'All Creatures Great and Small' Will Return for Seasons 3 and 4

All Creatures Great and Small Season 2 may have just arrived on most PBS stations this past weekend, but the series is already gearing up for more. Ahead of the show's premiere on Sunday, Jan. 9, co-producers Masterpiece and Channel 5 confirmed that not only was Season 3 a go for late 2022/early 2023 but that the two had gone ahead and renewed the show for a fourth season as well for late 2023/early 2024. That means fans can be comforted there will be more adventures in the Yorkshire Dales until at least the middle of the decade.

The two producers will not mess with what is already working for them, keeping the series orders to six episodes apiece, plus a Christmas special to air over the holiday in the U.K. and act as a season finale for PBS. Season 3 will begin filming in the spring once again (when there are more baby farm animals conveniently around) in the Yorkshire dales. The core cast is set to return for the third round of episodes, and though the press release did not confirm it, probably the fourth set as well. The behind-the-scenes team will also stay intact, with Brian Percival (Downton Abbey) returning as lead director and executive producer and Ben Vanstone (The Last Kingdom) as lead writer and executive producer.

Playground will remind the show's primary producer, with CEO Colin Callender saying: "We want to thank the audience who have so fully embraced the new series. It is their vocal and loyal support that has resulted in this ongoing commitment to the series, and we couldn't be more delighted. It is a joy to produce the show but an even bigger joy to know that there is an audience all over the world hungry to revisit the world of Darrowby in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales and to spend more time with the wonderful inhabitants of Skeldale House."

Though there is little to go on as yet for the new seasons, the synopsis suggests that the interwar period will draw to a close: "Following Herriot as he starts out as a vet in the small Yorkshire Dales village of Darrowby, Season 3 will pick up in the spring of 1939 as the prospect of another World War looms large." With Season 4 also confirmed, fans should anticipate the show will then extend into the 1940s and World War II proper.

All Creatures Great and Small Season 3 (and presumably Season 4) will see the return of Nicholas Ralph as lead role James Herriot, with Samuel West as his boss and leading veterinarian Siegfried Farnon. Anna Madeley will continue as the matriarch of Skeldale House, Mrs. Hall, with Callum Woodhouse as Siegfried's younger brother Tristan. Rachel Shenton will also return as James' love interest (and spoiler alert, eventual wife) Helen Alderson. For those wondering, the real James Herriot (named Alf Wight) married the real-life version of Helen (named Joan) in 1941, so the series could hold out on us on the will they or won't they until the end of Season 4.

Though there are no confirmed dates for Seasons 3 or 4 to premiere, I would venture to guess that American fans can expect them to premiere on the second Sunday of January 2023 and 2024, respectively, at 9 p.m. ET after autumn runs on the far side of the pond. All Creatures Great and Small Season 2 continues with new episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on most PBS stations. The new season is also available to watch in full, along with Season 1 on PBS Passport. As always, check your local listings.