Endeavour 9th & final season starts 26 February 2023 at 8pm on ITV

[IwantToRetire]

2023’s final trilogy of films will find Endeavour and Thursday entering a new era of change both professionally and personally.

Set in the spring of 1972, the final season’s opening episode is directed by none other than Endeavour star Shaun Evans.

The synopsis for the story reads: “Two unexplained deaths turn up ties to the Oxford Concert Orchestra, while a body discovered in a derelict warehouse stokes fears that ‘London business’ has yet again found its way to Oxford.

“Thursday and Endeavour’s investigation unearths some unsettling connections to cases the duo believed were well and truly behind them.”

britishperioddramas.com/news/endeavour-season-9-release-date-itv-february-2023/

Thanks, I'll be watching

Me too.

Wonderful!

I wonder how at the end they will make it look like or feel like you would then move naturally to the first episode of Morse.

Maybe they wont even try.

Last year, I think in the summer I rewatched all (I think) of the Endeavour episodes to date. And was surprised that it felt to me that it relied really heavily on setting the era right, the clothers, the current political issues, and things like that. And somehow the plots weren't as important. Or maybe that's just because it was second time round.

But at no time could I see the future Morse in Endeavour.

I think that Shaun Evens gets a lot of the mannerisms right, but they don't look alike.

SE is a similar age now to the age John Thaw was when he started as Morse.

Wonder if there will be mention of Lewis?

I think Lewis only appeared in the first episode of Morse and wasn't meant to work with Morse, who as Morse always was, was rude and patronising. So he wouldn't appear, but maybe they will say there's a new sargent starting next week, and Morse will say I dont want him!

A sort of reverse of how Lewis and Hathaway became paired up.

Strange, of course, does appear in Morse.

Endeavour has been on TV for more actual years than Morse was..

I expect actual Morse is very dated now.

Morse didn't begin until 1987 so I wouldn't have thought they would need to 'lead into' it as such. The big question is why there's no mention of Thursday in Morse, so it'll be interesting to see how that might be explained.

Yes if only Thursday had been in Morse and told him to stop being such an insufferable ----!

Although I do think the way the makers of Endeavour have shown the development of Strange does fit in with his portrayal in Morse. But unless Endeavour suffers some personality change in this last series, they haven't shown how he became Morse.

Even around women. Morse was always creepy. Endeavour is much more "respectful" (or is that just to be in touch with modern ideas)

The first book was set/written in the 70s wasn't it?

Morse was contemporary to when it was filmed though?

I'm so excited

@diddl you're absolutely right about the books, but as you say, the TV series was definitely contemporary.

Thank you for the heads up

I'm looking forward to it. I hope it's going to be great. I love Fred Thursday. He reminds me of my dad.

There's some more about how morse becomes morse in this series I think. I know people that worked on the series and spent a bit of time on set.

Colin Dexter was involved in casting SE as Morse.

SE is a similar age now to the age John Thaw was when he started as Morse.

It seems unbelievable to me that we've reached that stage, although John Thaw always looked older than he was. I watched some of Morse again last year and it seems dated and rather sexist now but that doesn't detract from the performances.

I'll miss Endeavour. It's been brilliant and the whole cast are superb.

SE is a similar age now to the age John Thaw was when he started as Morse.

We started re-watching Morse from the beginning recently on ITVX and in that case John Thaw definitely had a hard uphill paper round compared to Shaun Evans.

Which was the really freaky episode? The one with the bus and the creepy house? That one was terrifying!

I've enjoyed watching Endeavour over the years but have never been able to imagine the SE character becoming Morse as played by JT.

@Rebel2 terminus? Rings vague bells.

That was it! I was hiding behind a cushion

He has always looked older than his years.

I think that he was only early 30s when The Sweeney started.

I have a horrible feeling they might kill Fred Thursday off in the final episode and Joan will marry Strange breaking Endeavours heart ( yet again . Was ever a man as unlucky in love as Morse . Most of the women he loves turn out to be a psychotic murderer )

I think where Joan is concerned Morse is just too indecisive!

@diddl
Yes I agree. He would have been a happier man if he had stopped dithering and married the girl.