When will the beloved British period drama grace our screens? Want to know? Here is everything we know so far about the potential release date of Call the Midwife Season 13.
We hope you remember that the last episode of Call the Midwife Season 12 ended on a massive cliffhanger, which makes the series exciting to look forward to what new turns will have within the group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s and 1960s. As a result, if you want to know everything relating to when Call the Midwife Season 13 is likely to release, then you’ve come to the right place!
To curb all your doubts, we’ve compiled a list of all the things you should look forward to for the time being while you rewatch all the previous seasons. Continue reading to find out if the much-awaited 13th season will premiere in September 2023 or not.
Call the Midwife Season 13 Release Date: Will it premiere in September 2023?
After being renewed by the BBC for at least fifteen seasons earlier this year, we are pleased to inform the viewers that this beloved period drama series will be on the air until 2026! This is an exciting update for the fandom, who have already started to wonder what the current status of the 13th season is as it is in line to make its official debut on the network after the 12th season, which ended on February 26, 2023, by drawing at least 6.96 million average US viewers!
If you are also speculating about the potential release date of the new season, then we can assure you that you don’t have to worry about anything! The filming is still underway and is expected to resume in November 2023 after the break, as it will take its due time to completely conclude the shoot and post-production before it can even debut the new episodes. Hence, one thing is pretty much clear: there is no way that the much anticipated 13th season of Call the Midwife will be making its comeback in September 2023, let alone the rest of the year!
According to the latest reports, the series has confirmed the release window to be sometime around early 2024, with January being the likely time frame as the prior season also had a similar time gap with the same time slot of 8 p.m. ET on BBC One. As the production is still ongoing, we are certain to report that the 13th season will comprise eight one-hour episodes as well as a 90-minute Christmas special airing this December, which was also announced on the show’s Instagram handle below:
View this post on Instagram
Call the Midwife Season 13 Production Status: Has it been affected by the dual strikes?
The production of the much-awaited 13th season has not stopped despite the ongoing dual strikes, which started months ago and include the 2023 WGA along with the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes! The filming of the beloved series will not be stopped as it will not have the same type of impact on British series (a BBC period drama) as they would have on American ones since they are not subject to the same union regulations, which is great for the creators to resume the work without any unnecessary halt in the development.
We speculate that the production will continue to move forward without any hurdles, which is a great sign as it will also not affect the official release window, which is set for next year. However, we would like to highlight that as of writing this, the series is on a break! Yes, the break was confirmed on the show’s official Instagram handle quote: This week has been the last week of filming before we take our regular summer break on the production of Series 13 – and there has been a definite end-of-term feel to proceedings.
Down in the clinic, our brilliant Meghan Cusack (Nancy) felt inspired to swap roles with trusty sound man Tom so she could try her hand at operating the boom microphone (I’m not sure she’s quite got the hang of it…). Meanwhile, over at the Turner house, Patrick and Shelagh (Stephen McGann and Laura Main) sent us a summary kitchen selfie before they headed off on their holidays. Filming days are long, and the hours are variable – sometimes, the crew will need to shoot from early daytime into the very late evening to catch essential night scenes.
Weeks of this, away from family, can take its toll – and so a good break in high summer allows the crew enough time to see their folks and get away for a holiday. The benefits to morale – and to the subsequent work – are enormous. When we return, we have the second half of Series 13 to shoot, which will take us all the way through November. And then we begin the countdown to Christmas!! The spirit on set is wonderful, and the stories we are filming are powerful and moving. We look forward to showing you.
Call the Midwife returns with a new Christmas Special and Series 13 in 2024. Check out the official post below:
View this post on Instagram
Call the Midwife Season 13 Plot: What can the fans expect from the new season?
The popular series is based on the best-selling memoirs of the late Jennifer Worth, which tells colorful stories of midwifery and families in London’s East End. Inspired by the memoirs of Jennifer Worth, Call the Midwife follows the nurses, midwives, and nuns from Nonnatus House, who visit the expectant mothers of Poplar, providing the poorest women with the best possible care. On the other hand, it has been confirmed that the 13th series will continue to explore complex medical and personal situations on the midwifery and district nursing rounds.
In the first episode, Nonnatus House kicks off a new pupil midwife-training scheme, welcoming pupil midwives Joyce Highland and Rosalind Clifford. Both are excited by this new stage in their careers and move into Nonnatus House, sharing a room. Joyce Highland hails from Trinidad and aims to become the Matron of a British hospital. Hardworking, fiercely bright, and deeply kind, she has a traumatic past that she cannot conceal forever. Rosalind Clifford is young, warm, passionate, and funny. She may seem naive at times, but she has an inner steeliness that will lead her to make some life-changing decisions.
