Grantchester will return to our screens in 2024. Sharing an update, ITV has confirmed that the eighth installment will premiere in the UK on 11th January. While US audiences were treated to the episodes in June 2023, fans across the pond are yet to tune in.
The synopsis for the season reads: "Will is the happiest he's ever been but his world will be rocked by a terrible accident. He's always preached the word of a compassionate God – but how can he now, when his despair leads him on a dangerous downward spiral?
"Geordie has found a new contentment in his relationship with Cathy, but when they are both confronted with shocking announcements at work their happiness is threatened. As Mrs C, Leonard, Jack and Daniel rally around, both Will and Geordie find themselves in unfamiliar, emotional waters and murder is always around the corner."
One of the most challenging chapters for DI Geordie Keating and Reverend Will Davenport so far, ITV teased: "This explosive series tests Will and Geordie to the limit."
Reprising their roles, Robson Green and Tom Brittney are back as the crime-fighting duo. Meanwhile, Charlotte Ritchie returns as Bonnie, Tessa Peake-Jones as Mrs C, Al Weaver as Leonard Finch, Kacey Ainsworth as Cathy Keating, Oliver Dimsdale as Daniel Marlowe and Nick Brimble as Jack Chapman.
Among the show's newest additions, season eight has added Noughts and Crosses star Shaun Dingwall, Doc Martin actor Jeff Rawle and Gold Digger's Jemima Rooper, to the cast.
While 2024 will see the release of season eight in the UK, the cast of Grantchester has been hard at work, after wrapping season nine in November. A poignant milestone, the ninth installment will also mark Tom Brittney's final outing as Reverend Will.
Tom announced his departure from the ITV drama back in July, saying it was "time for the baton to be passed" onto another actor, just as it was passed to him by James Norton, who played Sidney Chambers from 2014 to 2019.
MORE: Grantchester star Robson Green shares glimpse of season 9 with new co-star Rishi Nair
In his statement, Tom said: "I've had the most incredible time playing Will Davenport for the last five years. I got to solve crimes with my best friend, and work with the best cast and crew I could ever ask for. I'll miss it more than anything. But it's time for the baton to be passed, as it once was to me, and I'm so excited for Rishi to join the Grantchester family."
Taking his place will be Hollyoaks alum, Rishi Nair. Cast as Reverend Alphy Kotteram; the character ends up working with Geordie when an intruder breaks into the vicarage.
According to Masterpiece's website, Alphy "has an instinctive distrust for authority and absolutely no desire to get involved in murder investigations."