Call the Midwife and Death in Paradise Recommissioned

British TV fans of both sides of the pond should be thrilled to know that two of the most popular programs to have come to the small screen in the past few years — Call the Midwife and Death in Paradise — have been renewed by BBC One.

In addition to bringing several new series and new adaptations of old favorites to the screen later this year and next, BBC One has recommissioned the hit period drama, Call the Midwife, and the dramedy mystery, Death in Paradise — both of which will go into their fourth series.

Call the Midwife has been a hit since it debuted in 2012, with UK audience figures averaging more than 10 million viewers for each of its first two series and each of the third series’ episodes to date. It has also been a fan favorite amongst PBS viewers in the US.

The award-winning drama follows the midwives and nuns of nursing convent Nonnatus House as they provide care for expectant mums in the Poplar district of London’s East End during the 1950s. Brilliant in its heartwarming and gentle storytelling of birth, life and death, Series 3 will complete its run on BBC One in the UK next Sunday, 9 March, and will premiere in the US on PBS on 30 March 2014.

The humorous and smart Death in Paradise quickly found its footing when it debuted in the UK in 2011, with average audience figures growing from nearly 6 million to more than 7 million viewers over its first two series. Then the much-adored Ben Miller left the show, leaving fans wondering if Kris Marshall would be anywhere near as good in the lead role of a quirky British detective transplanted to the Caribbean island of Saint-Marie. The answer is yes, and the third series’ 8 million+ UK viewers is evidence.

In the US, the program has proved to be one of the top-rated imports screening on local public television stations, with some markets scoring ratings that are twice as high as previously-scheduled programs in the same time slot.

The final episode of Series 3 will air on BBC One tomorrow. Local PBS affiliates and independent public television stations will begin screening the new episodes starting 1 March 2014.

Stay tuned for news about each program’s fourth series premiere dates, guest stars, and more.

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