'Shakespeare & Hathaway' Finally Announces Season 5 Filming is Underway

It's been over two years since pandemic-era favorite Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators last aired a new episode and almost four since Season 4 was filmed in early 2021. However, fans of series creator Paul Matthew Thompson, the man behind Vera and Father Brown, know that sometimes a Thompson show can slip from view for a few years, but it always returns, which is how those two series have been running for nearly two decades a piece. Now, the BBC has confirmed Shakespeare & Hathaway will return for Season 5, in a deal that will see the series debut on Alibi first.

In the intervening years since Shakespeare & Hathaway last filmed, Thompson was busy launching Ridley (which still isn't great but is at least more possible in Season 2, even if the jazz standards need to go). But with Vera finished filming its fourteenth and last season, it seems time to head back to the punny investigating team of former hairdresser Luella Shakespeare and her buddy in crime solving, ex-detective Frank Hathaway. The series was a significant daytime hit for the BBC, which helped it cut a deal with UKTV's Alibi to air Season 5 first, before it moves to iPlayer. It is the second Thompson-spawned series Alibi has acquired the rights to, along with Father Brown spinoff Sister Boniface Mysteries.

Jo Joyner, whose fabulously costumed Shakespeare always gets viewers talking, said as part of the announcement: “I’m so excited to be stepping back into Luella’s bright and fluffy shoes! We have such loyal and brilliant fans who have asked us daily if we’ll ever be back, so it’s wonderful to finally say yes! As for Mark Benton, who plays the permanently disheveled Hathaway, he states: “I'm so thrilled to be making the show again. The reaction was phenomenal, and hopefully, series five will be even better. I can't wait.”

Here's the general synopsis:

The series follows an unlikely pair of private investigators, hardboiled ex-cop Frank Hathaway and warm-hearted ex-hairdresser Lu Shakespeare, as they work the cobbled streets of Stratford-upon-Avon, solving thrilling cases and murders most foul.

So far, the only returnees are Jo Joyner (Stay Close) as Luella Shakespeare, Mark Benton (The Nevers) as Frank Hathaway, and Patrick Walshe McBride (The Chelsea Detective) as Hathaway's bagman, Sebastian Brudenell. One would hope Tomos Eames (Lost Boys & Faeries) will return as DS Joseph Keeler and Roberta Taylor (Luther) as Gloria at some point in the new season since they've appeared in the show all four seasons previously. However, the series has already proven it can swap out a significant cast member after Amber Aga (who played DI Christina Marlowe, natch) exited after Season 2; her character was replaced with Yasmin Kaur Barn as PC Viola Deacon. (Barn will not return for Season 5.)

Shakespeare & Hathaway was conceived by Paul Matthew Thompson (the man behind Vera, Father Brown, and Ridley) and the late Jude Tindall; Thompson is expected to head up the script writing for Season 5 as he has the first four seasons. Executive Producers are Neil Irvine for BBC Studios, Helen Munson & Rob Unsworth for the BBC, and Claire Hookway, Commissioning Executive, Drama, for UKTV.

Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Detectives Season 5 is currently in production and will premiere exclusively on Alibi in 2025 before launching later on the BBC and Player. Though there is no official announcement as to who will stream the series in America, Seasons 1 through 4 are on BritBox, and Season 5 seems likely to head there too.