Graham Norton's 'Forever Home' to Star PBS Favorites
It's the 'Marlow Murder Club/Inspector Lewis' team-up PBS fans never knew they needed with the new series 'Forever Home.'
Channel 5 (which recently rebranded to “5”) is adding to its roster of self-produced drama miniseries. The newest addition to the lineup comes from presenter and author Graham Norton, best known in the U.S. for his celebrity talk show. Norton’s foray into fiction is relatively recent, at least compared to his titular show, which was just renewed through Season 36. (In comparison, his debut novel, Holding, was released in 2016.) However, his novels have been gaining traction on bestseller lists, especially after Holding was adapted by ITV in 2022; that 5 was the next network to scoop one up and run with it was merely a matter of time.
The new series is based on his 2023 novel, Forever Home. Like Holding, it’s a cozy crime-style novel, set in a fictional Irish town. It’s also less of a whodunit mystery and more focused on the emotional trauma hidden beneath the calm outward demeanors of those folks who populate it.
In the press release, Norton said: “In writing Forever Home, I was initially inspired by the simple idea of packing up a home later in life, and the ‘what if’ scenarios and complexities that come with later-life relationships. The novel soon evolved into a funny, twisted, ‘dark-romp’ full of farcical scenes, and it’s wonderful to see the depth and richness of Carol’s story realized as a screenplay.”
Here’s the series synopsis:
The six-part series follows the story of a second wife dealing with the memories of the woman who went before her. When Carol discovers a long-dead body hidden in the basement of her home, the horrific realization is undeniable – she's living with a killer. The story that her husband's first wife ran away, never to be seen again, now looks like a lie, and the fact that he’s insisted on never selling the house suddenly makes sense. But one dark family secret is soon to be replaced by another…
The cast of Forever Home is led by faces PBS viewers know well: Amy Nuttall (Downton Abbey), Douglas Henshall (Shetland), Samantha Bond (The Marlow Murder Club), and Kevin Whately (Inspector Lewis). The series also features Denise Welch (Tip Toe), Lewis Cope (Vera), Jenny Walser (Heartstopper), Shane Zaza (Big Boys), and James Baxter (Death in Paradise).
Writer Clara Salaman (Too Close) penned all episodes of the adaptation, with directors Paul Gay (Ridley) and Claire Winyard (Death Valley) splitting helming duties across the six installments, with Will Nicholson producing. Norton executive produces, along with Salaman, Kirstie Macdonald for FilmNation Entertainment, and Erika Kennair & JC Acosta for The Mediapro Studio.
Forever Home is currently filming in Northumberland and is slated to air on 5 in 2026. It does not yet have an American distributor, but 5 had a good thing going with PBS right now, and the cast suggests the series is angling for a Masterpiece pick-up.
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