‘Grantchester' Boss Explains That Cliffhanger Ending — What's Next in the Final Season?

Yahoo

3 days ago

[Warning: The following contains spoilers for the Season 10 finale.]
A killer was brought to justice, and characters dealt with matters of the heart in Grantchester's Season 10 ender, which aired August 3 on PBS. Geordie (Robson Green), when his police work was done, had a heartwarming moment with his son, David (Carter-Jae O'Neil). Daniel (Oliver Dimdale) chose his partner, Leonard (Al Weaver), over his mother (Bríd Brennan). And, most momentous, Alphy (Rishi Nair) presumably came face to face with his birth mother, if she was indeed the person who opened the door to the vicar in the episode's final moments.
It's a tantalizing setup for the final eight episodes of the British mystery series, a fixture of the Masterpiece lineup since its January 2015 U.S. premiere. Currently filming, Season 11 will take place a year later, in 1963. But showrunner Daisy Coulam, who adapted the show from James Runcie's books about a vicar and a police detective who join forces to solve crimes, admits that it's hard to let go.
'I think I'm in denial,' she tells TV Insider. 'I'm going to get emotional. It's over a quarter of my lifetime I've been on this show and it is such an integral part of who I am. We got the green light for Grantchester when I was in Costa Rica on honeymoon.'
Here, Coulam discusses the Season 10 finale, previews the upcoming last season, and explains why Grantchester is ending now.
This is the first time I can remember a season concluding on a cliffhanger. You must have known that Season 10 wouldn't be the end.
Daisy Coulam: We had an inkling, not a complete certainty, but we thought we really wanted to end on that moment of Alphy meeting his mother. We had that image of him standing at the door and saying hello and then just cutting to black.
Will we meet Alphy's mother?
We will and it probably won't go smoothly. We wanted to do something realistic about how children and parents, despite having a blood connection, sometimes it's tricky — if you've not been in each other's lives — to find that connection. There's almost a closeness in age between them that gives it a very interesting dynamic.
I didn't think the get-together with Daniel's mother would turn so ugly. I was expecting hugs and kisses and acceptance.
We wanted Daniel to prove his worth to Leonard because Leonard has put himself on the line for Daniel so many times: gone to prison for him and saved him from a terrible religious cult. It felt like it was Daniel's turn to sacrifice something. He has to choose Leonard over the ease of having his family back. We found that moment quite lovely — that he stands up for his man.
And Geordie finally found a connection with his son when they went fishing at the end.
We always knew we wanted [Geordie] to say to his son 'I love you,' because it would be such a big thing in the 1960s for a man to tell his son he loves him, and it took him eight episodes to get there! But that story is really about a parent's connection with a child. How do you connect with your child when you don't feel like you have anything in common? It's about finding the love for your child when they're not exactly who you want them to be. It's only now that we can do that with Geordie. Through all his vicars he's learned how to express himself.
It was nice how everyone came together for Larry and Jennifer's wedding in Episode 6.
It was so cute. Bradley Hall and Melissa Johns, who play them, are best mates in real life. It was their warmth and their chemistry that they brought to the screen in the tiny moments they'd have together. We thought, we can't let this go, we've got to make a story of this. About a week before [filming the wedding], it was Melissa's wedding. Bradley, [executive producer] Emma Kingsman-Lloyd and I went, so we felt like we were having a double celebration. And she's now having a baby in real life.
Is Jennifer going to be having a baby on the show?
She is. Art imitating life.
Melissa Johns and Bradley Hall (Kudos, ITV and MASTERPIECE)
When did you find out that Season 11 would be the last?
From the time we started planning it, we were thinking of it as the last, and that we should go out on a high. It's been a good run and we've had such a lovely time.
Was it a creative or a financial decision to end the show?
It was a little bit of both, but I would say Emma took the choice, really. She said, 'We want to keep making the show the best it can be. Now is the time to end it.' We could keep going and I think we'd all love to keep going, but I think sometimes you just need to make the decision and then build the final [season] into the best it can be.
Shows do get more expensive the longer they run, and this is a period drama. Was that a factor?
I think it is partly a factor. Money always is a thing. I feel like we've seen the industry change in the time we've been running this show. There was a boom of money coming across here, and then the industry changed again. It's much more emphasis on things that aren't expensive, and period is by its very nature expensive. But I think, as Emma said, let's choose to go out on a high. I think we've made that decision with everyone's input, but I'm really going to miss it.
So the decision to end it has nothing to do with PBS funding cuts?
No, I can absolutely, categorically state that that is not the case, although that is such a shame.
The cast at the Season 11 read-through (Kudos, ITV and MASTERPIECE)
Have you been on set since they started filming?
I haven't yet because I've been writing, but I will be going to Grantchester in a few weeks. That's always the most fun. One time Robson did some fireworks. He has his fireworks certificate so he can put on displays.
Will we see any familiar faces from seasons past? Will any former vicars be popping up?
Possibly. We still haven't decided. But there is always a sense that the ghosts of the vicars live on. Sidney [James Norton] gets a mention now and then, and Will [Tom Brittney] gets a mention.
What will you do with all those lovely midcentury housewares and knickknacks after the show wraps?
I don't know. There are so many things I've got my eye on. I think a lot of them are hired. They sometimes at the end of a show have a sale of things like that, so if you've got your eye on anything, let me know.
This being , can we expect a happy ending?
We can almost guarantee that. [Laughs] What's hard is there are so many characters I want to honor and so many friendships, but we've got an idea of how we can bring everyone together in a lovely way that honors the show and suggests the passing of time.
, Seasons 1-10, PBS app (with Passport) and PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel
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