'Patience' Gains Season 3, Loses Co-Star
Jessica Hynes will be Patience Evans' new partner in crime-solving, as Laura Fraser exits the series.
Patience was one of PBS's 2025 success stories. While not every show that's popular on Walter Presents translates well into an English-language remake, the ones that do – Professor T, for example – really work. It may take a couple of seasons to get the rhythm going and a few casting adjustments, but, like a house, if the show has solid bones, it will stand. The original French series, Astrid (Astrid et Raphaëlle), is heading into Season 7, and there's no reason Patience can't do the same. Channel 4 and PBS clearly agree: Season 2 doesn't even have a U.S. premiere date as yet*, and Season 3 is already greenlit.
(*That being said, if Patience Season 2 doesn't premiere alongside Grantchester's final season, I will eat my hat.)
However, Patience, for all its first-season success, is already dealing with the growing pains and casting adjustments, the biggest of which is the exit of the show's answer to Raphaëlle, DI Bea Metcalf, played by Laura Fraser (Outlander). Fraser was the famous, established name alongside newcomer Ella Maisy Purvis as the titular Patience; unfortunately, that also means she's in much higher demand. When she landed a role in BBC One's forthcoming series Mint, Channel 4 was forced to either hold production or recast. It says a lot about Purvis' popularity and the producers' belief in her as a star that filming moved forward as planned, and Season 2 will introduce her new colleague, the motorbike-riding DI Frankie Monroe, played by W1A's Jessica Hynes.
Season 2 will also expand the series from six to eight episodes. Here's the synopsis:
Patience will continue her work in the police criminal records department of the City of York Police after establishing herself as an invaluable member of the team, bringing her unique insight into a series of perplexing cases. However, when a new boss, Detective Frankie Monroe, brings a very different management style, it proves tricky for both of them to navigate. Love is also in the air in this series as Patience begins a relationship with a work colleague, Elliot, and the police department gets a makeover with the arrival of a new PR consultant, all whilst tackling intriguing crimes in extraordinary settings such as York Minster.
Season 3 will further expand the series' length, bringing the total to 10 episodes. Here's the synopsis, with the caveat that I have not seen a minute of Season 2 and cannot comment on spoilers.
Autistic criminal records archivist Patience continues her work with the City of York Police, bringing her unique insight to a series of perplexing cases. After initial clashes with motorbike-riding DI Frankie Monroe, Patience and Frankie are now close colleagues and even friends. As well as taking a new step in her romantic life in Series 3, family bonds bring a new horizon for Patience, as she navigates building a relationship with her estranged half-sister Joy while also investigating her father’s death. Was the car crash that killed him really an accident, or is there more to the case than meets the eye?
Along with Purvis and Hynes, Season 2 also brings back the core cast, with Nathan Welsh (Domina) as DS Jake Hunter, Liza Sadovy (Ridley Road) as Dr. Loretta Parsons, Ali Ariaie (The Great), as DC Will Akbari, Mark Benton (Shakespeare & Hathaway) as Calvin Baxter, Adrian Rawlins (The White Princess) as Douglas Gilmore, and Tom Lewis (Gentleman Jack) as Elliot Scott. All six are also confirmed for Season 3. As always, neurodiverse actors will play all neurodivergent characters in the series.
Season 2 traded out Matt Baker (Hotel Portofino) as the lead writer for a team that includes Amy Shindler, Beth Chalmers, Rachel Smith, and Jacqui Honess-Martin, all of whom have personal experience with autism, and will also return for Season 3. Director Maarten Moerkerke returns to helm both Season 2 and 3, splitting helming duties with Raf Reyntjens for the second season and Jan Matthys for the third. As always, Jo McGrath and Walter Iuzzolino executive produce, now with Eagle Eye's newest member, Alison Kee.
Patience Season 2 is expected to debut on PBS sometime in 2026, with Season 3 to follow in 2027. All episodes of the show's first season are streaming via PBS Passport. Astrid Seasons 1 through 5 are also available for members to stream; Season 6 is expected to arrive in early 2027, followed by Season 7 in 2028.
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