What Is Temple Based On?

By Olivia Emily

1 month ago

Plus: will there be a third season?

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Following the huge successes of Brassic and Gangs of London, another cult-followed Sky drama has arrived on Netflix. Scandi noir meets Breaking Bad in Temple, a medical crime drama set in abandoned tunnels beneath London, starring Mark Strong and Daniel Mays. Here’s what we know so far about whether we can expect Temple season 3.

Mark Strong as Daniel Milton in Temple. (Sky)

Will There Be Temple Season 3?

No, Temple has not been renewed for season 3 – but it’s not off the table. While season 2 ends with Daniel (Mark Strong) taking some definitive actions (no spoilers), the series conclusion is open-ended – and this was purposeful. Speaking to Collider in 2021, Strong said the partial cliffhanger was created because ‘we want people to want to know what happens in season 3’, and the team certainly succeeded in creating that intrigue. Plus, Strong added Temple was always envisaged as a trilogy – so season 3 is a must, at least from the creative perspective. While there has been no news from Sky, Temple’s recent move to Netflix is reigniting interest in the series and bringing it to a whole new audience, so perhaps these conversations will restart…

‘We’ve written a couple of episodes and have a treatment ready for the third season, should we be lucky enough to get to make it, so we were very conscious that we wanted to have a big cliffhanger, which we do,’ Strong continues. ‘What we chose to do leaves the opportunity for where we go next completely open. It shows you that Daniel hasn’t learned anything because, once again, he’s lying to people again and leaving people with emotional trauma to save his own skin.’

What Will Happen?

If Temple season 3 gets the greenlight, Strong hints there would be ‘a very definite change of vibe in mind’. ‘Now that we’ve been introduced to the characters over two seasons, and we’ve moved them from the bunker in the first season into the real world in the second season, the third one […] takes them to another place entirely. Because we understand who everybody is, it’s great watching them operate in a completely different environment. That’s our plan.’

Lee Simmons (Daniel Mays) & Anna Willems (Carice Van Houten) & Daniel Milton (Mark Strong) in Temple. (Sky)

What Is Temple About?

Temple is a British medical crime drama centring on Daniel Milton, a highly respected surgeon who runs an illegal medical clinic in a labyrinth of abandoned service tunnels under London’s Temple underground station – hence the series name.

Daniel’s wife Beth (Catherine McCormack) is suffering from a terminal illness and, desperate to find a cure, Daniel sets up the clinic to earn extra money to fund his research. How? Well, Daniel’s clinic treats criminals and other desperate patients who, for whatever reason, cannot or will not seek help in regular hospitals. Of course, he doesn’t operate alone: Temple station staff member Lee (Daniel Mays) and medical researcher Anna (Carice van Houten) help him run the illicit clinic.

The Cast

Mark Strong as Daniel Milton
Daniel Mays as Lee Simmons
Carice van Houten as Anna Willems
Catherine McCormack as Beth Milton
Lily Newmark as Eve Milton
Tobi King Bakare as Jamie Harris
Wunmi Mosaku as Mercy King
Craig Parkinson as Keith Sullivan
Chloe Pirrie as DI Karen Hall
Ryan McKen as DI Rob Moloney
Siena Kelly as Michelle Wilson
Claire Rushbrook as Gloria Wilson

Carice Van Houten as Anna Willems in Temple. (Sky)

What Is Temple Based On?

Temple is based on a Norwegian drama called Valkyrien. Combining Scandi noir with high-stakes medical and crime drama elements, Valkyrien is set in an abandoned metro station in Oslo called ‘Valkyrien’, centring on disillusioned surgeon Ravn Eikanger (Sven Nordin) who sets up an illicit, makeshift clinic underground after his colleagues refuse to allow him to try untested, experimental treatments on his terminally ill wife – so it’s very similar to Temple. In Valkyrien, however, Ravn is aided by Leif Lien (Pål Sverre Hagen), a paranoid doomsday prepper and chief technical officer for the Sivilforsvaret (Norway’s civil defense agency), responsible for the security and maintenance of the network of Cold War era bunkers beneath Oslo. Leif helps Ravn stay hidden if he operates a hospital to treat people who, for whatever reason, don’t trust the Norwegian healthcare system.

Valkyrien originally aired in early 2017, garnering acclaim and earning comparisons to US series Breaking Bad. However, it only ever ran for one series – to Temple has already diverged by running for two seasons.