All good things must come to an end — even massively popular British crime shows that serve as comfort food for Anglophiles like myself.
Grantchester, the long-running ITV mystery series that currently streams on PBS Masterpiece, is ending after season 11, and mystery nerds everywhere are in mourning.
The bright side is that the show is wrapping up season 10, so we still have one more season to look forward to and over 60 episodes to rewatch.
If you’re a newbie or already a fan, here are a few reasons why you should check out Grantchester.
‘Grantchester’ Has a Great Premise
Stop me if you’ve heard this joke before: “A cop and a priest walk into a bar …” Grantchester takes the beginning of that joke and turns it into a show about found family. Set during the 1950s in the idyllic hamlet of Grantchester, the series follows Detective Geordie Keating (Robson Green) as he solves crimes — usually murders — with the town’s vicar.
From seasons 1-4, that was Sidney Chambers (Black Mirror‘s James Norton), a free-thinking Anglican who liked to listen to jazz and wasn’t opposed to romance. Sidney eventually left in season 4 and passed the torch, er, cassock to Will Davenport (Superman finalist Tom Brittney), who loved his motorbike almost as much as the God he worshipped. Will left after season 8 and was replaced by Alphy Kottaram (Rishi Nair), whose South Asian Indian ethnicity makes him stand out among the lily-white residents of the small English town.
Whoever he’s paired with, Keating establishes a professional and personal connection with the vicar, and it’s this relationship that makes Grantchester so fun to watch. The conservative Keating doesn’t always get along with his religious partner, but he recognizes his need for guidance — forensic as well as spiritual — when he needs it the most.
‘Grantchester’ Is More Than Just a Crime Show
This odd couple pairing is also a great source of comedy. It’s a hoot to see Keating get dragged to a jazz club by Sidney or roll his eyes as Will suffers another setback in his love life. With a priest as a lead character, you’d expect him to be the straight man, the stick in the mud, the rock; instead, Sidney/Will/Alphy are often the source of all the romantic melodrama that occurs throughout the series.
I appreciate that. Grantchester makes its men of faith fully human and flawed without mocking them. And even though Keating can be judgmental, he’s not one to cast the first stone and leave someone behind. Grantchester has its fair share of crime and mysteries, but at its heart, it’s a drama about two men who connect with one another because of their differences. Geordie likes that his priest partner is a bit idiosyncratic, while Sidney/Will/Alphy appreciates Geordie for his stability and loyalty.
The Two Leads Are Terrific
There’s a reason why Grantchester lasted for over a decade, and that’s because of its stellar cast of TV veterans and fresh faces. Robson Green has been on the British small screen since the early ‘90s, but his Geordie is the role he’ll be most remembered for. His detective has seen a lot, but he’s not too cynical to appreciate Sidney’s charm, Will’s humor or Alphy’s shrewd observations. Robson lets you see the soft center behind Geordie’s hard shell, making him a cop you’d want on your side if you’re falsely accused of murder. (Hey, it happens.)
As the lead priests, each actor brings something different to the role. Norton made Sidney a romantic hero, a sexy priest long before Andrew Scott’s in Fleabag, who fought for the underdog and pined for his married (!) and pregnant (!!!) true love. Brittney’s Will was more rock ‘n roll, a preacher not afraid to put a little swagger in his sermons, while Nair’s Alphy is more reserved and suspicious due to his outsider status.
Cast changes usually spell doom for a series; just compare the Kim Cattrall-less And Just Like That with Sex and the City to see how damaging it can be when an original star doesn’t return for another season. But Granchester made it work because all three priests offered something unique that essentially rebooted the series every few years. With the arrival of Will and then Alphy, we slowly get to know them and see how all the other regular characters react to them.
Despite Its Many Dead Bodies, ‘Grantchester’ Is Oddly Comforting
James Norton in Grantchester ITV
You might think it’s a bit odd that I’ve barely mentioned what Grantchester is ostensibly about — murder. Yes, the show has its fair share of corpses to discover and mysteries to solve, but that’s not why I keep coming back to it. For all of the crimes it features, Grantchester is an oddly comforting show to watch, one that clears away any discontent I have about life in the present.
That’s due to the cast, which also encompasses Tessa Peake-Jones’ saucy housekeeper, Mrs. C, and Al Weaver’s jittery, clumsy and closeted parish priest, Leonard, but also its time and setting. The show begins in the 1950s and is currently set around the mid-1960s, which gives me some respite from cell phones, social media feeds and other modern headaches.
The series is shot in some of the most gorgeous places in Britain, including Cambridge, West Sussex, London and, of course, Grantchester. The show depicts life moving at a slower pace, with town meetings, bake sales and picnics occupying some of the characters’ social activities. Is it idealized? Probably, but Grantchester doesn’t make the mistake that everything was perfect. It tackles issues of racism, sexism and homophobia head-on, and doesn’t pretend this era is filled with flawed people and ways of thinking.
Soon to Be Gone, ‘Grantchester’ Will Never Be Forgotten
Still, Grantchester is a welcome respite from 2025, and it has a cast of characters that feels like a second family. Whenever it airs, I always tune in to see what Georgie and company are up to, Sidney’s latest romance, Mrs. C’s newest grudge and, yes, a new mystery that needs solving.
In the world of Grantchester, justice, order and compassion always prevail. I’ll miss it more than I care to admit.
You can stream all ten seasons of Grantchester on PBS Masterpiece.
