A Look Ahead at Dramas and Mysteries Coming to WTTW

PBS fans love mystery, but they might not want the fates of beloved dramas to be shrouded in secrets. The COVID-19 pandemic has scrambled schedules, as filming was delayed and production postponed, but many of the best dramas and mysteries PBS has aired in recent years, plus some exciting new additions, are on their way. In this 50th anniversary year of Masterpiece, PBS and WTTW’s dramas and mysteries are as engrossing as ever.

To keep up to date on all things drama and mystery, Masterpiece and more, sign up for our new Dramalogue e-newsletter at wttw.com/dramalogue.

Unforgotten

Sundays beginning July 11 at 8:00 pm 

Cassie and Sunny search for the truth in the case of a long-missing man found dead in a scrapyard in the fourth season of Unforgotten. Another season is already in the works.

Catch up on the previous three seasons with our recaps. WTTW Passport members can stream all previous episodes.

Professor T

Sundays beginning July 11 at 9:00 pm

Professor Jasper Tempest is a brilliant criminologist at Cambridge University, which makes him a helpful advisor to the police. His OCD and difficult personality don’t.

WTTW Passport members can stream the third season of the original Belgian mystery (with English subtitles) upon which this new British version is based. Don't miss our recaps every week. 

Midsomer Murders

Sunday, August 15, 11:00 am - 6:00 pm and Fridays beginning August 20 at 8:00 pm 

DCI Barnaby and DS Nelson in 'Midsomer Murders.' Photo: APT

Things get a little more whimsical and wacky in two new seasons of Midsomer Murders airing in August. On Sunday, August 15, you can spend the day with DCI Barnaby and DS Nelson as they tramp around the English countryside solving crimes connected to a book fair, magic show, folk festival, and winery in season 17 of the long-running series. Keep up with Barnaby and Nelson Fridays beginning August 20 at 8:00 pm as they dig into body-snatching, UFOs, competitive cycling, and more in season 18, which introduces an engaging new pathologist. There are plenty more seasons of Midsomer Murders to come.

Guilt

Sundays, September 5 and 12

Brothers Max and Jake in 'Guilt.' Photo: Expectation/Happy Tramp North

Usually Masterpiece mysteries follow the people trying to solve a crime, but in the case of the new drama Guilt we know exactly what happened from the very beginning. Coming in September, Guilt tells the story of two brothers who end up being the perpetrators of a hit-and-run on their way home from a wedding. As they become further and further enmeshed in their deceit, the niece of the victim, a private detective, a nosy neighbor, and even the mob get involved. Suffice it to say that things get a little out of control.

Call the Midwife

Dr. Turner with his children in 'Call the Midwife.' Photo: BBC Worldwide Limited

The cynical Guilt is succeeded by warm stories of humanity when Call the Midwife returns for its tenth season in October. We last saw the residents of Poplar enjoying a circus over the Christmas holiday while Sister Julienne laid plans for an expansion of Nonnatus House. As 1966 progresses, Julienne and Doctor Turner come into conflict over private healthcare. No matter what debates occur, however, the midwives never stop offering the best possible care in every aspect of life to their complicated, utterly human patients.

Catch up on previous seasons with our recaps.

Grantchester

Will and Geordie in Grantchester. Photo: Kudos/ITV/Masterpiece

Grantchester may not have made it to its tenth season yet, but with Will Davenport firmly in place as vicar of the picturesque village it holds steady as it enters its sixth season. Will has made a momentous decision regarding his vows as a priest and undertakes a destructive path alongside Geordie in the new season, according to the show’s creator, but it sounds like the season is the tortured Leonard’s to hold, with a big plotline coming for him. Filming wrapped in April, and the season will begin airing in the United States in October. 

Catch up on previous seasons with our recaps. WTTW Passport members can stream previous episodes.

Baptiste

Julien Baptiste. Photo: Two Brothers Pictures and all3media international

Like Van der Valk, Baptiste is entering a second season of gritty, psychologically complex mystery. In the wake of the startling revelation and tragedy of the first season, Julien Baptiste has pushed his wife away while enduring personal torment. He finds distraction in a high-profile case in Hungary, when the entire family of the British Ambassador disappears in the mountains there. The second season will begin airing in the United States in October. 

Catch up on the previous season, which is available to stream by WTTW Passport members, with our recaps. 

Van der Valk 

Lucienne and Van der Valk. Photo: Company Pictures and all3media international

Soon after Grantchester finished production, Van der Valk started filming its second season in Amsterdam, in June of this year, after more than a year’s delay due to the pandemic. The troubled Van der Valk and his motley team keep up their work investigating murky murders in cloistered subcultures, from an alternative community to the diamond industry to the world of classical music. A release date has not been set, but add the show to your I-can’t-wait-to-watch list.

Catch up on the previous season, which is available to stream by WTTW Passport members, with our recaps.

All Creatures Great and Small

James and Helen in 'All Creatures Great and Small.' Photo: Playground Television

Also in the offing is another season of All Creatures Great and Small, which delighted audiences at the beginning of this year with its tales of veterinary mishaps and small-town adventures. On Sunday, August 15 at 6:30 pm the cast and creators of this new version of a cherished classic revisit their favorite moments, remember the late Dame Diana Rigg in her role as Mrs. Pumphrey, and look ahead to the possibilities of a second season.

Recap the first season, which is available to stream by WTTW Passport members. 

Sanditon

Charlotte and Sidney in 'Sanditon.' Photo: Red Planet Pictures/ITV 2019

Speaking of a second season—and a third!—it was recently announced that Sanditon, the adaptation of Jane Austen’s final, unfinished novel that aired on Masterpiece in 2019, has been renewed for two more seasons. The first season ended in suspense, so audiences will finally be able to learn what happened to Charlotte and Sidney and their budding but doomed romance. The cast gathered for their first script read-throughs in July, so it will be a bit before the new seasons hit your screens, but we’re sure they will be well worth the wait!

Recap the first season, which is available to stream by WTTW Passport members. 

Downton Abbey Film Sequel

And finally, there may not be any more seasons of Downton Abbey coming, but the hit series does have another film on the way. Filming is expected to wrap soon, and the latest news is that Downton’s second big-screen treatment is due out in March of next year. That might seem like a long time to wait, but don’t worry: Downton is available to stream by WTTW Passport members, and in the meantime you’ll have plenty of drama and mystery right here on WTTW and PBS to tide you over until then.