ITV’s hugely popular detective drama, Endeavour, returns for a seventh highly-anticipated series.
The latest series of critically-acclaimed drama, which is produced by leading drama indie Mammoth Screen – part of ITV Studios – in partnership with Masterpiece, will consist of three, brand new interconnecting feature-length films. Each film has once again been written by Russell Lewis who has penned all 27 Endeavour screenplays to date.
Shaun Evans reprises his role as DS Endeavour Morse, alongside Roger Allam as DCI Fred Thursday, for a new set of compelling cases. Following the success of his directorial debut on the drama during series six, Shaun Evans has also directed the first film of the new series.
In addition, Anton Lesser returns as CS Reginald Bright, Sean Rigby as DS Jim Strange, James Bradshaw as Dr Max DeBryn, Abigail Thaw as Dorothea Frazil and Caroline O’Neill as Win Thursday.
The new trilogy of films mark Endeavour and his colleagues entering a new decade and era of change. Opening on New Year’s Eve 1969, normal order has been resumed and the team reunited at Castle Gate CID, with Chief Superintendent Bright back in charge.
However, the events of the past year have left their mark, and the new series will see old friendships challenged and new relationships blossom.
Interview: Roger Allam returns as Fred Thursday (minor spoilers)
We’re now on the seventh series of Endeavour. Do you find it easy to return to the character of Fred Thursday?
It’s very familiar now, and there are certain things that you do to get into character. I don’t wear a hat or smoke a pipe in real life, so as soon as I put on the hat and have the pipe around, they become strange wormholes in time and space whereby it’s a shorthand way of becoming the character. And then of course there’s being around the other actors – Shaun Evans who plays Endeavour, Caroline O’Neill who plays Win, Sean Rigby who plays Strange and Anton Lesser as Bright. It’s easy to get back into character in relation to them because we’re picking up something that we left off, in all probability, less than a year ago.
Where do we find Thursday at the start of the series?
It’s not great I’m afraid! First of all, we find him having a reasonably happy new year – albeit, at a club that he doesn’t really like – but more or less the next day, he’s back at the coalface with the horrible murder of a young woman, and I think he’s getting jaded with that. It’s starting to taste very bitter, having to continually face up to the worst aspects of humanity.
Win is back though, which is good, and Fred has been promoted back to Detective Chief Inspector again – he has Ronnie Box’s old office. So, all of that side of things is OK, although the house is empty as the children have gone away, so there’s all that going on for both he and Win. I think that continues as parents when your children leave home.
Do you think this empty nest syndrome is what triggers him to buy the canaries as pets?
Yes, he buys two canaries because I think he wants something to look after again. They can’t escape as they’re in a cage – however, I think one did actually escape whilst we were filming, but the canary wrangler got it back, so there are no dangerous wild canaries on the loose!
I think he chooses canaries as they’re sweet, soft and lovely. It’s an obvious strong contrast to the grimness of having to face up to the bleakness of the murders he’s having to deal with at work, and what’s happening to these young women.
One of the key themes throughout the series is a social shift, with politics coming to the forefront and the dawn of women’s liberation. How is this explored in the series as a whole?
Although there isn’t an immediate shift between the 1960s and 1970s, it does feel like there is a change starting to begin. There’s a story focusing on one of the female colleges in Oxford, around the debate as to whether they should take in men. There’s resistance to that, especially when one of the students is killed, and I think one of the professors questions why it always has to be the women that make the first move towards making things more equal.
How would you say that Morse and Thursday’s relationship changes this series?
The first crime is one that takes some time to solve, and Thursday’s instinct and his gut feeling is that the boyfriend is the culprit, but Morse sort of dismisses that as too obvious and too pedestrian, thinking it must be someone else.
Thursday tends to represent gut instinct whilst Morse represents intellect, and though it’s not as if Morse has no gut instinct and feeling and Thursday has no intellect, that’s how they pursue this particular case. Their disagreement over it opens a big split between them which gets wider and wider throughout the series.
Thursday was keen to retire at this point last year but wasn’t able to as his brother has taken his savings. Is he still feeling that way?
Funnily enough, I think in the last series, he didn’t really want to retire but Win wanted him to. He certainly didn’t want a desk job, but when he was done over by his brother and lost his money, he had to stay on to earn more money for them to live. The difference this year is that he’s had a promotion so I guess there’s more money coming in, but the job itself is also making him feel jaded, and he doesn’t want to face up to all of this continual violence.
