Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency: First look at fantasy realm of Wendimoor

Twin Peaks aside, the weirdest TV show to at least theoretically occupy the realm of the crime procedural could well be Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, which stars Samuel Barnett as the titular gumshoe and believer in universal connectedness and Elijah Wood as his reluctant partner, Todd. With season 2 (which premieres Oct. 14 on BBC America), it looks like creator Max Landis is going for the gold ring by introducing viewers to Wendimoor. What’s Wendimoor? Glad you asked!

Per the show’s synopsis, Wendimoor is a fantasy kingdom fallen to ruin, a place that should be full of kind kings and happy endings, but has increasingly been plagued by betrayal and bloodshed. The Kellum Army, a massive group of marauders, has slowly made their way across the entire land, wiping out everything in their path, at the behest of The Mage. He’s gone from kooky crook to terrifying tyrant, and his evil ambitions have very rapidly evolved from funny to fascist. He intends to take the Valley of Inglenook, currently embroiled in a decades-old blood feud between two families: the salt-of-the-earth Trosts, and the aristocratic Dengdamors. This world’s magic, the interconnectedness of all things, is strongest in the woods, which play host to the magical creatures of this world known as the Bofuki Nepoo. Like the rest of Wendimoor, the magic in Wendimoor is real and plays into the magical elements of the show’s real-world stories. Through the magic of forest witch Wakti Wapnasi, the prophecy of Dirk’s arrival is first foretold, tipping the dominoes into action as the heroes of that world move to save their universe. This leads to Prince Panto Trost seeking Wakti Wapnasi so that he can cross over and come to Earth to look for Dirk Gently.

Like we said: weird.

In addition to Barnett and Wood, the second season of the show, which is inspired by Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently novels, also features DGHDA veterans Jade Eshete, Hannah Marks, Mpho Koaho, Fiona Dourif, Dustin Milligan, Michael Eklund, Osric Chau, Viv Leacock, and Zak Santiago. New cast members include John Hannah, Amanda Walsh, Tyler Labine, Izzie Steele, Alan Tudyk, Alexia Fast, Agam Darshi, and Aleks Paunovic.

Watch the trailer for season 2 of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency above and see exclusive first look photos of Wendimoor, below.

The second season of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency premieres on BBC America at 9 p.m. ET on Oct. 14.