By Lacy Baugher for Drama on October 15th, 2014

Crime Drama ‘DCI Banks’ Will Return for a Fourth Season

Stephen Tompkinson as DCI Alan Banks. (Photo: ITV)
Stephen Tompkinson as DCI Alan Banks. (Photo: ITV)
It’s official: ITV has renewed gritty contemporary crime drama DCI Banks for a fourth season.

The series, based on Peter Robinson’s novels, stars Stephen Tompkinson as DCI Alan Banks alongside Andrea Lowe as DS Annie Cabot and Doc Martin’s Caroline Catz as DI Helen Morton. Series 4 will be comprised of six new episodes, which will explore three separate mysteries.    

"DCI Banks is much loved by the ITV audience and I'm thrilled a fourth series has been commissioned," said Steve November, ITV’s Director of Drama.

According to the official press release, the fourth series will feature powerful personal stories for the lead characters for the lead characters, both in their private lives and in their work environment; a deeper exploration of Banks’ relationship with his parents, further complications in Annie and Banks on/off romance and a personal crisis that threatens Helen’s career.

Featured mysteries will include “What Will Survive,” which revolves around the story of a young woman buried alive and her connections to a man and his autistic son, “Home,” the tragedy of a well-loved math teacher run down by a car, and “Ghost”, which sees Helen's past return to haunt her when an old flame from another police force implies he is being framed, before he is mysteriously killed.

“What people love about DCI Banks is the compelling stories that are drawn from real life and often inspired by real events,” said executive producer Andy Harries.”It’s a proper British detective show set in the heart of modern Yorkshire.”

The new season is filming this Fall in Yorkshire, with an eye to a 2015 airdate on ITV. No word yet on when we can expect to see the new season on our side of the pond, but, if memory serves the wait between UK transmission and Series 3 becoming available to air on public television stations in the US was quite small. Here’s hoping that’s the case again.

Are you looking forward to more DCI Banks? 

By Lacy Baugher for Drama on October 15th, 2014
Lacy Baugher

Lacy's love of British TV is embarrassingly extensive, but primarily centers around evangelizing all things Doctor Who, and watching as many period dramas as possible.

Digital media type by day, she also has a fairly useless degree in British medieval literature, and dearly loves to talk about dream poetry, liminality, and the medieval religious vision. (Sadly, that opportunity presents itself very infrequently.) York apologist, Ninth Doctor enthusiast, and unabashed Ravenclaw. Say hi on Threads or Blue Sky at @LacyMB. 

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