Endeavour is returning soon to PBS for its ninth and final season on Masterpiece. A prequel to the Inspector Morse series, the show debuted on ITV in the UK in January 2012 and wraps after 36 episodes. The British detective series stars Shaun Evans as a young Endeavour Morse with Roger Allam playing his superior, veteran Detective Inspector Fred Thursday.
ITV revealed more about the final season of Endeavour in a press release.
Produced by leading indie Mammoth Screen – part of ITV Studios – in partnership with Masterpiece, the Morse prequel sees actor Shaun Evans reprise the title role of DS Endeavour Morse for the very last time. Shaun also directs the first of the new films titled Prelude.
Alongside Evans, the series sees illustrious stage and screen actor Roger Allam (Murder in Provence) return as DCI Fred Thursday.
The final installment of the popular drama has once again been written by Endeavour creator Russell Lewis who has penned each of the 36 screenplays across the last decade.
The new series, set in the early 70s, finds Endeavour and Thursday entering a new era of change both professionally and personally with the return of some familiar faces along the way including Sam, played by Jack Bannon (Pennyworth), who arrives back from Northern Ireland following his service in the British Army.
Filmed in and around Oxford the strong ensemble cast reunited with Shaun and Roger includes Anton Lesser (Killing Eve, Game of Thrones) who returns as CS Reginald Bright, Sean Rigby (Gunpowder) as DS Jim Strange, James Bradshaw (Close to The Enemy) as Dr Max DeBryn, Abigail Thaw (Miss Scarlet and the Duke) as Dorothea Frazil, Caroline O’Neill (The A Word) as Win Thursday and Sara Vickers (Watchmen) as Joan Thursday.
In the opening film it’s Spring, 1972. Two unexplained deaths seem to lead to the Oxford Concert Orchestra, while a body discovered in a derelict warehouse stokes fears that ‘London business’ involving the criminal underworld has again found its way to Oxford. Thursday and Endeavour’s investigation unearths some unsettling connections to cases the duo believed were well and truly behind them.
Series nine is produced by Charlotte Webber alongside co-producer Joe Shrubb. Chief Creative Officer and Founder of Mammoth Screen Damien Timmer is the executive producer alongside Russell Lewis, Shaun Evans, Roger Allam, Mammoth Screen’s Director of Television Helen Ziegler and Susanne Simpson and Rebecca Eaton at Masterpiece.
Mammoth founder Damien Timmer worked on the original Inspector Morse and executive produced Lewis, as well as initiating Endeavour with Russell Lewis.
Timmer comments: “As Endeavour draws to a close, it’s been an honour to be a part of this incredible journey. I’m so proud of the remarkable cast and crew who have dedicated their time and efforts to bring the series to life over the last decade, and I’m certain that the fans will be moved by the final instalment.
“It’s a massive accomplishment for screenwriter Russell Lewis to have written all 72 hours of the show, and his passion for Colin Dexter’s world, combined with his own boundless creativity and fondness for the 1960s and 1970s, has made Endeavour one of the most beloved series on British television.
“From the first Endeavour pilot Russell has known exactly where he wanted to end the saga of Endeavour Morse and Fred Thursday. We put off this awful day for as long as we possibly could, but there was a point a few years ago where we agreed as a creative team that it was time to prepare for the final end, and go out on a high! ITV has been the most generous and supportive partners and were very respectful of the team’s decision to make this the final series. We have now made more Endeavour films than there were Inspector Morse stories.”
Alongside Shaun, who directs the opening film Prelude, Nirpal Bhogal (First Born, Misfits, Sket) directs the second film Uniform and Kate Saxon (Grace, Silent Witness) directs the third film Exeunt.
The ninth series has been commissioned by ITV’s Head of Drama, Polly Hill and ITV Drama Commissioner, Huw Kennair-Jones. Huw oversees the production of the new series on behalf of the channel.
Endeavour first aired on ITV as a single film on 2 January 2012 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Inspector Morse’s tv debut. Since then, the series has been sold to over 200 territories worldwide. ITV Studios handles international distribution of Endeavour.
Series eight of Endeavour averaged 4.5m viewers across all devices across the three episodes which aired in September 2021. This rose to 5.2m when ITV included viewing up to 28 days.
The UK series will return to PBS on June 18th.
Check out a preview of Endeavour season nine below.
What do you think? Will you be sad to see this detective series end?
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