TV Guide: The chase is back on as Hunted season two premieres on 10

Posted on 17 July 2023

The fugitives must remain undetected for 21 days by the team of expert Hunters

20 fugitives will be released onto the streets of Melbourne to be hunted by a team of experts in the newest season of Hunted, premiering Monday, July 17 at 7:30 pm on 10 and 10 Play.

The new season will feature 10 diverse pairs of ordinary Australians who transform into fugitives and with limited funds and resources, they must think cleverly to remain undetected whilst on the run, constantly looking over their shoulders, weighing up the risk and return of every move.

The fugitives must remain undetected for 21 days by the team of expert Hunters, made up of some of the world’s best investigators formerly of the Australian Federal Police, Australian Defence Force and British Intelligence, alongside skilled cyber analysts and intel experts. They must be ruthless in their conclusions, masterful in their tactics and relentless in their captures.

With $100,000 up for grabs in prize money, the fugitives will stop at nothing to evade capture.

Many HQ Hunters from season one will return, including Hunted Chief Dr. David Craig, Deputy Intelligence Ben Owen, Deputy Operations Reece Dewar, Lead Investigator Graeme Simpfendorfer, Lead Cyber Jason Edelstein, Forensic Psychologist Dr Karla Lopez, Open-Source Intel Carter Smith and Steph Jensen, Digital Forensics Jay Banerji, and Ethical Hacker Vicki Grouious.

Season two will also see the addition of a new hunter, Senior Principal Analyst Leigha Fraser.

HQ Hunters will be supported by five Ground Hunter teams on the road tracking every move.

Mediaweek caught up with Hunted EP Tim Ali, and put it to him that the fugitives of Season Two have an advantage over the fugitives of last year – they’ve seen the first season and can learn from the mistakes of others.

“I really think it doesn’t matter how prepared you think you are for this show, it means nothing when you’re actually out there in the field and on the run,” says Ali. “Because once the stress, paranoia, and tiredness sets in, and that adrenaline starts wearing off, it’s incredibly hard to make the right decision under pressure when you have no idea how much the Hunters actually know.

“Everyone can sit home and go, ‘This is what I’d do, I’d smash that,’ but once you’re out there, it’s completely different. It might be a slight advantage, but I don’t think it really comes into it.”