‘Broadchurch’ Boss Reveals Why There Will Never Be a Season 4
Exclusive
What To Know
- Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall opens up to TV Insider about how he feels about a potential fourth season.
- Chibnall also speculates about where David Tennant and Olivia Colman’s characters, Hardy and Miller, are now.
Across three seasons from 2013 to 2017, TV viewers visited the small Dorsey community to follow Detective Inspector Alec Hardy (David Tennant) and Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) solving cases together. The series also starred Jodie Whittaker, Jonathan Bailey, Andrew Buchan, and Arthur Darvill. And if recent shows have taught us anything, it’s that anything can always come back for more. Is that true for Broadchurch?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem likely. “No, I don’t think so. I mean, it’s so complete, and I think we’ve sort of toyed with ideas or sometimes because I live near the beach where Broadchurch [took place], I’ll be walking along and I was like, ‘Oh, maybe that or this,'” creator Chris Chibnall tells TV Insider.
“I wrote a novel last year called Death at the White Hart. And that was really my dipping my toe back into the waters around Broadchurch. It’s a Broadchurch adjacent novel, set in the same place, different characters,” he says.
Death at the White Hart takes place in Fleetcombe and focuses on the investigation that ensues when the pub’s owner is found dead, tied to a chair in the middle of the road with a stag’s antlers on his head. Detective Nicola Bridge returns to the village where she grew up and partners up with the younger DC Harry Ward.
He explored ideas he had for what could have been next for Hardy and Miller in that novel, which will hopefully be adapted into a TV series. “I think that to scratch that itch, just go, there are other people who are living just down five miles down the coast. Let’s go and see what they think of the world now,” Chibnall says.
As he points out, “The world changes, doesn’t it? As the world changes, sometimes you think about, oh, I wonder what those characters would think about that, or I wonder if something like that had happened. It’s a very different world.” After all, he wrote the first season, and it was filmed, in 2012.
“I think sometimes you capture lightning in a bottle with the show, and I think we did that with Broadchurch, and it’s just really great to let that sit, I think,” Chibnall tells us. “And people still are rediscovering it now, so it’s really lovely.”
As for where Hardy and Miller are now, “I think they’re still bickering on that bench. I really do, where we left them,” he says. However, he also adds, “Hardy, he’ll be retired now. He’ll be out of the police. So maybe he’s a private detective somewhere.”
Were you hoping to see a fourth season of Broadchurch? Let us know in the comments section below.
Broadchurch, Complete Series, Streaming Now, Netflix, Prime Video & PBS Passport
David Tennant
Olivia Colman
Andrew Buchan
Jodie Whittaker
Arthur Darvill
Adam Wilson
Charlotte Beaumont
Jonathan Bailey
Matthew Gravelle
Carolyn Pickles
Simone McAullay
Joe Sims
Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Charlotte Rampling
James D'Arcy
Eve Myles
Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Tanya Franks
Julie Hesmondhalgh
Charlie Higson
⨁Full Cast & Crew
Conversation19 Comments
Please read the TV Insider Community Guidelines.
Register or sign in to join the conversation.
-
M
Yes, just discovered the series Broadchurch and love it. Love the story lines, all the characters, but especially DC Hardy and Miller. I think that David Tennant & Olivia Coleman as the main characters are a wonderful fit and want to see more of their working together solving crimes. Please do another series!
-
J
I just finished watching all 3 seasons yesterday. I was so disappointed there wasnt a fourth! These actors were great together, especially Tennant and Colman. Their characters' relationship was perfect! I hope to see each of them in something else.
-
C
Love, love , love this series. Watched it in 2024 and again now in 2026. The characters were all great together and the story line so good! Would have loved a season 4, but do understand the reasoning not to continue.
-
M
My wife and I stumbled on this on Netflix may 2026. Wow. One of our all time favorites. To all involved in the series- you guys were amazing. The cinematography alone was worth watching, just to live in that environment with these characters. The writing, acting, storytelling full of red herrings. PLEASE make a reunion series. EVERYONE WANTS IT!
-
L
I’m really sad, that was one of the best multi season shows I’ve seen. The writing was so good, the actors all so believable, I wish there were more. I understand leaving it alone though, not to be watered down. We watched it as slow as we could just to savor it, perfection!!
-
S
Just discovered this series on Netflix last week and have already binged through two seasons. Absolutely love the series, especially the superb acting of so many. David Tennant and Olivia Colman are exceptional.
-
R
Just did the binge. Wow. A new favorite that makes me sad at the same time. Unlikable Alec, but you sure root for him. Sad, but amazing! Oliva is so good.
-
M
Best Television series ever. Would so love to see David Tennant and Olivia Coleman paired again in another Broadchurch or something new . The acting was superb all around, and the writing top notch.
-
S
Really wanted more of these two characters together as they are a perfect match. The show was epic and gutted that it couldn’t have continued and spiralled on. Some things aren’t meant to end and this is one of those shows.
-
D
I just found this series, and am halfway through season 2. I came online to find out how many more seasons I could enjoy, and am so disappointed it ends after Season 3. Really do wish they would continue the series! At the very least, expand on why the barrister's son (Jonah) is in juvenile detention, and have Hardy & Miller work together to prove he's innocent or something. Anything to keep it going!
-
A
I wish more stories were created for Broadchurch. The characters were great. I loved each season.
-
L
too bad. we really luved it !!!! such a shame. it’s a shanda! So many possibilities. Hope they change their minds. reconsider please !
-
N
Stuff understanding reasons to not - you know and love the characters as much as the world - bring them back to life - do another three series. Please!!!!
-
C
I love all the characters and the scenery and the stories one of the best I’ve seen! Wish they could come back I’d follow continuously!
-
D
I loved Broadchurch and would love to watch another season!
-
S
I am so sad it ended! I would have watched them for years to come…I could imagine this show having the longevity of Law&Order, though Broadchurch is 10x better
-
K
I recently discovered it looking for something like Foyle, Its rare to find something so good and timeless. Just binge watched up to the end of Season 2. Obviously when we find something this good we want more, and had more been made we would have all watched and loved them. BUT, life teaches us you can never go back. So with both these fantastic series (and others), the only way it could work would be a leap forward to today, picking up characters lives where they are now. I'm not a writer, but for example something happening to a member of one characters family, where the "state" fails to deal with it, and someone comes back to life (as they are now) calling in favours from old friends (as we do). To get it sorted (perhaps not being held back by previous rules). And coming up to date with current tech. Perhaps a young child from the first now being a decent hacker (who coerced or otherwise is enrolled in the team) . Something like that. IT WOULD HAVE TO BE COMPLETELY NEW, but with historic links, Imagine David Tennant playing a character like (Michael Caine's) Harry Brown and you might have something really good. Even I could write that! 🙂 LOL
-
J
Would love to see a fourth season.
-
J
I think there should be a fourth season of broadchurch even if someone else had a go. At. Making fourth season even if the previous people don't want to
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services