‘Endeavour’: British Mystery Series to End With Season 9 on PBS (VIDEO)

The endeavors of police detective Endeavour Morse will end with Season 9 of the British mystery series.

Producer Mammoth Screen, writer Russell Lewis, and stars Shaun Evans and Roger Allam have mutually decided to end Endeavour, the much loved Inspector Morse prequel, according to an announcement posted on the show’s Twitter account.

After 10 phenomenal years, @mammothscreen, @ScriptULike, Shaun Evans & @All_Allam have mutually decided to bring #Endeavour to a close. Series 9, currently filming in Oxford, will be the last.
Thank you to the Endeavour family & fans, & @ITV + @masterpiecepbs for your support ❤️ pic.twitter.com/s5ZELiUQGe

— Endeavour (@EndeavourTV) May 23, 2022

The announcement was accompanied by a minute-long film-clip montage of Evans as Morse throughout the course of the series, over which the actor recited the A.E. Housman poem “The Remorseful Day.” That was also the title of the final episode of Inspector Morse, which first aired in 2000.

“Endeavour has been a real labour of love for all of us, and we salute Russell Lewis for his extraordinary achievement in chronicling Endeavour Morse’s coming of age across 72 hours of tv,” executive producer Damien Timmer said in a statement. “Russell always knew where he wanted the series to end, and that Remorseful Day is nearly upon us! We’d like to thank Shaun and Roger and all the other members of the Endeavour family on and off screen, and the show’s fans both in the U.K. and abroad. Russell has many surprises up his sleeve for the final three films, with the return of some familiar faces and new challenges for Endeavour and Thursday to face before the final goodbye!”

Season 9, set in 1972, started filming in Oxford over the weekend and is slated for 2023. But U.S. viewers have six more episodes to look forward to before the end. The three episodes of the eighth season begin airing as part of Masterpiece on PBS on Sunday, June 19.

The final season brings the show’s episode total to 36, three more than both the original Inspector Morse, based on Colin Dexter’s novels, and spinoff series Inspector Lewis ended with.

Endeavour, which debuted in the U.S. in the summer of 2012, follows the early days of the Oxford University-educated Detective Sergeant Morse as he tries to find his way in the police force with the help of his mentor and partner, Detective Chief Inspector Fred Thursday (Allam).

Along the way he’s been shot at, arrested, had his heart broken and fallen for Thursday’s daughter, Joan (Sara Vickers). Anyone who’s seen Inspector Morse knows they don’t end up together, but could they share some passion before the pain of parting? Plenty of viewers hope so.

Endeavour, Season 8 Premiere, Sunday, June 19, 9/8c (check local listings at pbs.org)