ITV detective drama Midsomer Murders returned to screens last night, but it has been pulled from screens after just one episode.
Sunday night’s episode kicked off series 23 of the long-running show. However, it seems that after a string of viewer complaints; the series has been pulled from the 8pm to 10pm slot which was occupied by Vera earlier this year.
Midsomer Murders returned to screens on Sunday
Last night, Neil Dudgeon and Nick Hendrix returned to screens as DCI John Barnaby and DS Jamie Winter.
They were joined by Annette Badland as Dr Fleur Perkins, along with The Couple Next Door’s Kate Robbins and EastEnders alum Nina Wadia, who made her debut on the series.
As the episode, which is titled The Blacktrees Prophecy, kicked off, Barnaby and Winter were faced with another shocking murder after the body of an extreme survivalist who was hiding in a bomb shelter was discovered.
“Deep in the Blacktrees forest is a bombproof shelter built by a man named Warren Kaine,” the episode synopsis teased.
It continued: “His extreme paranoia has drawn other survivalists to the village, and now a doomsday prepper group meets weekly.
“When Warren is found murdered, Barnaby unravels a dark conspiracy to reveal how far people will go to escape the end of the world.”
However, rather than being the premise for a gripping episode of the detective drama, viewers at home found this storyline to be rather “far-fetched.”
“Nice easy Sunday night telly but a bit far-fetched,” one viewer wrote on X, formerly Twitter, after watching the episode.
“John Nettles made this show when he finished it went downhill, still watchable but a difficult one, to be honest,” said another, slamming last night’s episode.
A third viewer went so far as to say there’s another show they’d rather be watching. “Don’t know why, but no matter how hard I try to like this show, I can never get into it. Just bring back Vera,” they said.
However, fan-favourite drama Vera will not return to screens until 2025.
The detective drama has been pulled from screens after just one episode
In a surprise move, Midsomer Murders has been pulled from ITV’s upcoming TV schedule, although only the first episode of series 23 has been aired.
This is something of a shock given that Midsomer Murders has already been renewed for a 24th season and a new spin-off has also been confirmed.
It’s unclear if Midsomer Murders has been pulled due to the negative fan reaction of some viewers, or because of an issue behind-the scenes.
The series was expected to air on consecutive Sunday evenings as it has traditionally done. However, next week’s slot will be taken by the second episode of the new series of Britain’s Got Talent.
This will air from 7:40pm until 9pm and will be followed up by the premiere of Richard Armitage’s new thriller, Red Eye.
There is no word yet as to when the rest of the series will air.
Unfortunately, Midsomer Murders fans who enjoyed the episode are unhappy about the schedule switch up.
“Why oh why only one episode #MidsomerMurders getting really p****d off with ITV doing this!” admitted one fan on X.
