British Dramas ‘Call the Midwife, ‘Endeavour,’ ‘Vera’ Get New Seasons

By Stewart Clarke

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – The U.K.’s two biggest broadcasters have ordered new seasons of audience favorites “Call the Midwife,” “Endeavour,” and “Vera,” guaranteeing new episodes of some of the most-watched shows on British TV.

Season 9 of period drama “” is about to go into production, and the BBC has greenlit two further runs beyond that. Season 8 is on air and the best-performing returning drama of the year so far in the U.K. The new seasons will take the action into the late 1960s. In the U.S. the show, which is produced by Sam Mendes’ All3Media-backed Neal Street, runs on PBS.

Series writer and creator Heidi Thomas said: “Even after all these years, it still feels as though ‘Call the Midwife’ has more truth to tell, more tears to cry, more life to celebrate, and more love to give.”

has re-upped two of its big shows. “Inspector Morse” prequel “Endeavour” gets a seventh season. It is produced by ITV Studios’ Mammoth Screen and PBS Masterpiece. The new series will be set in 1970 and shoot later this year for broadcast in 2020.

Also for next year is a 10th season of “Vera,” starring Brenda Blethyn as the titular detective. Production on four new feature-length installments gets underway in April. The show is on the BritBox streaming service in the U.S.

It is produced by Silverprint, another ITV Studios firm, and, as with “Endeavour,” is sold internationally by ITV’s distribution division.

The renewals of the British drama hits comes soon after the signed off on another long-running mainstream series, “Death in Paradise,” which landed a two-season order.