The second series of Channel 4”s No Offence is lining up to begin principal photography in April, with pre-production getting underway in the next few weeks.

The show stars Joanna Scanlan, Elaine Cassidy, Alexandra Roach and Will Mellor, and is the brainchild of Paul Abbott, best-known as the creator of Shameless. Abbott writes the show along with Paul Tomalin, Mark Greig and Jimmy Dowdall, and executive produces with Martin Carr.

Set and filmed in Manchester, the darkly comic drama centres on a team of detectives in a fictionalised version of the Greater Manchester Police.

Abbott said of the show: “No Offence came after searching for a concept that would match a Shameless landscape, which is f***ing enormous. I love cop shows, I love comedies and nobody has found a blended set of ingredients that make that work and feel like the cop series I wanted to make.”

Subscribers to Production Intelligence can log in for more details on the eight-parter, including the line producer, casting director and production designer.