Acorn TV Sets Return for 'The Madame Blanc Mysteries' Season 3

Cozy crime mysteries have been proliferating during the streaming era; however, the multiplication factors of streaming services and shows have made it a little hard to keep up. One could forgive fans for not being sure exactly which one The Madame Blanc Mysteries is at first blush. It sounds like it should be about an old dowager, played by Maggie Smith, who secretly sneaks down to the village and solves crimes when her butler is asleep. However, it's not even set in England, nor does it star a Madame Blanc. Created by Sally Lindsay and Sue Vincent, it stars a recently widowed Cheshire antique dealer, Jean White (played by Lindsay), who discovers her husband left her deep in debt and may not have died of natural causes. 

In a race to figure out what happened to her life savings and husband, she takes herself to France and the fictional village of Sainte Victoire. There, she becomes everyone's favorite type of crime solver, the amateur detective whose real job inspires her to dig into mysteries no one else notices. In Season 1, she eventually solves her husband's death, but by the time she does, she's committed to life in the south of France. The show proved so popular when it debuted on Acorn TV and Channel 5 in 2021 that it immediately landed a Christmas special, which kicked off Season 2 at the end of 2022. 

Channel 5 and Acorn TV debuted Season 2 on Christmas Day and then aired the rest of Season 2 through January 2023. However, Season 3 won't be quite so tidy. Though Acorn TV is bringing over the Christmas special day and date on Monday, December 25, the rest of the season will wait a month before arriving, slated to arrive in February 2024.

Here's the Festive special's official synopsis:

In the all-new Christmas Special, eccentric married couple and manor owners Judith Lloyd James and Jeremy Lloyd James have arranged for Jean, local taxi driver Dom Hayes, Chief of Police André Caron, and Gloria Beaushaw to attend a murder mystery night at an old friend’s hotel. Judith explains that the hotel has a spooky history. A terrible storm starts, and heavy rain pounds the isolated hotel. During the evening, the murder mystery becomes a night of actual murder as someone is killed. With several suspects trapped together in the hotel, can Jean find who is responsible and discover who the killer is? Will this answer the mystery of the ghostly goings on at Hotel Sanguinet?

Lindsay is once again joined by her trusty sidekick Dom The Taxi Driver, played by Steve Edge (Murder They Hope), and her favorite foil, the local Chief of Police, played by Alex Gaumond (Derry Girls), plus the locals like the Lloyd-James, played by Sue Holderness (Only Fools and Horses) and Robin Askwith (Strike), and Gloria, played by Sue Vincent (Shameless). Other returning costars include Karine Ambrosio (The Crown). Guest stars include Adrien Mubu (The Diplomat), Lyna Dubarry (Liaison), Vicki Pepperdine (We Hunt Together), Tayo Aluko (Riches) and Murielle Huet des Aunay (Profilage).

The Madame Blanc Mysteries, an Acorn TV Original Series, is created by Lindsay with Vincent serving as series co-writer. Dermot Boyd serves as director. Clapperboard and Saffron Cherry Productions co-produce alongside Acorn Media Enterprises. Jake Rollins produces the series, while Mike Benson and Andy Morgan serve as Executive Producers for Clapperboard alongside Lindsay and Caroline Roberts-Cherry for Saffron Cherry.

The Madame Blanc Mysteries Christmas Special (technically Season 3, Episode 1) will debut on Acorn TV on Monday, December 25, 2023. The rest of Season 3 will debut a month later, beginning in February 2024, and stream weekly on Mondays.