‘Vera’ Will Return for Season 14—With One Major Difference

Though Vera only just ended its thirteenth season earlier this month, ITV has already announced that season 14 is on the way. But despite some major changes in season 13, audiences should get ready for more.

Season 13 saw Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn) reunited with an old friend—Detective Sergeant Joe Ashworth (David Leon), who originally left the show after season 5. With the departure of DS Healy (Kenny Doughty) after Vera’s first-ever Christmas special, Joe’s return was a welcome surprise for audiences, though perhaps initially less so for Vera, as she had to find a new way to work with him since he’d been promoted to the rank of Detective Inspector. Luckily, their friendship properly resurfaced in the final episode, and it seems like there’s more of this dynamic duo to come.

What do we know about Vera season 14?

Not much, unfortunately, as ITV only made the announcement on January 21, 2024. This means it’ll be a while yet before fans get to see new episodes, though ITV has confirmed that the next season is supposed to start filming sometime in the spring. As such, we’d expect new episodes to drop at the beginning of 2025, though it’s possible we’ll see something by the end of 2024. Filming is set to begin this summer.

There is one major difference, however—Vera season 14 will only consist of two feature-length episodes. This will make it the shortest season yet, as season 13 produced three episodes, season 12 produced four episodes and a Christmas special, season 11 produced a grand total of six episodes, and every other season of Vera has consisted of four feature-length episodes.

The reduced episode count led to speculation that this may be the final season of Vera. Rumors have previously circulated that Blethyn would have left the series had Leon not filled the absence left by Doughty’s departure, and the shoots have often been described as long and exhausting.

Now, ITV has confirmed that Vera season 14 will indeed be the show’s last. In a statement, Blethyn had this to say about her time on the series as DI Vera Stanhope:

“Working on Vera has been a joy from beginning to end and I’m sad to be saying Cheerio.  But I am so proud of our achievements over the last 14 years.  I’ll be forever grateful to the wonderful Ann Cleeves who created Vera, and to Elaine Collins who saw fit to cast me in the role. The producers, dream cast and crew have been fabulous and I’m going to miss them, but I won’t forget their huge talent, the camaraderie, laughter or kindness we shared nor the friendship of the people of the north east and our fans worldwide.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

via TVZone UK

Though this will undoubtedly be disappointing for fans of the show—Vera is, after all, one of ITV’s most beloved crime dramas—14 years is a long time to spend as one character, let alone such an iconic one.

Exactly who will be joining Blethyn for this next series has yet to be revealed, though it would make sense for David Leon to return as Joe Ashworth now that the series has set up his new dynamic with Vera. Leon himself has said that he’d be happy to return to the show, too. We’d hope to see the rest of Vera’s team reprise their roles as well, including Jon Morrison as Detective Constable Kenny Lockhart, Sarah Kameela Impey as Dr. Paula Bennett, Riley Jones as DC Mark Edwards, and newcomer Rhiannon Clements as DC Steph Duncan.

Hopefully, we’ll get more news soon. For now, all episodes in seasons 1–13 are available on BritBox in the U.S.

(featured image: ITV)