'Sister Boniface Mysteries' Will Be Back in the Habit For Season 3
Lorna Watson in "Sister Boniface Mysteries" Season 2
(Photo: BritBox)
Sister Boniface is heading back to the well-named Great Slaughter in the Cotswolds to solve more mysteries. U.S. streaming service BritBox has confirmed BBC Studios and UKTV are reteaming to produce a third season of the popular Father Brown spinoff, Sister Boniface Mysteries. Not only is the show returning for a third round of episodes, but the show is being rewarded with British TV’s most prominent sign of success: A feature-length Christmas special. This marks the first year Sister Boniface will celebrate the festive season in Great Slaughter, though it’s not that big a surprise since Season 2 is currently UKTV’s highest-rated drama of 2023.
As part of the press release announcing the commencement of filming the new season, Lorna Watson, who plays the titular Vespa driving, crime-solving Catholic nun, put out a statement, saying, “Playing Sister Boniface is a dream, as is filming in the Cotswolds, so I’m thrilled to be back for another series. I can’t wait to get the team back together, jump on the Vespa and see what crimes there are to solve in series three!” This will mark the second time she’ll play the role in 2024, as she is also expected to reprise the role in parent series Father Brown sometime during the upcoming Season 11.
Sister Boniface Mysteries is the second successful spinoff launched by the American streamer BritBox (a partnership between the BBC and ITV in the states). The network premiered the first season of Beyond Paradise, the spinoff from Death In Paradise, which has also been running for a decade and change. It was one of BritBox’s most successful series of 2023, rekindling interest in the parent show as well. Both were also renewed, and Father Brown Season 11 and Sister Boniface Season 3 will be streaming on BritBox in 2024.
Lorna Watson returns as Sister Boniface in The Sister Boniface Mysteries
BBC Studios
Here's the synopsis for the show's forthcoming third season:
Britain is in the grips of the ‘Big Freeze’ – the worst winter on record. Sister Boniface and her fellow travelers are stranded in a train after a frozen coupling snaps, leaving the last carriages stranded in snow. When The Star of the Orient, a precious jewel, is stolen from its safe and a passenger is discovered murdered, Sister Boniface must use her exceptional detection skills to decide who among the suspects is responsible. But with little signs of rescue and a failing generator, passengers must also contend with a more pressing issue – freezing to death. Elsewhere in the series, a famous organist is murdered mid-tune in the chapel, Great Slaughter’s first sci-fi convention results in a mysterious kidnapping, and a ‘dead cert’ at the screen tests for the new ‘Agent Best’ ends up, well… dead. To top it all, Felix has a challenge of his own when his fiancée Victoria arrives from Bermuda with an ultimatum that could change everything…
Watson returns with the rest of the show's regular cast, including Max Brown (The Tudors) as Detective Inspector Sam Gillespie, Jerry Iwu (Sex Education) as Detective Sergeant Felix Livingstone, and Ami Metcalf (Nan) as Constable WPC Peggy Button. Miranda Raison (Warrior), who played reporter Ruth Penny in Season 1 and only guested in Season 2, is not expected to return this season. Season 3's guest cast will include Rupert Vansittart (Gentleman Jack), Siobhan Redmond (Queens of Mystery), and Timothy West (Last Tango in Halifax). Series creator Jude Tindall will be head writer for Season 3, with Ian Barber as lead director.
Sister Boniface Mysteries Christmas Special is expected out in December 2023. Season 3 is expected to premiere on BritBox and UKTV in 2024.
