Murder mystery gets heavier in season 3

By Jacqueline Spendlove TV Media

There are a few things I’ve learned from British television: You should always offer your guests tea, hats are essential ladies’ wedding attire, and clergy folk have much more thrilling jobs than I thought they did.

I can’t immediately name a priest- or vicar-centric American TV series, but at least half a dozen British ones come to mind with minimal effort. Oddly enough, a respectable number of these involve the lead clergyperson moonlighting as a detective. Are men and women of the cloth particularly suited to solving crimes? If “Father Ted,” “Cadfael” and “Grantchester” are anything to go by, then yes, they sure are. The latter of these, another fine “Masterpiece Mystery” offering, has proved to be a hit on both sides of the pond, thanks to its appealing leads and excellently written storylines. Catch a new episode of “Grantchester” when it airs Sunday, July 2, on PBS. The series is a detective drama that airs on ITV in the U.K. Based on a collection of short stories by James Runcie, it takes place in the 1950s in the titular Grantchester, an arcadian village in Cambridgeshire.

London native James Norton (“Happy Valley”) leads the cast as Rev. Sidney Chambers, an amiable

(and handsome!) young Anglican priest and former Scots Guards officer. He gets drawn into a murder investigation in the first episode, much to the disapproval of overworked local detective Geordie Keating (Robson Green, “Strike Back”).

As it turns out, however, Sidney’s intuitive, coaxing technique proves the perfect foil for Geordie’s gruff, no-nonsense approach when it comes to questioning suspects and witnesses. From there, an unlikely partnership forms, which grows into genuine friendship off the clock. The two have become a favorite duo on TV right now, thanks in part to the fantastic chemistry between the two actors.

“It’s a very unlikely relationship,” Green said when interviewed by British lifestyle and entertainment program “Lorraine.” “It’s very offbeat, very endearing, and it’s a relationship that many people care about.”

Though the mystery-of-the-week format keeps the series chugging along, the ongoing personal storylines are what really give the show its depth. Season 2 (or series 2, as the Brits call it) saw both Sidney and Geordie dealing with dilemmas of the heart, and viewers were keen to find out where the new season would take their respective relationships.

Sidney’s case is a particularly complicated one. Throughout the series, he’s been in love with Amanda Kendall (Morven Christie, “The A Word”), an heiress whose marital future lies in her wealthy father’s hands, though she returns Sidney’s affections. She left her husband at the end of last season, and gave birth to his child in the ensuing Christmas special.

Now, since openly declaring their (very obvious) feelings for one another, she and Sidney have been living in a sort of limbo; they’re enjoying spending time together, but they know that, Sidney’s position being what it is, they can’t ultimately end up together.

“They’re living in denial. They’re having a lot of fun, but they are aware that they’re star-crossed, because they can’t really be together,” Norton explained during a visit to “The One Show.” “It’s love vs. duty ... in the ‘50s, a vicar wasn’t allowed to marry a divorcée, so if she is going to separate from her previous marriage, she becomes unavailable

James Norton and Robson Green star in “Grantchester”

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