'Father Brown' Season 11 Sets a Release Date & a Team Up with Sister Boniface

Father Brown is heading back to the airwaves to solve more crimes. The BBC announced today that Season 11 will debut in early January in the U.K., with the show arriving on BritBox only a couple of weeks later for American viewers. Based on the novels by G.K. Chesterton, which are from the 1910s, the stories have been so popular for so long that they turn up as reading material for characters in other PBS and BritBox period pieces. The current iteration, with Mark Williams as the titular crime-solving priest, has become the platonic ideal adaptation, standing alongside David Suchet as Hercule Poirot and Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes.

However, unlike those series, which took breaks and managed to keep the core cast, Father Brown experienced a massive turnover in the last few seasons. Longtime stars Sorcha Cusack and Emer Kenny exited in the last couple of years, Nancy Carroll and Alex Price slid to guest cast after 2016 and then left after 2022. Jack Deam, who came in in 2016, also exited in 2022. A decade in, the series is almost a new show.

However, the important things don't change, like Father Brown's family-friendly atmosphere and cozy crime trappings. In fact, the series' popularity has only grown over the decade, with Season 11 promising to be some of the highest-rated adventures the priest and his friends have had for the BBC and BritBox yet. 

Here's the Season 11 synopsis:

The new season picks up in 1955 where Chief Inspector Sullivan and Mrs Devine have grown closer since we saw them last. Something which hasn't escaped the notice of Father Brown and Brenda.

With a food fayre to die for, a real life crime at a crime writing festival and a village rivalry that turns deadly at the local Olimpicks, there's plenty for the gang to be busy with. Father Brown and Sister Boniface become embroiled in a murder at an arts and crafts fair, while Brenda takes a trip in time to face ghosts from her past when an old friend, Dr McClurgy, reaches out. Meanwhile Father Brown's frenemy Flambeau returns with his estranged father, Gabriel, in tow and a dangerous mission in mind...

Mark Williams returns as the titular crime-busting priest, with longtime cast members John Burton as Sergeant Goodfellow and Tom Chambers as Inspector Sullivan. More recent additions to the cast include Ruby-May Martinwood as Brenda Palmer, Claudie Blakley as Mrs. Devine. Guest cast for this season includes Sylvester McCoy (Doctor Who), Ingrid Oliver (Watson and Oliver), Ian Gelder (His Dark Materials), and, for the 11th straight season, John Light (Murder in Provence). Lorna Watson also returns as Sister Boniface, reuniting the fan-favorite crime-solving duo.

This season's ten episodes are penned by Dan Muirden, Neil Irvine, David Semple, Sarah-Louise Hawkins, Tahsin Guner, Lol Fletcher, Dominique Moloney, Rebecca Ramsden, and Sarah Anson. Father Brown is a BBC Studios Drama Production for BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The Script Producer is Dawn-Coulson Beckett, the Line Producer is Michelle Brown, the Series Producer is Seán Gleeson, and the Executive Producer is Neil Irvine. 

Father Brown Season 11 will debut on BritBox in the U.S. on Tuesday, January 23, and streams weekly through the end of March 2024.