Photo: Channel 5

While U.S. audiences will have to wait for for series 3 of All Creatures Great and Small until January 8, 2023, U.K. audiences will return to the Yorkshire Dales this Sunday as series 3 premieres on Channel 5. Either way, series 3 will feature wedding bells and more animal ailments set against the backdrop of war with Germany looming on the horizon.

As evidenced by the trailer below, it looks like big changes are afoot for James Herriot and co – with the new season set in 1939 against the backdrop of the onset of World War II. The war hits home with James (Nicholas Ralph) reassessing ‘his purpose’ as he begins to wonder how he can “in good conscience watch those young lads go off to their training while I stay here.”

Fortunately, he is reassured by Tristan (Callum Woodhouse) that he will “protect more people by preventing TB spread than you ever will with a gun in your hand” – a direct reference to the Ministry of Agriculture’s new cattle tuberculosis testing scheme, which James will be working on this season.

With series 3, ACG&S producers promise plenty more romance between James and Helen (Rachel Shenton), while Siegfried (Samuel West) will begin pushing Tristan to take more responsibility.

All Creatures Great and Small returns for series 3 at 9pm on Thursday 15th September on Channel 5 in the UK and on Sundays at 9pET/8pCT beginning January 8, 2023 on PBS as part of Masterpiece.

In: Drama