Inspector Morse prequel Endeavour releases details of its fourth series
There'll be lots more Morse, of course
It’s time to polish the Jaguar, pull a pint of real ale and prepare your shoes for the rigours of cobble-strolling, because Oxford-set Inspector Morse prequel Endeavour is returning for a brand-new fourth series in 2017 and we're starting to learn what we can expect from the new collection of episodes.
Set in the summer of 1967, the new series will see Morse (Shaun Evans) and Thursday (Roger Allam) struggle to pick up the pieces of their lives after the events of last year’s finale, with the new run of episodes picking up just two weeks after series three ended.
Written by series creator Russell Lewis, the new series will also apparently tie into the 30th anniversary of Inspector Morse on ITV, with many “respectful tips of the trilby” to the original series planned.
The series synopsis is as follows:
Endeavour waits to hear the result of his Sergeant’s Exam, and self-medicates to numb his heartache, but whisky and Tännhauser will only get a man so far. While Thursday and Win deal with their own sense of grief. Their home is empty, Sam gone to the Army and Joan… Who knows where?
The summer of 1967 is on the turn. Midsummer has been and gone but in Lovelace College a team of boffins is about to unveil a ‘thinking machine’ that will challenge the Soviets, and plunge Endeavour and Thursday into their most perilous, baffling and darkly terrifying case to date. White Heat. Cold War. And an immortal game that will cast the life of a friend into the hazard.
The stories that remain will take Endeavour and Thursday, together with the rest of Oxford’s Finest, into places hitherto unexplored – the worlds of 1960s pop; Doctors and Nurses; and an exploration of the English pastoral.
Returning alongside Evans and Allam are actors Anton Lesser, Sean Rigby, Dakota Blue Richards, Caroline O’Neil, James Bradshaw and Abigail Thaw, with new guest stars including Chris Fulton, Adam James, Tristan Sturrock and Gillian Saker.
Notably the series has also cast Wolf Hall’s James Lawrenson in the new series, a reference to the actor’s former role as Tony Richards in the first ever Inspector Morse episode and part of the 30th anniversary celebrations. Sounds like a birthday bash to remember.
Endeavour will return next year
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.
