First Look: Grace series 4

It’s one of ITV’s most popular crime dramas – and it’s coming back to our screens very soon. Grace, based on the Detective Roy Grace novels by the prolific crime writer Peter James, has already seen three series delight ITV audiences. Here’s everything we know about the upcoming fourth series of the Brighton-based detective thriller.

The cast of Grace series 4

John Simm returns as Roy Grace in the leading role – and he’s excited to be back. “It’s nice to play a genuinely good character,” Simm recently told i News in an interview. “Grace wants to root out evil. It’s goodies and baddies, isn’t it? He is appalled by the things that happen and wants to make them right.”

The cast from the first three series are returning, too: Richie Campbell plays Grace’s partner DS Glenn Branson; Clare Calbraith and Zoë Tapper also reprise their roles as Sandy Grace and Cleo Morey; Craig Parkinson is back as DS Norman Potting; Laura Elphinstone plays DS Bella Moy; Brad Morrison returns as DC Nick Nicholl; and Sam Hoare reprises his role as ACC Cassian Pewe.

But series 4’s cast will have a new addition: TV legend Robert Glenister (Hustle, Sherwood, Spooks) joins the ensemble in an as-yet-unconfirmed role.

What is Grace series 4 about?

The fourth series will pick up where series 3’s lively finale left off – with Roy’s no-longer-missing wife Sandy back and causing problems. Not only that, but DS Grace will have to navigate his colleague Cleo falling pregnant after their brief tryst.

Grace series 4 will be split into four feature-length segments. As in previous series, Grace stays true to the Detective Roy Grace novels and treats its episodes as standalone films, with each having a runtime of 120 minutes.

The four episodes will be based on the following Roy Grace novels: Dead Man’s Time, Want You Dead, You Are Dead, and Love You Dead. Expect to see jewel heists, disturbing post-mortem results, mystery disappearances, and corpses found in cars.

Actor John Simm has said that, “Grace fans will be pleased to know the stories are as dark as ever with lots of twists and turns.” We can’t wait.

Where can I watch Grace series 1-3?

If you’re intrigued by the sounds of this dark crime drama – or you’ve seen it all already and just fancy revisiting it – you’ve got two options.

You can catch the eight already-televised instalments of Grace on ITVX, ITV’s newly-revamped streaming service (previously known as ITV Hub). Alternatively, you can watch all episodes on the ITV/BBC joint subscription service BritBox.

When is Grace series 4 on TV?

ITV is yet to confirm any specific broadcast details about the latest series. But if we do our best DS Roy Grace impression, we can work it out. A little detective work suggests that we can expect series 4 very soon indeed.

The first series was shown on TV in March of 2021, with series 2 showing in May of 2022, and series 3 in March 2023. So, it’s a pretty safe bet that Spring 2024 will see the four feature-length episodes heading our way.

What we know about Grace series 5

Let’s stop looking forward to series 4 for a second and look even further forward – to the series after that. Series 5 will see adaptations of four Roy Grace novels, namely: Need You Dead, Dead If You Don’t, Dead At First Sight and Find Them Dead.

When it comes to timings, the fifth series has already been commissioned, written and cast, although not yet shot. If we apply our series 4 logic to the next run, it seems likely that we’ll see the fifth series on ITV in either March, April or May of 2025, given that it’s due to start filming this spring.

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