|
MASTERPIECE on PBS Announces New Season of Grantchester
James Norton to Make Final Appearance as Crime-Solving Vicar
April 12, 2018 Boston, MA - Good news for Grantchester fans: MASTERPIECE on
PBS and ITV have announced a fourth season of the popular mystery series starring
James Norton and Robson Green as the unlikely clergyman/cop duo fighting crime in
the English hamlet of Grantchester in the 1950s.
These will be the final episodes for Norton's character Sidney Chambers, the
charismatic, jazz-loving vicar who has captured the hearts of millions of viewers.
Casting of a new vicar will be announced at a later date. In addition to Mr. Green,
returning members of Grantchester's ensemble cast include Al Weaver, Tessa
Peake-Jones and Kacey Ainsworth.
"It's a bittersweet time for Grantchester fans, who will be cheering the return of
the series but crushed to say good-bye to James," says MASTERPIECE Executive
Producer Rebecca Eaton at WGBH Boston. "We want to assure them that the series
they love will continue - with brilliant new episodes and a captivating new vicar."
"I'm ecstatic that - with Masterpiece and ITV - we are returning to Grantchester with
all our favourite characters," says Kudos Executive Producer Diederick Santer. "While
I'm sad that these will be James Norton's final episodes, we will make sure he goes out
with a bang. We've got exciting plans for where the show is heading and the vicarage
won't be vacant for long."
Almost 11 million U.S. viewers tuned in to Grantchester's third season to watch
Sidney choosing between Amanda (Morven Christie) and the church; Detective
Geordie Keating (Green) working to repair his tattered marriage; Mrs. Maguire
(Peake-Jones) becoming Mrs. Chapman, and Leonard (Weaver) on the verge of
finding love.
MASTERPIECE has commissioned Grantchester's fourth season, which begins
production in June in London, Cambridge, and Grantchester. It will air on
MASTERPIECE on PBS in 2019.
Grantchester, Season 4 is a Co-Production of Kudos and MASTERPIECE for ITV and
is distributed internationally by Endemol Shine International, who have sold the show
across 162 countries. The executive producers for Kudos are Diederick Santer, Emma
Kingsman-Lloyd, and Daisy Coulam. The executive producer for MASTERPIECE is
Rebecca Eaton at WGBH Boston. The series will be produced by Richard Cookson.
Director Tim Fywell is returning for the opening two episodes. Adapted from the
Grantchester Mysteries novels by James Runcie, the series was developed for television
by Daisy Coulam and written by Daisy Coulam and John Jackson.
About MASTERPIECE
The top-rated primetime show on PBS, MASTERPIECE celebrated its 45th anniversary in 2016.
MASTERPIECE is presented on PBS by WGBH Boston. Funding for MASTERPIECE on PBS is
provided by Viking and Farmers Insurance(R) with additional support from public television viewers and
contributors to The MASTERPIECE Trust. MASTERPIECE is known for presenting iconic shows such
as Upstairs Downstairs, Prime Suspect, The Forsyte Saga, Poldark, Sherlock, Downton Abbey, and
Victoria.
About Kudos
Kudos, part of the Endemol Shine Group, is a multi-award winning production company specialising in
scripted content. Recent credits include Troy: Fall of a City (BBC1 / Netflix), Gunpowder (BBC1), Tin Star
(Sky Atlantic / Amazon), The Tunnel - Vengeance (Sky Atlantic), Apple Tree Yard (BBC1), Broadchurch
(ITV), Humans (Channel 4 / AMC), The Boy With The Top Knot (BBC2), Man In An Orange Shirt (BBC2),
Flowers (Channel 4), Grantchester (ITV/PBS), River (BBC1/Netflix) and International Emmy(R)-winner
Capital (BBC1). Further series of Humans and Tin Star are currently in production.
pbs.org/masterpiece
|
