PBS’ Masterpiece block has long had a history of picking up British imports and re-airing them for American audiences. One of the shows that has attracted notice over the last couple of years is Grantchester, a period drama featuring a priest and cop duo who solve mysteries together. It sounds a little silly, but the show is charming and engaging and does good numbers in the ratings each week. After finishing its Season 2 run on the other side of the pond this week, ITV quickly decided to renew Grantchester for a third season.
ITV really didn’t need to wait too long after Season 2 ended to renew Grantchester. The show has been crushing in the ratings through its first two seasons. In fact, Season 2 premiered to higher numbers in the UK than any episode of Season 1. ITV noted in a press release that the show has won its timeslot every week during Season 2, averaging 6.6 million viewers on ITV during each airing. Here in the US, the show hasn’t achieved quite as much notice, but PBS has given it a cushy timeslot on Sunday nights.
Because it is a period drama, Grantchester is less flashy and technology-oriented than a lot of procedurals these days. Set during the Cold War in the 1950s, espionage even came into play during the most recent episode. The period aspect is compelling, but the characters on the series make the procedural work. Reverend Sidney Chambers manages to involve himself in Detective Inspector Geordie Keating’s cases without it seeming clunky that he would do so. The most recent episode on PBS was set in Chambers’ college alma mater, and thus he became involved because he knew many of the people on campus already.
ITV isn’t giving out many details about what we can expect from Season 3 of Grantchester. We do know that Diederick Santer will return as an executive producer and Emma Kingsman-Lloyd will continue to produce. Daisy Coulam will also serve as an executive producer for the new season. Unfortunately, it could actually be a while before we get new episodes of the series. The first season, for instance, aired during the fall of 2014 while the second season didn’t hit the schedule until this spring. That’s more than a year between episodes, which is closer to Sherlock’s schedule than that of Downton Abbey. We’ll let you know as soon as the ITV series locks down a UK date. (Presumably, the PBS date will follow.)
There is good news for fans who have been watching in the US. While Grantchester just recently ended in the UK, the show is still fairly early into its Season 2 airing on PBS. Which means we have a few more episodes to catch before the long wait for Season 3 commences. If you are living in the States, you can catch Episode 3 on Sunday, April 10 at 9 p.m. ET, only on Masterpiece. In addition, you can find out what else the networks have coming up with our summer TV premiere schedule.
