Crime Drama 'Grace' Renewed for a Fifth Season

ITV has confirmed that Grace, its popular crime drama based on the popular series of novels by Peter James, will officially return for a fifth season, an announcement that comes before the latest season of the show has even aired.

Viewers have yet to see Season 4 of the sleeper hit in either the U.K. or the U.S. — it is slated to come to America on BritBox when it does arrive, as previous seasons have — but the fifth season is already slated to begin production next month. Season 5 will be comprised of four feature-length installments, and while plot details are being kept under wraps ahead of the fourth season, the episodes will reportedly adapt the thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth stories in James's series: Dead If You Don't, Dead at First Sight, Need You Dead, and Find Them Dead. (There are currently 19 Grace titles and counting, with a twentieth novel in the works.) 

The series stars John Simm (Doctor Who) as the troubled, unyielding DS Roy Grace, a detective who has given his life to his job. Richie Campbell (Top Boy) also stars as Grace's partner, DS Glenn Branson. Other cast members who will be reprising their roles for the show's fifth season are Zoë Tapper (Liar) as Cleo Morey, Laura Elphinstone (Dalgliesh) as DS Bella Moy, Brad Morrison (Outlander) as DC Nick Nicholl, and Sam Hoare (Miss Scarlet & The Duke) as ACC Cassian Pewe.

"When the first episode of Grace aired in 2021, it was a dream come true. It is both heartening and astounding to me that we're already at series five!" James said in a statement. The continued success of Grace is a testament to the outstanding cast headed by John Simm and crew and, equally importantly, the fans, who have loved and devoted their time to these characters both on the page and now on the screen. It is also a testament to just how faithfully ITV have adhered to both the characters and stories in the novels."

The four new episodes will be written by Jess Williams (Traces), Guy Burt (Alex Rider), Caroline Carver (The Bay), and Ed Whitmore (Silent Witness). Kiaran Murray-Smith returns as Series Producer, and Matthew Hamilton will co-produce the series. 

"We're thrilled to be returning to Brighton and the world of Roy Grace and the team for another series of Peter James's brilliant stories," ITV's commissioner Huw Kennair-Jones said in a statement. "Series five promises to deliver four more episodes full of surprises and intrigue that the ITV and ITVX audiences have come to love.

Grace is a co-production between Tall Story Pictures, part of ITV Studios, and Vaudeville Productions. Executive producers are Phil Hunter for Tall Story Pictures, and Andrew O'Connor and Paul Sandler for Vaudeville Productions, Murray-Smith, and  James.

“It’s fantastic that Grace is back for a fifth series and we get to adapt another four of Peter's brilliant books for IT," Hunter added. "I can't wait to see the cast and crew assembled for what will be my first series. It's wonderful to be working with such a talented group of people who put their all into making a show they love.”

Production on Season 5 is set to begin in Brighton this spring and it will most likely premiere at some point in the first few months of 2025. As for the series' fourth season, it sound be arriving in fairly short order on ITV, with a BritBox premiere to hopefully follow not too long afterward. 

Seasons 1-3 of Grace are currently streaming on both BritBox and ITVX.