Grantchester renewed for season 4 (finally); James Norton returning

There’s some good news and bad news at present when it comes to Grantchester, but CarterMatt wants to start things off here with the good: The series, featuring James Norton, is going to return for a fourth season on ITV and PBS! However, it is also going to be the final season with Norton as the actor pursues other projects. He was recently a part of the BBC / AMC series McMafia and has been the subject of speculation about major movie roles for some time. We’re hesitant to jump onto the James Bond bandwagon, mostly because it feels almost like every British actor at one point or another is subject to some of these rumors.

In a statement confirming the news of the Grantchester renewal, Masterpiece executive producer Rebecca Eaton had the following to say — confirming that the series will not end with Norton’s departure:

“It’s a bittersweet time for Grantchester fans, who will be cheering the return of  the series but crushed to say goodbye to James … We want to assure them that the series they love will continue — with brilliant new episodes and a captivating new vicar.”

Meanwhile, executive producer Diederick Santer also added the following:

“I’m ecstatic that — with Masterpiece and ITV — we are returning to Grantchester with all our favourite characters … While I’m sad that these will be James Norton’s final episodes, we will make sure he goes out with a bang. We’ve got exciting plans for where the show is heading and the vicarage won’t be vacant for long.”

While it does remain quite sad that we will see Grantchester continue without arguably its biggest star, there is some joy here in that there was a time when we didn’t anticipate another season of the show at all. With Norton’s star on the rise and with no immediate plans to replace him, it would be hard for the series to figure out how to do that without planting something in the story previously.

Grantchester season 4 is going to officially start filming this June, with the premiere date at present set for 2019. You’ll be waiting for a while, but we’ve got a pretty good feeling that this said wait will be worth it.

What do you want to see when it comes to a Grantchester season 4, and are you pleased to learn some of this news finally? Share right now in the attached comments!

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