Renee Bailey joins the series as Joyce, and Natalie Quarry plays Rosalind. It is now 1969, and more babies are being born in hospitals than ever before. Pressure on maternity beds remains extremely high across the country, but Poplar is coping better than most due to the work of Nonnatus House and the popularity of home births under the auspices of the Sisters. This series will also see stories from within the Sylheti and Nigerian communities and from around the docks. Poor housing continues to blight areas of Poplar, presenting complex social and health challenges to the Nonnatus team.
It will also explore issues surrounding Cerebral Palsy, Congenital Hip Dysplasia, Tetanus, Porphyria, and TB. The fans can expect to see stories from within the Sylheti and Nigerian communities and from around the docks as the show will cover issues surrounding topics such as Cerebral Palsy, Congenital Hip Dysplasia, Tetanus, Porphyria, and TB. Additionally, though not much has been disclosed, the series is also expected to continue from where it left off last time as the viewers got to see the ending. In the final episode of the 12th season, Trixie’s wedding is close at hand, and her friends save the day when she learns that Matthew’s mother has sold the family tiara she planned to wear.
As sister Julienne is surprised to learn that Nancy has applied for another job, partly out of concern that Nonnatus House will close. Phyllis is upset when Nancy is offered the new job but delighted to learn that Matthew has bought Nonnatus House and that the future of the convent is safe. On the way to the wedding, Dr. Turner and Shelagh witness one of their patients being killed in a car crash but are able to deliver her baby alive. Sister Monica Joan rallies to attend the wedding.
Call the Midwife Season 13 Potential Spoilers: What has been revealed?
The show writer and creator Heidi Thomas teased the quote, “The stories we tell are like babies — they never stop coming, we love them all, and we vow to do our best by every single one.” That’s not all, as right now, we know that Trixie and Matthew are married, so it remains to be seen what’s next for them. Their future journey together has been hinted at, as Helen George told RadioTimes.com:
“I think they should get a dog.” Further adding, “I really think we need a dog as a lead character in the show, and we had a lovely one with Judy [Parfitt]. I think some sort of Labrador puppy coming into the show would be a really lovely arrival because we have a lot of babies on the show. I’m not sure we need another one. But that’s for Heidi and everybody else to decide.”
In addition to this, Olly Rix also added: “They’re pretty focused on the world outside of their home. And thus far, we’ve pretty much seen them in that context, we haven’t really seen them in their home. So it might be that the story doesn’t go there. It might be that they continue to look outwards and towards the community, and they raise Jonty and have a dog and get more involved in Popular.”
Call the Midwife Season 13 Cast: Who will reprise their roles?
The Midwives who are expected to return include the following:
Judy Parfitt as Sister Monica Joan, Jenny Agutter as Sister Julienne, Laura Main as Shelagh Turner, Helen George as Trixie Aylward, Cliff Parisi as Fred Buckle, Stephen McGann as Dr. Turner, Linda Bassett as Nurse Crane, Megan Cusack as Nancy Corrigan, Annabelle Apsion as Violet Buckle, Georgie Glen as Miss Higgins, Zephryn Taitte as Cyril Robinson, Olly Rix as Matthew Aylward, Rebecca Gethings as Sister Veronica, Daniel Laurie as Reggie Jackson, Max Macmillan as Timothy Turner, Alice Brown as Angela Turner, Francesca Fullilove as Colette Corrigan, April Rae Hoang as May Tang and Edward Shaw as Teddy Turner.
Moreover, Heidi Thomas OBE, creator and writer, says:
“After so many years, our much loved regular characters are like family to me – and our wonderful fans so often tell me that they feel the same. I know they will be as thrilled as I am that Series 13 of Call the Midwife is full of beautiful moments that celebrate the young, the old, and the precious ties that bind them. After Trixie’s spectacular wedding, the Nonnatus House community feels more tightly knit than ever, but life in Poplar has never been a fairy tale. As 1969 unfolds we will see change and challenge the world of our beloved nuns, nurses, medics, and midwives. Newcomers Joyce and Rosalind arrive with much to learn, and much to give. And yet even as the man prepares to walk on the moon, we see them grappling with life’s eternal questions. Who are we? What is love? And where do we belong?”
While this is some exciting updates, there are some cast members who are reportedly not returning, including Lucille Robinson (Leonie Elliott), who won’t return after it was revealed at the conclusion of season 12 that the character will be residing in Jamaica with her mother and sister. As in episode two of the last season, Lucille departed Poplar due to mental health issues. However, Sister Hilda (Fenella Woolgar), and Sister Frances (Ella Bruccoleri) also won’t be making an appearance. If you recall, The Call the Midwife 2022 Christmas Special left both characters out, and it is assumed that they will not be making a comeback.
