I previously wrote an entry about the 1970 Father Brown TV mystery series – which my husband and I enjoyed. The 2013 series is quite a bit different. The current Father Brown mystery series is quite a bit Cozy-er than the original G.K. Chesterton‘s Father Brown television series. The current series does not concentrate on presenting the Chesterton stories although it is based on the original Father Brown character.
Mark Williams stars as Father Brown – a Catholic parish priest in Anglican England. When you watch this show you’ll have to suspend reality and think of England as a very, very Catholic country. It seems like everyone is a parishioner of Father Brown! (There are a few times when the shows focus on the Anglican church.)
This Father Brown series is produced by the BBC and, for those of you vintage lovers like me, the Cotswolds 1950 costumes, artifacts, and settings are terrific to see. A lot of the characters are recurring, however the Detective Inspectors changed a few times before seeming to settle on the current Inspector (Jack Deam) who has a very complicated relationship with the “Padre” (as he refers to Father Brown), the other meddling amateur sleuths, and also the Inspector’s underlings.
One of my favorite characters in the show is Mrs. McCarthy (Sorcha Cusack). She’s the parish secretary and one of the Father’s crime-solving accomplices. She is the mother hen of the tight group of crime-solving friends. She is also a town gossip, good cook (especially of strawberry scones) and a wearer of terrific looking 1950 hats, necklaces, dresses, and sweaters. There are other fleshed-out regular characters: Lady Felicia (Nancy Carroll), Sid (Alex Price), Bunty (Emer Kenny), and Sergeant Goodfellow (John Burton).
If you have watched the 1970 version, you will notice that the majority of the current shows take place in the small, Cozy village. The actual G.K. Chesterton stories had Father Brown traveling the world. This series takes full advantage of the beautiful Cotswold settings. (My husband and I have also watched Footloose in the Cotswolds on our Amazon Prime and we think we have spotted a few of the show’s locations.)
My husband and I started watching this version of Father Brown on Netflix but are now watching the current season on our local PBS station. (I’m so glad I set up our DVR!) It is also available on BritBox.
If you’re looking for a truly Cozy Mystery series to watch – look no more. You’ve found it!
P.S. If you would like some other ideas about shows to watch, make sure to take a look at my TV and Movies page on my Cozy Mystery site.