'Vienna Blood' Season 3 to Return to PBS in January

Though it doesn't get nearly the attention of, say, Endeavour or Miss Scarlet and the Duke, Vienna Blood has become a sleeper hit for PBS. The turn of the century mystery series, based on the books by Frank Tallis, is one of the few mysteries set in the late Victorian/Early Edwardian era that's not focused on London. The protagonist, Dr. Max Liebermann (Matthew Beard), is also prominently Jewish, as is his close-knit family, with period details of Jewish life in Europe as a significant theme running through the different mysteries.

The series originally debuted in January 2020 but didn't do well with its initial Sanditon lead-in. The shutdowns in Europe and the U.S. only weeks after its finale aired delayed a Season 2 renewal until mid-summer. But the show did better upon its return last winter, as the capper to period dramas Around The World In 80 Days and  All Creatures Great and Small, and received a Season 3 renewal quickly. It's no surprise PBS is keeping it in the same place for a second year, premiering Sunday, January 8 at 10 p.m. ET.

This year, Vienna Blood will again be part of a trio of period dramas, but this time with Miss Scarlet and the Duke Season 3 as an 8 p.m. ET lead-off, making it the second mystery of the night set in the pre-Great War era. With mystery series bookending All Creatures on both sides for the first time since its debut (Season 1 had Miss Scarlet as a lead-in, but the 10 p.m. was the drama The Long Song), Miss Scarlet and Dr. Liebermann will be pursuing cases with only cows and sheep to separate them.