kudos to Herve for upping his game from what was already very good.

Bruno Debrandt returns as iconoclastic Kandinsky, still going case-by-case, living in the same old van, accompanied by Emy, the same helpful former police dog. His involvements in each new town are met with varying degrees of resistance or appreciation by the local authorities. As before, his unofficial investigations are unhampered by usual police procedural constraints, and supported by Elise (Maelle Mietton), the judge who provides intel and legitimizes his efforts when needed. They and Emy are the only regulars, since each episode is a new crime or set of crimes in a new locale. Many of these unmask serial killers who’ve been flying under the radar by spreading their crimes over time and multiple jurisdictions.

Each Whodunnit? episode unfolds in a linear presentation, except for #2, which begins at the end, and is brought up to date in progressive clips over the preceding year to reach that point. In many of them, new crimes relate to previous ones – some decades before and across borders – that Kandinsky’s broader, detached perspective reveals. Though he’s still living off the land, there are no more scenes of his bare butt while bathing in the lake where he’s camped for the night. That’s a plus or a loss, depending on your preferences. The series makes excellent use of rural and small-town exteriors, with lush greenery, picturesque vistas and picture-postcard old streets and buildings.

The course of the season reminded me of The Fugitive, since Kandinsky has an easygoing, empathic nature that allows him to make friends easily with witnesses and other locals. His need for odd jobs to cover his meager expenses also lets him be as helpful as Dr. Kimball was in his travels. The main differences are that Kandinsky is doing this by choice, and there’s no Lt. Gerard on his tail.

The last of these programs just aired abroad in May, 2025, which means there might well be more to come. I certainly hope that will be the case, even if Herve just writes at the same laudable level, without the need for further improvements.

(The Traveller: Season 2, mostly in French with subtitles, starts streaming on 7/22/25, with staggered releases through early August, on MHz Choice)