The first season of Malpractice was a real surprise treat, a medical thriller that neither diminished its authenticity to the world of healthcare in chase of twists nor let up on its ambition to be a properly gripping, tense watch.
It was all bolstered hugely by Niamh Algar's central performance, and its determination to wrap up the plot and its central mysteries within five episodes - there's nothing worse than a thriller, not yet recommissioned, that strings its audience along in the hope of answers it may never give.
Still, this does mean that a potential season 2 always had a predicament to work around - continue the story, perhaps beyond breaking point and doing away with any narrative credibility, or lose Algar and move to an anthology format.
Creator Grace Ofori-Attah and ITV have wisely opted for the latter, but it's not without jeopardy. Not every series can or should operate as an anthology. Thankfully, with its second season, Malpractice has proven that it can.
The new season stars Tom Hughes as Dr James Ford, a psychiatric registrar who finds himself caught between an anxious new mother’s postnatal check-up and the sectioning of a psychotic patient while he's on call.
When there's a devastating outcome, seemingly borne of Dr Ford's choices, he finds himself under investigation by returning characters Dr Norma Callahan (Helen Behan) and Dr George Adjei (Jordan Kouamé) of the Medical Investigation Unit.
It's not a dissimilar set-up to season 1, nor is the central character overwhelmingly different from Algar's Lucinda. Both are arrogant, hard to warm to, yet ultimately sufficiently well-drawn to make you root for them.
The biggest difference comes in the form of the specialisms it's examining - obstetrics and psychiatry - and its interest in how different departments work alongside each other within the NHS system.
Ofori-Attah has a background in psychiatry, so it makes sense that she's turned her glance to the specialism, and you can once again feel her wealth of experience.
The authenticity jumps off the screen, with particular insight given into the working relationships across a busy hospital, and the way these interact with the internal stress and pressure felt by each individual.
As with season 1, the first episode is a particular stand-out. It might be a slightly slower burn than the show's initial premiere, which worked at a breakneck speed, but that's not in any way to say it's dull or plodding.
There is still an intensity to proceedings, and the back half of the episode in particular ratchets up the tension to almost unbearable levels, in the very best way.
As in season 1, this relies upon you caring about two things - the characters and the situations they find themselves in.
Both of these are helped along dramatically by the show's cast, who once again are stellar. Hughes may not have quite the gravitas or the enigmatic pull of Algar, but he is still a fine lead, sufficiently unknowable to keep the mystery alive but also empathetic and human.
Meanwhile, Selin Hizli is wonderfully nuanced as obstetrics registrar Dr Sophia Hernandez, who has a fractious and combustible relationship with Dr Ford. She particularly has more to do in the latter half of the series, where she excels in some truly moving scenes.
Hannah McClean is also really impressive as Rosie, the new mother whose case kicks off the season's story. It's a difficult role to get right, given the extremes between which she needs to shift, but McClean does a stellar job.
In spite of all the positives, this season doesn't quite measure up to the first.
The first episode is stellar and propulsive, but the second and third do start to stall somewhat. More elements are consistently thrown into the mix, but the twists and reveals often don't feel quite as consequential or cohesive this time around.
Come the end of the third episode, there was a sense that the pace needed to quicken again somewhat. There are only so many times we can watch Ford and Hernandez spit venom at one another before it starts to becoming repetitive and cyclical.
Thankfully, the final two do turn this around to an extent, delivering some heartbreaking, tough-to-watch scenes. People should in particular be prepared for a deeply traumatic sequence in episode 4, which is effective and well-handled, but may be too much for some viewers to bare.
The final resolution is relatively satisfying, but admittedly feels a bit broad, painting in blacks and whites, rather than the greys in which it finds its earlier successes.
Of course, there's also the matter of the show's only two returning characters, Norma and George, who naturally take on a slightly greater prominence this time around given our established knowledge of them.
Kouamé and Behan have been given slightly more to do this time around, with the series starting to explore their home lives more than it did in season 1, and flesh them out as characters.
On one level, this is welcome - no one wants to spend time with two-dimensional characters we barely know. However, on another, these scenes feel slightly tacked on, like a necessity rather than anything which actually adds to the season in a fundamental way.
It's understandable that Kouamé and Behan would want more to do upon their return, but the truth is that in season 1 these characters were plot devices, and in season 2 they're still not far beyond that.
Perhaps the best thing that can be said about Malpractice season 2 is that it works. That may seem like damning with faint praise, but given the level of upheaval between the two seasons, it really isn't.
Season 2 proves the case that this show can run and run, and there are plenty of stories set within the NHS that Ofori-Attah can put a thriller spin on.
Season 2 may not be quite as strong as season 1, but it still features some impressive performances, examines some thought-provoking themes, lands some real emotional punches, and retains the authenticity that made the first run such a winning formula.
Malpractice season 2 will debut on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday 4th May, airing at 9pm, while season 1 is available in full on ITVX now.
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