'Whitstable Pearl' Returns for Season 3 in October 2024

According to the temperature readings, it may still be summer, but the Julian calendar does not lie: Sunday, September 22, was the autumnal equinox, which means we've reached the official first week of fall. Decorative gourds abound, the pumpkin spice must flow, and cozy mystery season is right around the corner. Get ready to don a heavy sweater, put on those wellies, and take your morning constitutional down to the beach as Acorn TV's Whitstable Pearl returns after a long absence. Kerry Godliman (Trigger Point) returns as the titular Pearl Nolan, retired-detective-turned-restauranteur and crime-solving enthusiast, teaming back up with Howard Charles (Top Boy) as DCI Mike McGuire for six new adventures.

The series originally debuted in 2021 as part of a new batch of female-detective-led series on Acorn TV, including The Madame Blanc Mysteries, Harry Wild, and My Life is Murder, with second seasons quickly greenlit to have them out by 2022. The latter two took off due to having leads recognizable to American audiences (Jane Seymour and Lucy Lawless, respectively); the former became a sleeper hit due to the French landscapes and antiques angle. However, Whitstable didn't have either hook; Godliman is not an American breakout star (yet), Charles is best known for the swiftly canceled Shadow & Bone, and Whitstable, though a coastal beach town, is not exactly the Mediterranean. (See aforementioned recommendation of wearing jumpers and wellies.)

However, Acorn TV believes in Whitstable Pearl, and after almost two years away, the series is finally heading back to streaming with a third season and, as the first image shows, a new look for the characters. Pearl Nolan looks more casual, having settled into Whitstable life, while McGuire has been getting healthier with a new style to match. (Charles' final appearance in Top Boy was a glow-up; the production decided to stick with it when he showed up for filming and wrote his new, svelter look into the series.)

Here's the Season 3 synopsis:

The Whitstable Pearl is thriving, and so is Pearl’s detective side hustle. After a short hiatus, DCI Mike McGuire returns to Whitstable, reenergized and determined to progress in his self-healing quest. He and Pearl continue to make a formidable team as they work through various cases together – Pearl never needs Mike’s help as much as he needs hers! As cracks start to show in Pearl and Tom’s relationship, and Mike finally comes to terms with how his wife died, will Pearl and Mike finally acknowledge their deep feelings for one another?

Godliman and Charles are again joined by series regulars Frances Barber (The Chelsea Detective) as Pearl's man-eating mother, Dolly Nolan, who will start officially helping solve mysteries with the show's third season; Sophia del Pizzo (Shelly) as DS Nikki Martel, McGuire's love interest, Robert Webb (That Mitchell & Webb Show) as Pearl's boyfriend, supply teacher Tom Grant; Rohan Nedd (Harry Wild) as Pearl's son, Charlie Nolan; and Isobelle Molloy (Matilda the Musical) as Ruby Williams.

Mike Walden (Marcella) returns as writer for Season 3 alongside Sarah Louise Hawkins, Joe Ainsworth, Ciara Conway, and Kit Lambert, with stories adapted from Julie Wassmer's novels and Debbie Pisani producing, Walden and Wassmer executive produce alongside Øystein Karlsen, Tony Wood & Richard Tulk-Hart for Buccaneer, and Catherine Mackin & Bea Tammer for Acorn Media Enterprises.

Whitstable Pearl Season 3 will debut on Monday, October 21, 2024, and will air one episode a week on Mondays through November.