‘Vera’ is back: Season 12 release date confirmed

Vera returns soon in the UK with a new six-part run!

Based on the Vera Stanhope novels by crime writer Ann Cleeves, ITV’s popular drama series has been on television since 2011.

You can catch up on all the previous seasons of Vera for free with a 7-day BritBox trial here.

Two episodes from the show’s eleventh season premiered in September 2021, with another two episodes airing in January 2022.

However, Season 11’s remaining two stories have only been available in the US… until now!

ITV has now announced that they’re finally showing ‘Vital Signs’ and ‘The Way the Wind Blows’ later this month.

And there’s more good news, as these two episodes be immediately followed by twelfth season of Vera!

Set in the North East of England, this winter’s six new self-contained crime stories will see Brenda Blethyn back in her iconic mac and hat as Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope.

She’ll be joined by Kenny Doughty as Detective Sergeant Aiden Healy, Jon Morrison as DC Kenny Lockhart, Riley Jones as DC Mark Edwards, and Ibinabo Jack as DC Jacqueline Williams.

Paul Kaye (Game of Thrones) will reprise his role as Pathologist Dr. Malcolm Donahue, before Sarah Kameela Impey joins the team as Pathologist Dr. Paula Bennett.

When does it start?

Vera returns to ITV with ‘Vital Signs’ at 8pm on Sunday 15th January.

‘The Way the Wind Blows’ will air the next Sunday.

The first episode of Season 12 will be shown on Sunday 29th January, with the finale airing on Sunday 19th February.

Season 12’s four episodes are titled ‘Against The Tide’, ‘For The Grace Of God’, ‘Blue’, and ‘The Darkest Evening’.

‘The Darkest Evening’ will be the show’s 50th episode!

Brenda Blethyn commented: “I feel rather proud of having reached the landmark of 50 episode – a great achievement for everyone involved.”

She told ITV: “Who would have thought when we made that Vera pilot 13 years ago that we would be talking about having made 51 films? I know the character better than anyone so when we have new writers coming in I just look at the scripts for tiny anomalies. I also throw little comical bits in there as well.”

Season 12 is expected to arrive in the US on BritBox in the coming months.

It’s a packed year for Vera fans, as there’ll also be a seventh new episode of Vera premiering later in 2023; an adaptation of Ann Cleeves latest novel ‘The Rising Tide’.

Vera is available to watch on BritBox with a FREE 7-day trial.