Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators

[OceanBlue]

Watched last night, the first of the new, fourth series. Glad to see it back after a two year break. Can't remember the reason for the absence of the female detective character (did she join some task force or go on an undercover job?), but their male detective sidekick, who became Frank and Lu's detective contact (sort-of contact, as he clearly gets irritated by Frank) during the third series is still the main detective character in the start of the fourth series.

There was one very funny scene involving police cordon tape which had me in hysterics.

Oh, and this new series is slightly shorter in length compared to the previous three series, nine episodes instead of ten.

[DTSBOY]

I'm not sure what is correct but TV & Satellite Week have series 4 ending on Thursday with an odd episode being shown on Friday from series 3.


Every other series had 10 episodes so it must be a typo in the mag? The BBC website even states an episode from S3 is being shown on Friday, so it's anyone’s guess as to what they'll show.

And series 1 is being repeated from the 28th February.

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by DTSBOY

I'm not sure what is correct but TV & Satellite Week have series 4 ending on Thursday with an odd episode being shown on Friday from series 3.


Every other series had 10 episodes so it must be a typo in the mag? The BBC website even states an episode from S3 is being shown on Friday, so it's anyone’s guess as to what they'll show.

And series 1 is being repeated from the 28th February.

No, it's correct, nine episodes in total in the fourth series. I wondered what was going on because I was sure it was initially stated as ten episodes. Sky's listings say the new series finishes this coming Thursday afternoon. I'm guessing it was because of filming restrictions due to you-know-what.

Even though their character is a bit one-note with how they always seem to dislike Frank, I do enjoy the banter between the detective with the moustache and Frank. I enjoyed three of last week's first five episodes. And I like that they're filming on-location in Stratford-upon-Avon, rather than disguising another location.

[OceanBlue]

A blast from the past while watching yesterday afternoon's new episode (from the fourth series), when I spotted guest star Christopher Fairbank (Moxey in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet).

[OceanBlue]

Based on the first two episodes of the fourth series and the penultimate episode (the storyline having a trainspotting theme), I think yesterday's season finale was not the last episode filmed (instead filmed towards the beginning of the season, because it looked like it was filmed last summer). The episode with the trainspotting theme looked like it was filmed during late autumn-early winter. Unless we had a brief heatwave last autumn into winter.

I do hope it gets renewed for a fifth series. Yes, the stories are light detective drama/mystery plots, but they're usually, always entertaining (especially the banter).

[OceanBlue]

It appears (only source at the moment is EpGuides and Wikipedia) that they did film ten episodes in the fourth series/season of Shakespeare & Hathaway, but have kept the tenth episode back, to be shown at Christmas this year. Have read nothing yet about whether the show has been renewed for a fifth series/season (hope it does).

Have been slacking with getting any of the UK Blu-ray releases of the series.

[OceanBlue]

Originally Posted by DTSBOY

I'm not sure what is correct but TV & Satellite Week have series 4 ending on Thursday with an odd episode being shown on Friday from series 3.


Every other series had 10 episodes so it must be a typo in the mag? The BBC website even states an episode from S3 is being shown on Friday, so it's anyone’s guess as to what they'll show.

And series 1 is being repeated from the 28th February.

Well this came out of nowhere after it feeling like the show has been stuck in limbo for two years since the fourth series of Shakespeare & Hathaway was filmed (the last episode of that series (a Christmas-set episode) premiered on BBC One last year). The show hadn't been officially cancelled, but neither had there been any news of whether the BBC had ordered a fifth series (Series 1-4 premiered on BBC One in an afternoon timeslot first, then they were shown on channel Alibi).

Then earlier today by accident when checking Facebook for any new posts by various boutique labels, there was a post on my news feed by the page "Alibi Channel" saying a fifth series of Shakespeare & Hathaway started production earlier this week. It will "premiere exclusively on Alibi next year, before launching on BBC One and BBC iPlayer".

To say I was ecstatic in my mind was an understatement.

The first four series have had UK Blu-ray releases, with the exception of the Christmas special which was released separately in the UK on DVD only.

[OceanBlue]

A lot closer now to the premiere on UK television of Shakespeare & Hathaway's fifth series. Currently, the fourth series is being repeated on Monday nights as double bills, so it should be around the middle of September when series 5 will start. Geektown currently have an estimate of the new series starting in September.

[OceanBlue]

The fifth series of Shakespeare & Hathaway will be starting on U&Alibi three weeks today (Wednesday 24th September). All episodes will be made available on Catch up TV/On Demand.

Read about the above on Geektown earlier.

Great to see the show back.