We’ll just have to wait and see what the future holds for these beloved characters and how their arcs will be addressed in the upcoming episodes, or whether they will be left out for the audience to speculate on or not be mentioned at all, which will be kind of disappointing. The fans will certainly miss them! Despite all the uncertainty about some characters’ official return to the show, we also have some great casting updates as the 13th season will now feature two new student midwives and roommates, Joyce Highland and Rosalind Clifford. Renee Bailey will play Joyce Highland, a Trinidadian pupil midwife described as “hardworking, fiercely bright, and deeply kind.”
View this post on Instagram
But as is often the case with any new arrival at Nonnatus House, Joyce is hiding a secret traumatic past of her own. Natalie Quarry will star as fellow pupil Rosalind Clifford in Call the Midwife. Rosalind is described as “naive at times but with an inner steeliness.” Her demeanor could very well come in handy as season 13 will pick up in 1969 when the midwives have to face maternity bed pressures, deadly diseases, and further personal turmoil.
While speaking to Radio Times magazine, the series creator and writer Heidi Thomas said:
“Newcomers Joyce and Rosalind arrive with much to learn. As 1969 unfolds, we’ll see change and challenge rock the world of our beloved nuns, nurses, medics, and midwives.” Also adds, “Even as the man prepares to walk on the Moon, we see them grappling with life’s eternal questions. Who are we? What is love? And where do we belong?”
“They’re a wonderful addition to the show,” adds executive producer Dame Pippa Harris. “I can’t wait for the audience to meet Joyce and Rosalind and to follow their journeys, by bicycle, through the streets and lives of Poplar’s residents.”
Further adding, “We’re so excited to be back for our thirteenth series, with all the treasured Nonnatus team returning – and also to welcome Renee and Natalie to the cast. They’re a wonderful addition to the show and I can’t wait for the audience to meet Joyce and Rosalind and to follow their journeys, by bicycle, through the streets and lives of Poplar’s residents. There’s so much in store for our audience this series, thanks to the perennial brilliance of Heidi Thomas, whose stories interweave joy, despair, love, history, and medicine with a gorgeously diverse array of newborn babies.”
View this post on Instagram
Call the Midwife Season 13 Episodes: How many will be there, and where to stream?
As mentioned above, the 13th series will comprise eight episodes that will premiere next year, along with a Christmas special that will air sometime later this year. We anticipate that the new episodes will have a similar average runtime of approx 60 to 90 minutes. Furthermore, we would like to emphasize that the official episode titles and synopsis have not been released in order to avoid early spoilers! Apart from BBC One and BBC iPlayer, you can also watch Call the Midwife on Netflix. Viewers can stream the show by renting or purchasing it on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Google Play, and Vudu.
The series is also available for free on Pluto, your local PBS television station, or with the PBS app, with a variety of membership plans that the viewers can choose from as per their preference. In addition to this, for the intervention viewers, BBC Worldwide has sold the program to SVT (Sweden); NRK (Norway); RÚV (Iceland); Yle (Finland); AXN White (Spain; Portugal); ERT (Greece); ABC in Australia and TVNZ 1 in New Zealand. That’s not all! They have also sold the global Video on Demand rights of the program to Netflix, while all episodes are also on BBC iPlayer in the UK.
View this post on Instagram
Call the Midwife Season 13 Frequently Asked Questions
Is Call the Midwife renewed for more seasons?
Yes! Earlier this year, in February 2023, the BBC announced that the network had commissioned two more series of nine episodes (including Christmas Specials) where the story is moving into 1971, and it will be expanded further by keeping the show on air until 2026, which is quite exciting!
Is there any teaser or trailer for Call the Midwife Season 13?
As the filming of the new episodes is still ongoing, there is no way that the network can release a new teaser trailer. So, right now, nothing related to the promotional stuff has been published, which is completely understandable. For the time being, we urge the readers to check out the official trailer of Call the Midwife Season 12 to recap the events that have transpired so far:
In Season 12 – set in 1968 – change is in the air. Enoch Powell’s infamous “Rivers of Blood” speech criticizing immigration creates serious tension in Poplar, especially when a group of dockers march in support of Powell – distressing Cyril (Zephryn Taitte) and Lucille (Leonie Elliott) in particular. The midwives welcome a new nun, Sister Veronica (Rebecca Gethings), who is an instant hit with everyone – except Nurse Crane (Linda Bassett).
Meanwhile, the bond between Trixie (Helen George) and Matthew (Olly Rix) only strengthens following their engagement, while Nurse Crane helps Nancy (Megan Cusack) with her financial woes. Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) enjoys helping out the district, Shelagh (Laura Main) and Dr. Turner (Stephen McGann) split their time between the busy maternity home and their lively young family, and Reggie (Daniel Laurie) continues to bring joy into the lives of Violet (Annabelle Apsion) and Fred (Cliff Parisi).
While you wait for the official premiere, stay tuned to Web News Observer for more information on Call the Midwife Season 13 in the coming months.