Shaun once again directed one of the episodes this series. Do you enjoy working with him in this capacity?
It’s lovely. He makes it seem very easy, moving from behind the camera to in front of it and then back behind. We have the same kind of discussions when he’s a director as we would when he is just an actor about what’s going on in a scene and what we need to do, because he’s still an actor as well. He always listens to other people and their suggestions about how a scene can work, so it’s a huge pleasure to have seen him take that on and succeed in it so well.
And what’s next for you?
I’m doing a play at the Bridge Theatre by Caryl Churchill. It’s a revival of a play she wrote in the early 2000s called A Number. It’s a two-hander with Colin Morgan who I’ve worked with before – he was Ariel when I was Prospero in The Tempest. It’s a very interesting and challenging play, so I’m looking forward to that (more information about A Number here).
Overview series VII
Film 1: Oracle
As Endeavour sees in the new year – 1970 – at an opera house in Venice, a murder on an Oxford towpath speaks to Thursday’s intuition, and convinced he has the man responsible, he vows to bring him to justice. Returning home, Endeavour makes a new acquaintance, and old friendships show signs of strain.
Later, when an exciting new educational television programme appeals for Academic presenters, a contentious college project develops into a fatal battle of the sexes. On investigating, Endeavour and Thursday discover a potential link between the department and a young woman’s troubling premonitions.
Film 2: Raga
As campaigning for the 1970 general election gets underway in Oxford, racial tensions escalate in the city and a clash between two young rival gangs results in tragedy.
Initial investigations lead Endeavour and Thursday to the door of a familiar face, where they discover the influence of the British Movement, a right wing organisation hoping to win an Oxford seat.
Elsewhere in the city, tragedy strikes a second time, this time an Indian restaurant, where a customer’s mysterious disappearance and a shocking murder put even the strongest family loyalties to the test.
Film 3: Zanana
When Endeavour is called to investigate what at first appears to be a freak accident at Lady Matilda’s College, he uncovers a potential link between a series of peculiar incidents across Oxford, and despite Thursday’s scepticism, becomes convinced the accidents are the result of foul play. Lady Matilda’s meanwhile, is in the midst of a referendum campaign which will decide whether or not the college should become co-educational, and when one of their own is attacked while walking alone on the towpath, the female students become more determined than ever to keep the wolf without the citadel.
Watch series trailer || clip Oracle || clip Raga || clip Zanana || ITV press pack || Barcroft interview series
Mr Allam deserves at least an Oscar (though not strictly available, of course) for his work in Endeavour. Contrary to the Carnaby Street/Beatles myth, the 1960s were, from start to finish, an era of uncertainty, fear and angst. There were issues to be addressed and resolved that as yet had not so much as a name. There were weak certainties too, and Mr Allam tests them to their wobbly limits, hoping that decency and loyalty will see the whole cast (not least poor Mr Bright!) through both the confusion of the present and the horrors and guilt of the past. But still, a gentleman such as Fred (mostly is) would never have worn his hat indoors and Win would never have let him. Thank you, Mr Allam, for this extraordinary work.
But The EMMY prize îs still available!!!!
Unfortunately, the seventh season of Endeavour has not been broadcasted in Spain, Paramount Channel Tv just included the six first seasons. Anyway, it was a good opportunity to discover this series and in addition the great performance of Mr. Roger Allam (that also pushed me to watch him in films like The Hippopotamus or the Truth Commissioner). And what it is more important, at least for me, each episode was an outlet to get through these hard and sad times of lockdown. I just would like have some words of recognition and support for “art people”, front and behind scenes, that normally give us great moments of enjoyment. They are one of the sectors especially affected by the pandemic and sadly it will take longer to recover the. I’m do hope that as soon as possible theatres, film sets, concert halls, etc. can back to their normal activity and find their audience again.
Fortunately,in Romania,tv channel Epic Drama broadcasts the seventh series of Endeavour!!!
I have discovered this tv series one month ago,and….with it….ROGER ALLAM! Since then,i watch EVERY episode ,even though i saw it once( or even twice). I realised that you don t need many words to transmit a thought or a feeling.
Thank you,mr Allam!
Will Joan Thursday and Morse ever be “together”? Will Dakota Blue ever return to the Endeavour series?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SIR(for me)
ROGER!!!!!
Can not tell you how much my wife and I enjoy Endeavour!
The acting is superb and leaves one at the edge of wonderment with the plots!
Outstanding!!
God bless!!!!