9pm Monday MIDSOMER MURDERS – Crime Drama
A fan favorite, this classic whodunit drama series centers on Inspector Barnaby, who is kept very busy investigating murders despite the apparent idyllic nature of the county.
Homicide, blackmail, greed, and betrayal are just a taste of what goes on behind the well-trimmed hedges of Midsomer County. Season 20 promises all that and more including new characters, dangerous stunts, a bit of paranormal activity and some secrets will be revealed about Chief Inspector Barnaby. You won’t want to miss the season premier on March 14 – set your DVR!
In a Q&A session with Neil Dudgeon (DCI Barnaby) and Nick Hendrix (DS Winter), they were asked about what to expect in this new season…
Q: With the 20th season airing on public television stations nationwide, what adventures are in store for DCI Barnaby and DS Hendrix?
DUDGEON: Season 20 has some magnificent stories coming your way. In fact, I think the whole series starts back in 1522 with a flashback to a terribly unfortunate incident, that then is echoed in the modern age. And then, "Ooh, are there...?" Well, there's a bit of a clue, the first episode is called The Ghost of Causton Abbey. And there's ghostly goings on.
Things to look forward to…there's a very enjoyable episode with a bit of a shock in it, that is set at a local rugby. Death by Chocolate. There's also an episode that is set in a village where a famous cartoonist used to live, now deceased and they run a yearly convention. So we actually pretty much took over a village and dressed everybody we could find in superhero costumes. We had a great deal of fun trying to arrange all these people in as many shops as we could, all with their capes and their masks and all sorts of strange outfits. That was a lot of fun to do. I hope it's as much fun to watch.
There's a lovely episode set at the circus, where a great secret is revealed about Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby. He has a bit of a problem that most people don't know about, and it's a bit awkward for him.
HENDRIX: I make no bones about enjoying the action side of the role, anytime there is anything physical like chases or when they bring in a stunt man and harnesses I get very excited. In an episode this series I step into a trap and as a result end up hanging upside down from a tree. It meant having to deal with the challenge of dangling upside down and making sure my body didn’t spin during the scene and when someone comes I had to be able to turn around and engage with them, whilst being aware of where the cameras are! That was an unusual day at the office.
This season there is some exciting action mixed with some very funny comedic moments. Whilst I get to do a lot of running through forests, wrestling people into rivers and lakes, Neil Dudgeon’s character, DCI John Barnaby, is always there ready to laugh at me as I emerge in my suit and tie, drenched from head to toe. Another moment sees me leaping out of the way of a motorbike, which is coming straight at me and diving instead, head first into a huge pile of manure – it is classic Midsomer action.
I am very much looking forward to people meeting Dr. Fleur Perkins, our new pathologist who is played by Annette Badland (Ted Lasso, Doctor Who). Annette is really wonderful in the role; she is very funny and is the best addition to the show. Fleur has this slightly older, wiser quality and so she schools Barnaby and Winter constantly which actually allows them to buddy up more as a team. So the dynamic is slightly different, in a very good way, as we have this new, hilarious headmistress who doesn’t shy away from telling Barnaby and Winter off.
In the premier episode THE GHOST OF CAUSTON ABBEY: Causton is buzzing at the opening of a new brewery on the site of a famously cursed abbey. But excitement turns to fear when a man is found boiled to death in one of the vats. DCI Barnaby and DS Winter are puzzled-could this really be about beer?
