Grantchester 2: a ‘making of’ look back and an S2 look ahead on PBS
Buck up, little Grantchester campers, PBS has confirmed that the second series will premiere on Sunday, March 27! Taking its inspiration from “The Grantchester Mysteries” by James Runcie, head of literature at the Southbank Centre in London and whose father Robert was Archbishop of Canterbury in the 1980s, Grantchester tells the story of a vicar-turned-detective set in 1950’s Cambridgeshire.
The Making of Grantchester
Filmed in the village of Grantchester near Cambridge, not only were local residents able to recognize a number of locations such as the Church of St Andrew & St Mary and several local pubs including The Green Man, many residents were ‘extras’ in series one. With series 2 now just around the corner, let’s take a brief look back at the making of Grantchester and see just a bit as to how the Grantchester sausage is made.
Grantchester 2 premieres Sunday, March 27 at 9:00p ET / 8:00p CT on PBS
For Grantchester 2, James Norton (War and Peace, Happy Valley, Death Comes To Pemberley) returns in his role as Sidney Chambers, the charismatic, charming, crime-fighting clergyman, alongside Robson Green (Touching Evil, Strikeback, Wire In The Blood) who returns as his partner in crime, Police Inspector Geordie Keating.
When we last left Grantchester, Geordie was shot on duty in the final episode of the last series, which aired on PBS in January 2015. A year on, for the second series, he appears to have put this behind him. But underneath his carefree exterior there are new feelings of vulnerability, and this puts a strain on his relationship with Cathy, and his friendship with Sidney. For series two, the vicar is still single and Geordie makes it his mission to find him a woman. But the handsome vicar clearly still only has eyes for Amanda, whom we last saw when she was about to marry Sidney’s rival Guy.
For series two, which will be adapted from Runcie’s second Grantchester Mysteries novel, “Sidney Chambers and the Perils of the Night”, it’s 1954 and murderers were still hanged. In this new series Sidney and Geordie have to face up to the consequences of becoming such an accomplished crime fighting duo. For Sidney, in particular, as the vicar in a small village this becomes increasingly difficult. The six new episodes will be filmed in London, Cambridge, and Grantchester, the picturesque Cambridgeshire village whose residents warmly welcomed the production team and embraced the drama being filmed in their community.
In addition to the principles of Norton and Green, returning cast members for the second series include Tessa Peake-Jones (Marchlands, Only Fools and Horses) as Sidney’s indomitable housekeeper, Mrs Maguire, Morven Christie (Hunted, From There To Here) as Sidney’s glamorous friend Amanda and Kacey Ainsworth (EastEnders, The Wright Way) as Geordie’s wife Cathy. In addition, Al Weaver (Southcliffe, Sherlock) will reprise his role as curate Leonard Finch and last but not least, let us not forget Dickens, the black Labrador, who will also return.
In: Mystery
