Scripted

All3Media International and ITV confirm production has commenced on series 25 of Midsomer Murders, the detective drama favourite that continues to be a primetime ratings hit around the world.

Produced by Bentley Productions and commissioned by ITV’s Drama Commissioner Huw Kennair Jones, with All3Media International series 25 will invite viewers back to the picturesque yet surprisingly lethal English county of Midsomer for four new feature-length mysteries. Starring Neil Dudgeon as DCI Barnaby and Nick Hendrix as his trusted sidekick DS Winter, the series will also see the return of Annette Badland as pathologist Dr Fleur Perkins and Fiona Dolman as Barnaby’s wife Sarah.

Series 25 will take the total number of Midsomer Murders episodes available to 144. This means that DCI Barnaby has worked his detecting magic in more episodes than David Suchet’s Poirot (70 episodes) and Vera (56 episodes) combined! It’s got five times of the number of seasons of the fabulous Luther - and the show also surpasses the episode counts of many of the world’s most iconic, long-running detective dramas, including The Streets of San Francisco (120 episodes), Kojak (117 episodes), Starsky & Hutch (92 episodes), Columbo (67 episodes), Endeavour (36 episodes) and Inspector Morse (33 episodes).

In the UK, all episodes of Midsomer Murders are available for streaming on a dedicated FAST channel on ITVX, which is part of ITV’s online service, and ensures the popular series can be viewed by anyone wishing to enjoy the back catalogue.

Cited as the biggest UK detective drama export for many years, Midsomer Murders continues to be a ratings winner around the world. A top three show in many territories including Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltics it is still active in nearly 200 territories, from Perth to Paris and Lyon to Los Angeles. The show continues to run regular press trips to heartland fan bases – this year a tour of the Baltic states led to over 10 prime-time news appearances across the region.

The show also has its own single IP FAST channel across North America and will make its stage debut in the UK this year, with a theatrical version of the show’s first episode, The Killings of Badgers Drift, currently in rehearsal.

In further ancillary activity, All3Media International is planning to expand the Midsomer Murders licensing programme throughout 2025/2026, which already includes an interactive novel by Octopus Books and casual gaming app from Qiiwi Interactive. The show’s first podcast also launched last year – the twenty-episode Midsomer Murders Mayhem is hosted by Nicki Chapman, produced by StoryHunter and distributed by AudioBoom – and Midsomer Murders also has an enormous following on Facebook.

Neil Dudgeon, who stars as DCI Barnaby in Midsomer Murders commented, “It’s fantastic to be filming Midsomer again. The scripts are all great, full of intrigue and mystery, so I’m very excited for you to see them.
Our writers, who seem so normal, have come up with yet more extraordinary ways for the residents of Midsomer to despatch their neighbours, which is fun and slightly worrying; I work with these people!
And, of course, the cast and crew are all back together and it’s great to see everyone and hear all the news and gossip. It’s just like living in a village in Midsomer! I hope you all love them when they are finished.”

A spokesperson at All3Media International, commented, “We can’t wait to see what uniquely perplexing and quirky crimes DCI Barnaby and DS Winter will be unravelling in this landmark 25th series. More than two decades since it began, Midsomer Murders continues to prove its evergreen credentials, offering the ultimate in primetime ‘cosy crime’. With the show now vastly surpassing the episode – and crime counts of many iconic detective dramas, its credentials as a global detecting favourite are legendary.”

Produced by Bentley Productions for ITV, UK, and All3Media International, Midsomer Murders is based on Caroline Graham’s Chief Inspector Barnaby book series.