Channel 5’s Chilling Thriller Returns With a Killer Who Refuses to Let His Victim Escape

Huw thought the nightmare was finally over.

A year after surviving a brutal stabbing at the hands of the serial killer who once haunted his career, the retired detective has retreated to a remote coastal home with his wife Alice, hoping to leave the past behind.

But Patrick is not finished with him.

Channel 5’s psychological thriller The Game has returned for a tense four-part second series, and viewers are already describing the opening episode as “riveting” and deeply unsettling.

Jason Watkins returns as Huw, while Robson Green reprises his chilling role as Patrick — the serial killer eventually revealed in the first series to be the Ripton Stalker.

Patrick starts playing from behind bars

Season two picks up after the dramatic cliffhanger that left Huw fighting for his life.

Now imprisoned for his crimes, Patrick can no longer stalk Huw in person. Instead, he finds another way to reach him.

Letters begin arriving at Huw’s remote home, signalling the beginning of a new psychological battle.

The official synopsis promises that Patrick will launch a game from behind bars that reaches deep into Huw’s family, steadily attacking his sense of right and wrong and pushing him towards an “unthinkable choice”.

For Huw, stopping Patrick permanently could come at a devastating personal cost.

And that is what makes the new series so disturbing: the killer may be locked away, but the game is far from over.

Viewers are already ‘hooked’

The response to the second series has been immediate.

One viewer described the drama as “riveting”, while another praised Robson Green as a “great” villain.

Another fan wrote: “I’m hooked from the first series, it’s so good.”

A further viewer admitted the show had left them seriously unnerved, writing: “Had forgotten how creepy and unnerving #TheGame on Channel 5 is. Episode 1 of series 2 has freaked me right out all over again.”

With Patrick continuing to manipulate Huw despite being behind bars, the cat-and-mouse dynamic has taken an even more sinister turn.

The real killer who inspired Patrick

Green previously revealed that his preparation for Patrick was influenced by notorious American serial killer Joseph James DeAngelo, also known as the Golden State Killer.

Speaking to HELLO! and other press, Green explained that he was fascinated by the psychological behaviour of true-crime offenders and specifically studied DeAngelo.

He highlighted the killer’s habit of manipulating victims psychologically, including returning to their homes and leaving disturbing signs behind.

For Green, the most fascinating aspect was how DeAngelo appeared to gain satisfaction and validation from the psychological games themselves — gradually destroying his victims mentally before ultimately killing them.

That chilling inspiration has helped shape Patrick into a villain whose greatest weapon is not simply violence, but psychological control.

When is The Game on?

The second series consists of four episodes.

Episode two airs on Channel 5 at 9pm, followed by the final two episodes on Tuesday, September 8, at 9pm and Wednesday, September 9, at 9pm.

Huw may have survived Patrick once.

But with the killer now manipulating events from inside prison, the most frightening question is whether Huw can escape the game a second time — or whether Patrick has already made his next move.