PROFESSOR T, Season 4 News

So many new seasons of great British TV that I forgot to post that Professor T, Season 4, episode 1 aired last Sunday, August 24, on PBS. You can watch the entire season PBS Passport or other PBS related places -- or watch when it's aired (although you may have missed the first episode). I like this series a lot, and I'm looking forward to bingeing Season 4 over the holiday weekend! 

And somehow I missed that Season 4 dropped even earlier on PBS Passport: August 10!! I'll try to be more diligent in the future--for you and for me. 

Set against the academic backdrop of Cambridge, Professor T stars Ben Miller as the brilliant but eccentric criminologist Jasper Tempest, whose insights into human behavior help solve the UK’s trickiest cases—even as he struggles with his own. If you’re already a fan, you know to expect sharp wit, psychological twists. If you haven't seen this how, you might want to catch up on the first three seasons.

After Season 3’s shocking finale, Dan and Jasper are consumed by grief. Dan throws himself into work whilst the professor hides in his lectures, avoiding the police at all costs. But Helena, Jasper’s therapist, helps him face his police work and the team tackle some complex and dangerous cases. Even through the danger and mystery, love is very much in the air.

 

PROFESSOR T: Season 3

Last night was a great night on PBS. Besides Season 2 of DI Ray and Season 9 of Grantchester, there was Season 3 of Professor T. This is the British version of Professor T. You can watch on PBS (real time), PBS Passport, or PBS Masterpiece. In the new series, Professor T is in jail awaiting trial. As the professor struggles to get his old life and job back, he is helped by Dan and Lisa who again rely on his brilliant criminal insight and analysis to solve tricky and intriguing crimes. It's a really quirky series. Professor T, played by Ben Miller, is obsessed with cleanliness, structure, and order. He's a genius at solving crimes, but doesn't have much time for people. 

Good News: Season 4 has begun filming.

ANNIKA, Season 2, on PBS Masterpiece

Annika Season 2, starring Nicola Walker! premieres October 15 on PBS. Stream all 6 episodes of Annika Season 2 when you watch with PBS Passport. Watch online and on the free PBS App. 

Nicola Walker (Unforgotten, Last Tango in Halifax) stars as DI Annika Strandhed, the wry, speedboat-driving head of Glasgow’s Marine Homicide Unit, who juggles baffling cases and a rebellious teenage daughter. Annika is a witty police procedural.  “The dialogue is so droll and the performances so charming I’m in for what fisherfolk call the long haul,” enthused The Guardian (UK) about Season 1.

Season 2 brings the first of six new episodes with the investigative team solving ever more complex murders that wash up in Scotland’s waters. Meanwhile, Annika balances a family dynamic that grows complicated as long-held secrets begin to impact her relationships. Walker is joined by Jamie Sives (Guilt) as DS Michael McAndrews, Annika’s former colleague and police diver; Katie Leung (Harry Potter, Roadkill) as DC Blair Ferguson, the forensic brains in the unit; and Ukweli Roach (Grantchester) as DS Tyrone Clarke, the newest cop on the team.

Get all the news about the coming season of Annika when you subscribe to the MASTERPIECE Mystery! Insider email newsletter.

GRANTCHESTER, Season 8 air date

GRANTCHESTER, Season 8, premieres on Sunday, July 9 at 9/8C on PBS Masterpiece

Grantchester returns with Will (Tom Brittney) happily married to Bonnie (Charlotte Ritchie), and Geordie (Robson Green) and Cathy (Kacey Ainsworth) content in their rebuilt relationship. But an accident and shocking announcements threaten the stability and happiness found by Grantchester’s vicar and police detective duo. Exploring faith, forgiveness, and redemption, this explosive season of Grantchester tests Will and Geordie to the limit.

The new season of Grantchester premieres Sunday, July 9, 9/8c on MASTERPIECE on PBS, and continues Sundays through August 6, 2023. On Sunday, August 6, fans will get a double dose of Grantchester, with the final two episodes of Season 8 airing in one night. Episode 5 begins at at 9/8c, and Episode 6, the season finale, premieres at 10/9c.

Also available on PBS Passport (all episodes available on July 9) and Masterpiece Prime Video.

Call the Midwife, Season 12, drops a month early!

