'Grantchester' Sets June Premiere for Landmark 10th Season

ITV's Grantchester has been a fan favorite on PBS' Masterpiece since the series first debuted in the U.S. in the winter of 2015. However, the show has been a slow-burn hit, spending its first few seasons as "the other summer mystery series" that aired before or after the far more popular Endeavour, the third series in the Morse franchise. Then it became "that show that switched hot vicars" from James Norton to Tom Brittany. Most recently, with the end of Endeavour, and a third co-lead, Rishi Nair, replacing the outgoing Brittany, it became "The Little Show That Could," a PBS solid performer that maintained its popularity simply because it showed up without fail every summer.

But with 2025, Granchester enters a rarified group of mystery shows on Masterpiece (and Masterpiece's former spinoff, Mystery!) of shows that made it to double-digit seasons as the series gears up for its 10th anniversary. Now, ten years might not seem that long, considering there's Silent Witness (28 seasons and counting), Midsomer Murders (Season 25 in production), plus many more cozy crime series that are in the mid-teen season range like Father Brown (Season 13 greenlit), Death in Paradise (Season 15 filming), and Murdoch Mysteries (Season 18 currently streaming weekly). But for shows that air under the Masterpiece banner, double digits is a rare feat.

Most people don't think of Masterpiece as an anthology series, but that's technically what it started out as: An umbrella under which WGBH could import the best of British TV. Since peak streaming hit, executive producer Suzanne Simpson has taken things in new directions, and the series now produces its own shows. But for shows like Granchester, which was an ITV show that Masterpiece picked up after it became airing overseas, getting to double digits when you're one of a dozen shows that get aired in a single Masterpiece season is worth celebrating

To be fair, Masterpiece's big reorg in 2008, when it ended Mystery! as a standalone franchise, was the first step in making it easier for shows like Granchester to argue for renewals by their British producers because of its U.S. popularity. Moreover, the fact that Masterpiece co-produces most of these shows also means it gets a say in whether the show keeps coming back instead of having to run on the whims of U.K. viewership and ratings. 

However, when one looks at the list of Masterpiece shows that have run more than ten seasons, Grantchester feels like both an outlier and a bellwether. The current record holder for the longest-running Masterpiece mystery series is Poirot (renamed Agatha Christie's Poirot partway through), with thirteen official seasons. Second place is a tie between the OG Dagliesh with Adam Marsden (later replaced by Martin Shaw) and the OG Morse with John Thaw, both of which ran twelve seasons. All three of these series are based on works from the U.K.'s best-selling authors, and all of them have produced spinoffs, remakes, or new adaptations in the last five years.  

The Granchester stories, however, weren't that popular before they became a TV series. Based on The Sidney Chambers Mysteries, which are collections of short stories written by James Runcie with titles that ape the Harry Potter structure, the show hasn't been adapting anything Runchie wrote since before Norton's exit. (That's in contrast to the three shows above, all of which stuck pretty faithfully to their source material for a dozen seasons or more.) In fact, Grantchester feels so much like an outlier compared to the other shows that lasted this long; it's tempting to call its 10th anniversary a brand-new milestone in PBS's 50-year history and a sign there will be more Masterpiece shows reaching ten seasons soon. 

Here is the official logline for Season 10:

In Grantchester Season 10, as DI Geordie Keating and Reverend Alphy Kottaram continue to work together as a crime-solving duo in scenic Grantchester, they must also support each other through changing times, family struggles, and personal secrets. This season, Alphy feels like he’s found a home, but he’s forced to confront secrets he’s kept close to his chest. Will he be able to let anyone fully in, or must he confront truths about himself first?

In an interview after Season 9 aired in the U.K. in early 2025, Robson Green, who as DCI Geordie Keating, has become the show's main star simply by dint of showing up every season (not until the series itself), dropped a few hints about the new season's overarching story:

"At the end of series nine, Geordie recognizes that talking about family makes Alphy uncomfortable. Alphy says he’s from a very straight-laced family but Geordie’s always known there’s something beneath the surface and, in series 10, we discover what the notion of family really means to Alphy and more about this dark, corrosive secret he’s been harboring all his life. It will seriously impact on his relationships within the Grantchester family."

The 10th season will not attempt to add any new cast members for the moment, instead sticking with all the Granchester residents we know and love.

Green will once again return as DI Geordie Keating, with Rishi Nair as Reverend Alphy Kottaram, appearing in his first full season as the co-lead with Green. Other returning cast members include everyone's favorite, Al Weaver as Leonard Finch, plus Tessa Peake-Jones as Mrs. C, Kacey Ainsworth as Cathy Keating, Skye Lucia Degruttola as Esme Keating, Oliver Dimsdale as Daniel Marlowe, Nick Brimble as Jack Chapman, Bradley Hall as DC Larry Peters, and Melissa Johns as Miss Scott. 

Series creator Daisy Coulam was the lead writer on Season 10, with directors Katherine Churcher and Rob Evans helming episodes. Kudos, ITV, and Masterpiece produce Grantchester.

Grantchester Season 10 will debut on Sunday, June 15, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET on most PBS stations, the PBS app, and the PBS Masterpiece channel, and will air and stream weekly through the end of July. All eight episodes will be a binge for PBS Passport members on premiere day. As always, check your local streaming service/listings. Seasons 1 through 9 are streaming on PBS Passport.