Miss Scarlet and The Duke is returning for a third season. The British-Irish period drama series, which airs as part of Masterpiece on PBS in the United States, will return to the channel this fall with its second season. A premiere date for season three also been announced.
Starring Kate Phillips, Stuart Martin, Ansu Kabia, Andrew Gower, and Kevin Doyle, the series follows a pair of detectives in Victorian England. Created by Rachael New, the story begins as Eliza Scarlet (Phillips) is left nearly penniless after she unexpectedly loses her father. Rather than seek a marriage for financial security, she instead decides to work under her father’s name and take over his detective agency. She calls on her old friend William Wellington (Martin) aka “The Duke”, a gruff and womanizing Detective Inspector of Scotland Yard, for help in securing cases.
PBS revealed more about the new series in a press release.
“There’s double the good news for fans of the Victorian detective series Miss Scarlet and the Duke!
Season 2 is coming to MASTERPIECE on PBS Sunday, Oct. 16, 8/7c, and Season 3 will follow soon enough on January 8, 2023, 8/7c!
While we’re waiting for two new seasons, we’ll catch you up on the basics of what the show is about, the cast, how you can stream Season 1 and more.
About the Show and What’s Ahead
Move over Sherlock Holmes! Victorian England’s first-ever female sleuth is on the case. Kate Phillips stars as astute private eye Eliza Scarlet, joined by Stuart Martin as her partner at Scotland Yard – Detective Inspector William “The Duke” Wellington.
Season 1 is set in London at the start of the Sherlock Holmes era, circa 1880. Eliza’s father, Henry, is a widowed retired police officer, currently a private detective running up bills and drinking through his occasional earnings. Nonetheless, he’s a talented investigator, and has taught his only child, Eliza, the trade since she was a girl. She is now determined to break into this male-only profession.
Fortunately, Eliza’s childhood friend happens to be a detective inspector at Scotland Yard: William “The Duke” Wellington. He gets his nickname from the most famous Englishman of the 19th century: the Duke of Wellington, victor over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. Like that other Wellington, the Duke is cool and decisive in a scrape. And he’s also a ladies’ man, which leads to interesting complications with Eliza.
Sometimes working together – but often at odds – Eliza and the Duke tackle a series of fascinating cases. On launching her business, Eliza’s initial challenge is not criminals or clients so much as getting society to take a female detective seriously, even one who has mastered wounds, poisons, motives, and red herrings.
Season 2 opens a few months after the conclusion of Season 1: Eliza has solved a very personal case that vexed her throughout Season 1; her relationship with William (“the Duke”) continues to slowly simmer; and she continues to face the challenges of being a female private detective in male-dominated Victorian London.
The Cast and Characters
Just starting out with Miss Scarlet and The Duke? Here are some of the unforgettable characters you’ll meet in Season 1, along with brief bios of the actors who portray them.
Kate Phillips (Miss Scarlet): Miss Scarlet may appear to be a refined Victorian lady, but she’s also as scrappy and feisty, resilient and strong-spirited.
Before her days solving crime and irking the Duke as Eliza Scarlet, Phillips made a name for herself in series such as Peaky Blinders (as Linda Shelby) and The Crown (as Venetia Scott). MASTERPIECE fans may remember Phillips as Jane Seymour in Wolf Hall and as Tillie Seigler in My Mother and Other Strangers.
Stuart Martin (The Duke): William “The Duke” Wellington is a tough Scotland Yard inspector who lives and breathes his work – and believes that only a man can do the work of a detective properly. But his old friend Eliza Scarlet is determined to prove him wrong
Martin is known for his work on television series including his three-season run on Jamestown as Silas Sharrow, on Medici as Lorenzo, and in the limited series Babylon. Martin’s talents don’t just stop at traditional on-screen roles. The actor has leant his vocal talents to a number of popular video games, including Assassin’s Creed, Dreamfall Chapters, and Ryse: Son of Rome.
Cathy Belton (Ivy, the Scarlet family’s housekeeper): Ivy does what she can to be part housekeeper, part parent to Eliza after the death of her father, but impulsive Eliza isn’t exactly the best at listening to her advice.
Prior to her days on Miss Scarlet & The Duke, Belton was best known for her work in the award-winning film Philomena, alongside Judi Dench, and for starring roles in series such as Red Rock and The Woman in White.
Andrew Gower (Rupert Parker): Parker seems to be a mild-mannered oddball from a wealthy family. But underneath it all, he’s an independent think and strikes up a unique friendship with Miss Scarlet.
MASTERPIECE fans may recognize Gower from his appearance in the fifth and final season of Poldark as James Hadfield, whose attempt to assassinate King George III was foiled by none other than Ross Poldark himself. Gower also made a name for himself in the second season of Outlander as the “Bonnie Prince” Charles Stuart.
Ansu Kabia (Moses): Fans may recognize Kabia from his roles in films such as Murder on the Orient Express and Last Christmas, or from TV roles in series such as I May Destroy You and Casualty. Miss Scarlet and The Duke, however, is not Kabia’s first MASTERPIECE role – the actor also appeared in World on Fire and The Long Song.
Kevin Doyle (Henry Scarlet): Henry Scarlet, a retired police officer, is the original Scarlet detective in the family. Before his untimely death, Mr. Scarlet ran his business into some trouble, leaving Eliza to pick up the pieces after his death. But it turns out Miss Scarlet may not be so alone after all, as Henry’s memory guides her through the shady London underworld in Season 1.
Doyle is recognized for his six seasons as Mr. Molesley in the Downton Abbey television series, and the subsequent films. On top of his Downton days, Doyle has also appeared in a number of series including Happy Valley, The Tudors, and Silent Witness.”
What do you think? Are you planning to check seasons two and three of Miss Scarlett and The Duke on PBS?
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