'Bergerac' Reboot Heads to U.K. TV in 2025

Older PBS viewers may remember Bergerac, the 1980s-era detective series that made Midsomer Murders' John Nettles a household name in the U.K. Like many British mysteries of the era, Bergerac wasn't an official PBS series, but with the popularity of Masterpiece Theater's Mystery! spinoff during that era, larger local PBS stations opted to bring it over to air alongside it. The original ran for nine seasons, ending in 1991, but the series still aired new-to-American episodes on A&E and PBS until the mid 1990s. With everything old being new again, UKTV (the parent company of Alibi) is resurrecting the series for a new generation with Damien Molony (Being Human) as the titular Jim Bergerac and has confirmed the new series will air on its newly rechristened UDrama network (formerly known as UKTV Drama).

The new Bergerac is based on the original series created by Robert Banks Stewart. Set across the channel in Jersey, France, DS Bergerac is initially introduced as a detective with Le Bureau des Étrangers (The Foreigners' Office), a department of the State of Jersey Police. The original series kicks off when he leaves to become a private investigator, and one assumes the new series will follow that same eventual track. However, the reboot, billed as a "modern re-imagining," eschewing the murder-of-the-week format that was the norm for 1980s television in favor of the more contemporary style that shows as Unforgotten follow, one murder mystery per season. 

However, what won't change is Jim Bergerac's mental and physical health issues. The original series was defined partly by the lead character's never-quite-healed leg and hardcore alcoholism. While the new series doesn't quite come out and say it, the series synopsis makes it clear this new version suffers from similar demons.  

Here’s the series synopsis:

Viewers will meet Jim Bergerac as a broken man, grappling with grief and alcoholism following his wife’s recent death. His mother-in-law, Charlie, is concerned Jim isn’t putting his daughter Kim first, but when a woman from a wealthy Jersey family is murdered, Jim must fight through his personal struggles to become the formidable investigator he once was. With a troublesome convict resurfacing from his past, Bergerac must use his sharp investigative instincts and past successes to navigate the intricate family dynamics and watchful eyes of the police force to solve the case. With a troublesome convict resurfacing from his past, Bergerac is required to call on his sharp investigative instincts and past successes to navigate the intricate family dynamics, and watchful eyes of the police force, in order to solve the case.

Molony will co-star alongside Zoë Wanamaker (Black Ops) as Jim’s mother-in-law, Charlie Hungerford, and Philip Glenister (Steeltown Murders) as Arthur Wakefield. The supporting cast includes Pippa Haywood (Bodyguard) as Margaret Heaton, Robert Gilbert (Big Boys) as Barney Crozier, Sasha Behar (Foundation) as Uma Dalal, Timothy Renouf (A Very British Scandal) as Julien Wakefield and Celine Arden (Bridgerton) as Kara.

Being Human’s Toby Whithouse is the series creator and lead writer, along with Brian Fillis, Catherine Tregenna, and Polly Buckle. Directors Colm McCarthy and Sean Spencer split helming duties across the show’s six episodes, with Clare Alan producing. Whithouse executive produces with Ben Bickerton & Philip Trethowan for BlackLight TV, Brian Constantine for Westward Studios, and Helen Perry for UKTV. 

The Bergerac reboot will debut in the U.K. in February 2025. No American distributor has been announced, but all nine seasons of the original are streaming on BritBox, so there’s a better-than-even chance that’s where it will land.