Call the Midwife, Season 12 has dropped a month early! I'm a fan of the series. FYI, It is not a mystery series, but if you like British TV, you might enjoy this series. Adapted by Heidi Thomas from the best-selling memoirs of Jennifer Worth, this drama series is a moving, funny, colorful look at midwifery and family in 1950s East End London. It follows newly qualified midwife Jenny, who joins an eccentric, lovable community of nuns who are nurses at Nonnatus House. Jenny is surprised to find herself at a convent -- she thought she was being sent to a small private hospital -- and is initially daunted by her surroundings, most notably the formidable Sister Evangelina and the unconventional Sister Monica Joan. But Jenny gradually begins to find her way and develops incredible friendships among the nurses, as they are drawn into the lives and homes of the women and families they treat. 

All seasons are available on PBS Passport and Prime Masterpiece. Past seasons are available on Netflix. Check for other streaming services.

Season 12: It is now 1968, and there are changes in the air. Enoch Powell’s infamous speech casts a long shadow over the borough. Nonnatus House welcomes a new nun to the team, Sister Veronica, who impresses everyone except Nurse Crane.

DI RAY, Season 1, on PBS

Just a heads up that DI RAY, Season 1, is now available on PBS Passport and Prime Video Channel; It will be available for PBS broadcast in July, so get a head start!

Parminder Nagar (“The Blacklist,” “Bend it Like Beckham”) stars in the police procedural series “DI RAY.” It premiered last weekend on the PBS app for viewers with PBS Passport, an added member benefit which provides extended access to a digital, on-demand library of PBS programs, and the PBS MASTERPIECE Prime Video Channel.

D.I. Rachita Ray is a British Asian policewoman new to homicide. In the first series, she is assigned to investigate the suspected honor killing of a young Muslim man.

DI Ray debuted on ITV in the UK in May 2022. Created and written by Maya Sondhi (Line of Duty), the series stars Parminder Nagra in the title role working for a fictitious Birmingham-based police force. Nagra's co-stars include Gemma Whelan (Killing Eve) and Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica) as her superiors. All four episodes arrived as a PBS Passport binge, ahead of broadcast in July. 

And, good news, there will be a Series 2, with Parminder Nagar continuing in the title role.

DI RAY, Season 1 on PBS

DI RAY, Season 1 

February 20 on PBS Passport and Prime Video Channel; July for regular broadcast

Parminder Nagar (“The Blacklist,” “Bend it Like Beckham”) stars in the new crime thriller series “DI RAY” which premieres on the PBS app for viewers with PBS Passport, an added member benefit which provides extended access to a digital, on-demand library of PBS programs, and the PBS MASTERPIECE Prime Video Channel on February 20, 2023.

DI Ray debuted on ITV in the UK in May 2022. Created and written by Maya Sondhi (Line of Duty), the series stars Parminder Nagra in the title role working for a fictitious Birmingham-based police force. Nagra's co-stars include Gemma Whelan (Killing Eve) and Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica) as her superiors. All four episodes arrive as a PBS Passport binge on February 20, 2023, ahead of broadcast in July. 

MASTERPIECE MYSTERY! 2021 Preview

Lots of great shows coming up on PBS Masterpiece Mystery! Here's a preview. Check your local station for times, but if you have PBS Passport, you can binge watch them all. Of course, you'll need to wait until the first episode of each series goes up, but that's still great! Happy Viewing.

Get a glimpse at the new seasons of Mystery! Favorites like Grantchester, Unforgotten, and Baptiste, plus the newest series Guilt, all coming in 2021. 

 

UNFORGOTTEN: Series 3

I'm not sure I mentioned that Unforgotten Series 3 was on PBS. Hope you caught it when it was on in April. If not, you can watch the entire series on PBS Passport. Subscribe to your local station (at a certain dollar amount), and you will have extended access to over 1500 episodes of your favorite shows.

But back to Unforgotten Series 3. This has to be the best yet. Nicola Walker (Last Tango in Halifax) and Sanjeev Bhaskar (The Indian Doctor) star as police officers investigating cold case murders. In series 3 they investigate the murder of a young girl found buried near a busy highway. Unforgotten is unique in its detective and team interactions. With each series, the storyline unfolds over 6 episodes, each more impactful than the last, introducing new characters and situations, and finally wrapping it all up. I don't want to give away too much, but if this show has been off your radar, it's time to bring it forward. You can still watch the first two seasons on PBS Passport (and probably elsewhere). Unforgotten is brilliant! Great acting, terrific writing, and a very satisfying mystery!

And, in case you're wondering, there will be a Series 4.