‘All Creatures Great and Small’ Season 4 has started filming!

The next season of All Creatures Great and Small just got a little bit nearer.

Based on author James Herriot’s much-loved collection of stories, the series follows the heartwarming and humorous adventures of a young country vet in the Yorkshire Dales in the 1930s.

A third season of Channel 5’s popular period drama launched in the UK last autumn, and recently concluded on Sunday nights in the US.

Fortunately, the producers had already announced the commission of a fourth season last year.

And we can now officially confirm that shooting has begun in Yorkshire!

The Masterpiece Facebook account announced earlier this week: “In case you missed it: Season 4 of All Creatures Great and Small is officially underway and started production today! 🐶🐱🐷🐮🐔”

Filming commenced on Monday 6th March, with director Andy Hay returning at the helm.

Hay has previously directed nine episodes of All Creatures Great and Small, as well as instalments of The Last Kingdom, Dickensian and Foyle’s War.

When’s the release date?

Season 4 is expected to follow the pattern of previous years, premiering in early September 2023 on Channel 5 in the UK.

Viewers in the US will most probably get a premiere date in January 2024 on PBS.

The new season is likely to resume the story in the spring of 1940, after the latest festive special was set during Christmas 1939.

Nicholas Ralph will reprise his role as James Herriot, hinting recently that we could be hearing “the pitter-patter of tiny feet” around Skeldale House soon.

He’ll be joined by Rachel Shenton as Helen, Anna Madeley as Mrs. Hall, and Samuel West as Siegfried.

However, we’ll have to wait and see whether The Durrells star Callum Woodhouse is back as Tristan Farnon!

To mark the beginning of Season 4’s shoot, Samuel West composed this poem on Twitter:

While we wait for the return of All Creatures Great and Small, we’ve got a lovely little video from Masterpiece here that looks ahead to Season 4.

The clip sees actors Nicholas Ralph, Rachel Shenton, Anna Madeley and more reflecting on where the characters found themselves by the end of Season 3 – and what it all means for their next chapter.

Watch the preview here:

An epic 47-minute chat with the show’s cast and producers was also recently posted on YouTube.

Delving deep into Season 3’s storylines, the special virtual event took place last month, hosted by Variety editor Jenelle Riley.

You can watch that whole Q&A session here:

There’s no official news yet on a fifth season of All Creatures Great and Small.

But with the show being one of Channel 5’s biggest homegrown hits in the UK, and a much-loved Sunday night fixture on PBS in the US, we’d be very surprised if there weren’t many seasons still to come.

Perhaps it’ll even beat the incredible run of Call the Midwife, which was recently renewed for another two years, taking the midwives into their fifteenth season!

All Creatures Great and Small is available on DVD on Amazon.