Will ‘Call the Midwife’ Return for Season 16? Everything We Know So Far

It is a new chapter for the midwife team at Nonnatus House as Call the Midwife Season 15 comes to a close, ushering them into the early ’70s, where they’ve caught their first taste of women’s liberation but also faced their fair share of sorrow, as deaths, illness, and difficult goodbyes continue to shape life at Nonnatus House.

As Poplar stands on the brink of change, the future of the maternity home is uncertain, with shifting attitudes, mounting pressures on the healthcare system, and the Board of Health’s looming decisions threatening everything the women have built.

Season 15 marked the “end of an era” as the developments in the plot caused a massive shift in the series. “I shed more tears during the making of that episode [the finale] than any other,” Thomas told Radio Times magazine. “I thought, ‘Am I crying because of the story or am I crying because it’s our last episode for a while?’ In the end, I think it’s a mixture of everything.”

So, where does that leave Season 16? Will the series continue as usual? Here is everything we know about the upcoming season.

Will there be Call the Midwife Season 16?

Indeed! No need to fret, Season 16 is already greenlit. However, it will have to take a backseat to the upcoming film, which, according to the Radio Times, will be set in 1972, the year after Season 15, and a new prequel series.

When will Call the Midwife Season 16 premiere?

BBC says that Season 16 will arrive “in due course” and the show will continue to be a major part of its programming. As production typically takes 14 months per series and there are other projects in the works, it might take a moment before we see the nuns and midwives of Nonnatus House again.

“As the Producers of Call the Midwife and due to recent tabloid speculation, Neal Street, alongside the BBC, would like to reassure fans that Call the Midwife will remain at the heart of the BBC for years to come,” Neal Street Productions announced in an official statement. “As previously announced, there are two Christmas specials, a new series, a film, and prequel series, before a sixteenth series in due course. Call the Midwife isn’t going anywhere.”

So, at best, 2027, but realistically, sometime in 2028.

What is the Call the Midwife prequel series?

BBC is making a Call the Midwife prequel TV series set during World War II and showing a different side of Poplar during the Blitz. According to showrunner Heidi Thomas, the series will “delve into the deeper past” of Poplar, and there will be “some familiar (if much younger) faces” in the cast, meaning that fans will see current Call the Midwife characters when they were younger and in a very formative period of their lives.

Thomas told BBC that she’s been “yearning to delve into the deeper past” lives of these women in Poplar beyond what is seen throughout the show’s setting of the 1950s-1970s. “The Blitz years in the East End were extraordinary — filled with loss, togetherness, courage, and joy,” she added.

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‘Call the Midwife': Is This the End for Nonnatus House?

What is the Call the Midwife movie?

The Call the Midwife movie will feature the cast of the main series and will be set in 1972. The location of the film is so far undisclosed, but Thomas told BBC that the Nonnatus House group will “take a short break from Poplar and test themselves in an unfamiliar landscape.” The showrunner said the location is “top secret” but will look “absolutely fantastic” on a movie screen.

Who will star in Call the Midwife Season 16?

The cast is expected to include Jenny Agutter, Judy Parfitt, Helen George, Laura Main, Stephen McGann, Cliff Parisi, Linda Bassett, and Georgie Glen.

Call the Midwife, Season 15, Now available, PBS and PBS Passport