Sunday Nights Will Be British Drama Nights
Shown from L-R: Helen George as Trixie, Bryony Hannah as Cynthia, Jessica Raine as Jenny and Miranda Hart as Chummy. Credit: Courtesy of Laurence Cendrowicz/© Neal Street Productions
There's something exciting happening on Sunday nights. Buoyed by the massive success of Downton Abbey, PBS is investing heavily in fresh British drama.
A second series of Call the Midwife will air on WILL-TV Sundays at 7:00 pm CT starting March 31. In eight new episodes, Jenny, Trixie, Cynthia and Chummy continue their challenging work in London's East End of the 1950s. Babies and bicycling ensue. And will romance come to Nonnatus House?
There's more good news for Midwife fans! Another Christmas special and a third series--the latter to air in 2014--have been commissioned by the British Broadcasting Corporation.
Also beginning March 31, Masterpiece Classic will present the U.S. premiere of Mr. Selfridge, based on the true-life story of colorful retail magnate Harry Gordon Selfridge. Jeremy Piven (Entourage) stars as the American founder of Selfridges, a high-end London department store that opened in 1909. It's been such a hit in England that just last week--only a few episodes into its run--producer ITV announced that a second series already has been commissioned for 2014. Eight episodes of Mr. Selfridge will air Sundays at 8:00 pm on WILL-TV.
Looking further ahead, a new three-part mystery will add a third hour of drama on Sundays. The Bletchley Circle will begin April 21 at 9:00 pm CT. Four women who worked as top codebreakers for the U.K.'s Bletchley Park decryption unit during World War II reunite in the 1950s to investigate a series of ghastly murders.
If you've been enjoying Downton Abbey, I hope that you'll stick around for more great British drama to come!