Grantchester Season 6 - What We Know So Far

Great Britain has never met a murder mystery it did not like, and that's wonderful for us Americans because we tend to love them too. Airing as part of PBS's Masterpiece in the United States, "Grantchester" is based on a series of novels by James Runcie. The series is set in the 1950s in the small village of the series' title and finds the town vicar (portrayed by James Norton and subsequently Tom Brittney after the former left the show) teaming up with a local detective (Robson Green) to solve murders around town.

"Grantchester" sets itself apart from other period dramas and murder mysteries by blending the hallmarks of the genre with a sense of sexiness that one doesn't usually find in a 1950s-set show, especially one that features a member of the clergy as its leading man. This is just one of the many reasons the series has become a fan-favorite drama for viewers on both sides of the Atlantic. As we await the arrival of the show's sixth season, we've decided to become detectives ourselves and embark on an investigation to find out what to expect when the show returns. Here's everything we know about "Grantchester" Season 6 so far.

New seasons of "Grantchester" always air overseas before they make their PBS debut in the United States. ITV, which airs the series in the U.K., revealed in mid-August that Season 6, which was ordered in July 2020 and filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, will premiere this fall. It will air weekly beginning on Friday, September 3. Luckily, American fans won't have to wait too long after that before they too can return to the small village at the center of the series and reunite with the memorable cast of characters who call it home. 

PBS has confirmed that new episodes of "Grantchester" will begin airing as part of Masterpiece on Sunday, October 3. They are scheduled to run through November 21 as Season 6 has been super-sized (by British standards, anyway) and will be eight episodes in length instead of the usual six.

Season 6 will be the second full season for actor Tom Brittney, who stars as Reverend Will Davenport. He took over as the lead on "Grantchester" when James Norton left the series early in Season 4. In the new season, Will is once again working with Robson Green's Detective Inspector Geordie Keating to solve murders around town.

Also returning to "Grantchester" this season are Al Weaver as the kind-hearted curate Leonard Finch; Kacey Ainsworth as Geordie's wife Cathy; Tessa Peake-Jones as the housekeeper of the vicarage, Mrs. Chapman; and Nick Brimble as Jack Chapman, Mrs. C's husband. You can also expect to see Oliver Dimsdale reprise his role as Daniel Marloe, a photographer who is in a secret relationship with Leonard.

Joining the show this season is actor Shaun Dooley, who plays Johnny, an old army buddy of Geordie's. He is now working as a lawyer representing criminals, which causes some issues between the old friends.

As usual, Will and Geordie will work together to solve a number of cases this season, including a murder that happens while everyone is on holiday in the season premiere, but series creator and executive producer Daisy Coulam says Season 6 will also be "game-changing" for several of the show's characters. And things will be especially bad for Leonard.

"We're going to take him to some quite dark places," Coulam teased in an interview with PBS, though she wouldn't specify what those dark places were. Luckily, based on the logline for the new episodes and a new teaser trailer, we have a pretty good idea. The season, which picks up in 1958, appears to find Leonard embroiled in a scandal when someone threatens to out him as a gay man, which could have devastating consequences for him in England, where being gay was a crime until 1967.

Meanwhile, Will and Geordie's friendship is tested by the arrival of Johnny. "Geordie [is] being drawn down a very dark path," Brittney revealed to ITV ahead of the new season, "and Will tries his hardest to bring him back from the brink."

While we have faith Will and Geordie will work things out, it does seem like Will's attention might be divided this season, as a new woman will also come into his life. Coulam told PBS that their relationship is not romantic nature, but now that Will has been sexually liberated, that definitely opens the door for more love affairs and serious relationships in the future.

Based on all of this information, there is definitely a lot going on in "Grantchester" Season 6, so it will be interesting to see how all of this comes together when the show returns this fall.