New Series of 'Inspector Lewis' Commissioned by ITV
ITV announced that an eighth series of Lewis has been officially commissioned, and stars Kevin Whatley and Laurence Fox will both be back! Furthermore, the new episodes will flip the dynamic between the famous duo around quite a bit.
The twist is that this time around, we’ll learn that after an extended break from the police force, Hathaway has been promoted to Inspector. But when Hathaway has some issues finding a partner with whom he can have the same chemistry as he had with Lewis, the retired former Inspector will be brought out of retirement to be his sidekick. The official press release promises this shift will result in “a new dynamic for our detectives, but one they’ll have to come to terms with quickly if they are to achieve results.”
The original assumption that Lewis would wrap things up at the end of last year seemed pretty logical, particularly given that star Whatley has been quite vocal about wanting to do other things after twenty years of playing Lewis, first on Inspector Morse and then its spinoff series. (And the show itself basically recreated the ending of Morse for its finale after all!)
So, the news that Lewis, in fact, will continue is a bit of welcome – if rather surprising – news. And the attempt to shake things up a bit between the show’s leading duo should also be quite interesting to watch.
“Viewers have a great deal of respect for Inspector Lewis and a huge loyalty to Kevin Whately,” said ITV drama boss Steve November. “Together with Laurence, he has forged a formidable partnership and we’re delighted to have them back.”
The new season will be comprised of six hour-long installments – that’s two episodes up from the show’s last outing – and will begin shooting next month, with an eye toward a late 2014 transmission in the UK. Depending on when the series screens, that probably means those of us in the US are looking at a 2015 airdate, but anything’s certainly possible! (Just look at Sherlock and the new seasons of Call the Midwife and Mr. Selfridge, who are both airing here in a relatively close timeframe to their UK broadcasts.)
We’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, are you excited at the prospect of more Lewis? Do tell!
