The 'All Creatures Great and Small' Teaser Gives Us a Glimpse of James and Helen's Wedding

On the original All Creatures Great and Small, which ran from 1978 to 1990, James Herriott marries his love, Helen Alderson, in the drama's very first season, before ten episodes had even passed. In real life, Alf Wright (who wrote the books this series is based on under the pseudonym of James Herriott) married a woman named Joan Catherine Anderson Danbury in November of 1941, just four months after he moved to his rural veterinary practice in Thirsk.

Season 3 of the new Masterpiece adaptation is set to begin in January and this version of James and Helen are sadly both still very single. Granted, the duo finally got engaged during the series' last Christmas special, but that was a grand total of one episode ago and the pair spent most of last season dancing around the truth of their feelings for one another. 

What I'm saying is, fans of this new All Creatures have been waiting a tremendously long time to see this series' marquee couple have a few moments of genuine happiness, let alone finally tie the knot. Let's get it moving, show. 

Thankfully, it appears that at long last our moment is about to arrive. PBS has released a teaser trailer for Season 3, and in it, we get our first real look at the charming pair's rural, romantic nuptials. (And, spoiler, alert, the pair looks adorable.)

But James and Helen's long-awaited marriage is a bright spot in a season that will inevitably turn darker as it goes along. Because Season 3 is set in the spring of 1939, and the specter of World War II is looming in the distance, a cataclysmic event that will inevitably thrust the community of Darrowby (and all of England) out of their idyllic fantasy world. 

On a more personal level, James and Helen's marriage will also inevitably alter the fabric of the show. This All Creatures has spent a prodigious amount of time on pair's will they/won't they romance, so the show will naturally have to recalibrate its focus to account for their new relationship without making every episode about an unnecessary drama between them.

Whether that means simply exploring the changes that James and Helen face as they adjust to married life together or giving Siegfried or Tristan a real shot at lasting romances of their own, we'll have to wait and see. 

The official description for Season 3 reads as follows.

Season 3 begins in spring 1939 as James and Helen prepare to walk down the aisle. Should their wedding go off without a hitch—and what are the chances of that?—James will have a new wife and a new stake in the business to think of. The pressure is on, and while his scheme to participate in the government’s practice to test for tuberculosis in cattle will expand the veterinary practice, it could put James on the outs with local farmers. Meanwhile, war with Germany looms on the horizon, leaving everyone wondering what the future holds.

Season 3 will see the return of Nicholas Ralph as James Herriot, Samuel West as Siegfried Farnon, Anna Madeley as Mrs. Audrey Hall, Callum Woodhouse as Tristan Farnon, and Rachel Shenton as Helen Alderson. Patricia Hodge will also be back as Mrs. Pumphrey, along with Derek the Dog as everyone's favorite good boy Tricki Woo.

All Creatures Great and Small Season 3 premieres Sunday, January 8, 2023, on Masterpiece. Seasons 1 and 2 are currently available to stream on PBS Passport.