Since Grantchester’s fourth season, Tom Brittney’s Will Davenport has been a staple of ITV and PBS Masterpiece’s leading cozy murder mystery series. And yet, all good things must come to an end—Brittney is set to leave Grantchester in the midst of season 9, now airing weekly on Sundays on PBS Masterpiece in the U.S.
So why has Brittney made the decision to leave this show now, which is arguably at the height of its popularity, especially when it’s just been renewed for season 10? Brittney’s rapport with Robson Green, who plays Detective Inspector Geordie Keating, is one of the highlights of the show, and Will Davenport brings an air of calming charm to the parish of Grantchester, befriending everyone around him and defending those he loves fiercely.
In the end, it turns out that one of TV’s oldest dillemas has struck again. In an interview with The Rakish Gent, Britney confirmed that, though he’d happily been a part of the show for the past six years, it was time for him to “see what else is out there and play different people for a while.” Recently, Brittney was in the running to portray the latest version of Superman, though that role eventually went to David Corenswet. Brittney has also set his sights on directing, with an adaptation of Jon Ransom’s novel The Whale Tattoo currently in development.
As reported by TV Line, Brittney also felt it was time to bring Will Davenport’s journey to an end. Of his leading character, Brittney said: “He’s been through so many ups and downs that I felt like he needed some peace.” Hopefully, he can find that well-deserved peace with his wife when he leaves Grantchester for good, though it’ll be undeniably sad for the audience, and Geordie, especially, to say goodbye.
There’s a new vicar in town
Luckily, though, Grantchester won’t be left in the lurch for long. Replacing Will Davenport as the town vicar is Rishi Nair’s (Hollyoaks) Alphy Kotteram, a charismatic, modern vicar who drives a red convertible, deals with plenty of flirtatious attention, and instinctually distrusts the police, including DI Keating. Will they be able to overcome their differences? Will Geordie be willing to let someone else into his life after being left behind by both Sidney Chambers (James Norton) and Will Davenport? Only time will tell.
In the end, hopefully, it will become clear that both Alphy and Geordie just want to help people. Whether Alphy has the same knack for solving murder mysteries as his predecessors remains to be seen. Though, since the vicar and the detective solving cases together is the show’s core premise, we have a feeling Alphy will get the hang of it pretty soon.
New episodes of Grantchester season 9 air weekly on Sundays on PBS Masterpiece in the U.S. A U.K. release date has yet to be confirmed.
