Upcoming Detective Shows in 2018 - Vera, Endeavour, Luther...

Coming soon (Vera, Endeavour):

It's been a while, but I've finally found the time to write up another of these updates. I've managed to miss a few series (Brokenwood 4 has come and gone, and Father Brown 6 is airing now), so the list is a bit more spare than usual, but here goes.




Vera
January 7 will see Vera returning to the U.K. for an eighth series. It'll hit the U.S. through Britbox the very same day, a welcome new year's gift for American viewers. Here's a summary of the first episode:

DCI Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn) is called to a chilling murder scene when  the charred remains of a body are discovered in an abattoir incinerator. With limited forensic evidence, she is disturbed to identify the body as DC Harry Fenton, a respected  police officer from the Northumberland & City Fraud Unit.

My reviews of Vera:
    Series 1
    Series 2
    Series 3
    Series 4
    Series 5
    Series 6
    Series 7



Endeavour 
Oxford-based crime drama Endeavour finished shooting its fifth series in November. Breaking from custom, the show is making a six-episode season, which hints to me that it may be coming to an end (update: shout out to sylphida in the comments for pointing out that Mammoth Screen has hinted a sixth series could happen).

Series 5 will begin airing on February 4 in the U.K. An ITV press release quoted executive producer Tom Mullens:

We’re delighted that Endeavour will return next year with another set of striking stories from Russell Lewis and once again it’s an honour to have Shaun Evans and Roger Allam on board, bringing Morse and Thursday exquisitely to life in the ‘revolutionary’ world of 1968.

Season 1 -
    Episode 1 - Girl                               
    Episode 2 - Fugue                         
    Episode 3 - Rocket                       
    Episode 4 - Home                          
  Season 2 -
    Episode 1 - Trove
    Episode 2 - Nocturne
    Episode 3 - Sway
    Episode 4 - Neverland
  Season 3 -
    Episode 1 - Ride
    Episode 2 - Arcadia
    Episode 3 - Prey
    Episode 4 - Coda
  Season 4 -
    Episode 1 - Game
    Episode 2 - Canticle
    Episode 3 - Lazaretto
    Episode 4 - Harvest

Wrapped Filming/Filming Soon (Shetland, Luther):

Shetland 
The fourth season of Shetland will air in the U.K. on February 13. The show's third season shifted from an episodic structure to a series-long storytelling approach, mimicking hits like Broadchurch.

This time detective Jimmy Perez, played again by Douglas Henshall, has to deal with murders from the past and present - which have unsettling similarities. 

When Shetlander Thomas Malone (Stephen Walters) has his murder conviction overturned after 23 years, which he's spent behind bars, Perez has to reopen the investigation into the 1994 death of local teenager Lizzie Kilmuir.

Luther
The BBC hit show Luther is getting a fifth season, with four episodes this time around. Every time we get a new season, it's rumored to be the last, so who knows whether this will be a finale for Idris Elba's John Luther. Filming was planned for January 2018, so we can probably expect to see a few filming photos to leak out soon.

UPDATE: Idris Elba has confirmed filming started January 11.

Renewed/Planned/Rumored (The Brokenwood Mysteries, Miss Fisher Movie, Grantchester, Death on the Nile):

The Brokenwood Mysteries 
New Zealand series The Brokenwood Mysteries has been renewed for a fifth series, scheduled to air in N.Z. in 2018, and probably a bit later for the rest of the world. The show is New Zealand's response to Midsomer Murders, with a little Twin Peaks thrown in.

Miss Fisher & The Crypt of Tears
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, chronicling the adventures of the fun and glamorous lady detective from Australia, will be hitting the big screen after a successful Kickstarter campaign. Sailing past its initial goal, the film met many additional stretch goals, including an increased budget for costumes, visual effects, and hiring international talent.

Set in the late 1920’s, Miss Fisher & the Crypt of Tears honors the heightened exoticisms of the murder mystery genre as the Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher, lady detective, escapes the small screen and takes off on a global adventure - via romantic wayside stops in the Far East, glamorous sojourns in the mansions of London, and a battle to survive the rolling sands of the Arabian Desert long enough to find the missing treasure, solve numerous murders and break all aviation records as she wings her way home again!

Grantchester
It's still mysterious whether a fourth season of Grantchester will happen. With James Norton's career taking off, it's likely ITV is struggling to persuade the show's leading man to return. The show could continue, but whether it'll go on with its hunky hero is up in the air.

Death on the Nile
Will Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express get a sequel? It's clear the film was setting it up, as the final lines referenced another famous Poirot story, which it looks like Fox is developing: Death on the Nile. Will Branagh's Poirot be back? Time will tell.

Which of these series are you most looking forward to? Any series I missed? Weigh in in the comments.

If you want to keep up with great TV mysteries, follow my detective news site Murder! 'Orrible Murder! on Tumblr, Twitter, or Facebook.

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