The 1970s beckon as venerable British drama Call the Midwife heads into its 14th season
When it comes to long-running scripted British television series, several titles rush to mind. From popular sci-fi/fantasy series Doctor Who, which boasts 40 complete seasons and several specials since its premiere in November 1963, to ongoing ensemble cast series like EastEnders (40 seasons), Emmerdale (54 seasons) and Coronation Street (66 seasons), it is clear that the U.K. has a lush culture of appointment television, which remains alive and well to this day.
Another series that appears to be joining the U.K.’s ranks of long-running televised content is Call the Midwife, the medical period drama that began its run on BBC One in 2012. Headed into its 14th season — a number of seasons that would border on astounding in nearly any other market — Call the Midwife is available to watch on PBS or to stream via the PBS Passport streaming service. For those who hold a BritBox subscription, the new season has been available since its U.K. premiere in January.
With the growing length of the series in mind, it is, however, important to note that cancellation and spinoff rumours abound ahead of the confirmed 15th and 16th seasons. Without delving into any spoilers, suffice it to say that an emotional end to the eight-episode 14th season has audiences wondering what lies ahead for the suburban London-based nurses and whether the series will continue after its scheduled run.
“I don’t believe Call the Midwife will ever end,” series creator Heidi Thomas (Upstairs, Downstairs) told Radio Times in a February interview, “but I do think we might take a break at some point.”
Call the Midwife focuses on “the nurses, midwives and nuns from Nonnatus House,” reads the official PBS description, “who visit the expectant mothers of Poplar, providing the poorest women with the best possible care.” The series is based on the memoirs of the late British nurse Jennifer Worth, who practiced in one of East London’s most impoverished areas in the 1950s. And while the BBC series began its first season set in 1957, 14 seasons later the women of Poplar are ushering in a new era: the 1970s.
According to PBS’s online episode guide, in this newest season, “chaos erupts as the Isle of Dogs bid for independence. Amid the turmoil, the midwives work tirelessly to keep Nonnatus House running while addressing complex social and health challenges.”
While looking ahead to the excitement and challenges of portraying another new decade within the series, Thomas reflected that “we are a family behind the scenes, on the screen and in front of the telly, and I’m thrilled that we’re all heading into the 1970s together.”
To call the cast of Call the Midwife a “family” is hardly an overstatement, as much of the cast has returned year after year to tell the many harrowing medical tales of the women in the community of Poplar. From attending to teenaged, geriatric and complicated pregnancies of all kinds, to other on-the-job duties such as caring for patients with sexually transmitted diseases, psychiatric illnesses and those who require emergency attention, there is hardly much time left for the women of Nonnatus House to have any sort of personal life. Nevertheless, season 14 sees plenty of out-of-office romance, protests and personal troubles for these hardworking women.
Returning to the screen for the series’ 14th season are Judy Parfitt, Rebecca Gethings and Jenny Agutter as Sisters Monica Joan, Veronica and Julienne, respectively; Linda Bassett as Nurse Crane; Laura Main as Shelagh Turner; Helen George as Trixie Aylward; Megan Cusack (who is scheduled to leave before season 15) and emerging talent Francesca Fullilove as nurses Nancy and Colette Corrigan. Also returning are Cliff Parisi and Annabelle Apsion as Fred and Violet Buckle, alongside Stephen McGann as Dr. Patrick Turner and Georgie Glen as Miss Higgins. In addition, Andrea Irvine joins the cast as Esther Noble.
Likewise, Trinidadian-born midwife Joyce Highland (Renee Bailey), who joined the cast of characters last season as a midwifery pupil and is now a full-fledged English nurse, returns to the cast alongside this season’s newest member: nun and midwife Sister Catherine, played by Molly Vevers.
Sister Catherine is Season 14’s nun in training, but she will have plenty of self-reflection and hard work to face as “her devotion to God came at the expense of a relationship with her family, who turned their back on her when she told them she had been called to serve” (per RadioTimes.com).
Call the Midwife is locked in for at least two more seasons — and a few Christmas specials, as usual — with its home network, BBC, but it could likely continue far beyond that if the passion remains for its extensive fanbase.
“Call the Midwife is the pride and joy of all who work on it,” said Thomas in a 2023 interview, “but it’s our fantastic, loyal audience that matters most.”
Season 14 of Call the Midwife premieres Sunday, March 30 on KCTS and WTVS