'Grantchester' Season 8 Lands PBS Mid-Summer Premiere Slot

PBS has released its Summer 2023 schedule, including the new season premiere date for fan-favorite mystery series Grantchester. The series ended on a shocking finale that raced Will Davenport (Tom Brittany) and his newest love interest Bonnie Evans (Charlotte Richie), to the altar without passing go or collecting any dramatic value from their nuptial planning. The decision was helped along by the series keeping everything to do with the surprise wedding under wraps (Brittany joked filming it involved "as much secrecy as Marvel.") However, the sped-up nature of the development left viewers demanding to know how things will go now the two are wed.

Thankfully, the answer will come soon. The series returns to the same premiere slot it's held for the last couple of years, premiering the second Sunday in July, one week after Endeavour's series finale. Though the two shows have occasionally flipflopped so Grantchester airs first (and were separated during the 2021 post-pandemic season when everything was delayed), they've been the foundational pairing that anchored PBS' "Summer of Mysteries" lineup since 2015, and Masterpiece plans to let them stay that way for the final year both are on the air.

Unlike Endeavour, Grantchester is not expected to declare a final season anytime soon, and PBS' schedule suggests the series will become the foundation for premiering new shows. Endeavour's premiere on June 18 will be paired with the debut of the new Adrian Dunbar series Ridley at 8 p.m. ET. However, Dunbar's show, which ran four feature-length episodes in the U.K., is being divided into eight one-hour installments for the PBS run, so it will continue to act as the lead-in when Grantchester premieres directly following. DI Ray (currently streaming on PBS Passport) will also launch on broadcast the same night as Grantchester's arrival, directly following in the 10 p.m. berth.