Grantchester

Twice as long as a regular episode, the Christmas special of the British crime series lasts around 90 minutes and is set between seasons 2 and 3. Shortly before Christmas, Sidney Chambers (James Norton) is busy preparing for the festivities and the planned church nativity play. This suits him just fine, as it distracts him from his feelings for Amanda, who is heavily pregnant and staying with her aunt CeCe, separated from her husband. However, when a distraught bride reports that her groom has disappeared without a trace on the eve of the wedding, the signs finally point to trouble, or rather, murder. Sidney and Detective Geordie Keating discover the future husband's body in his company – brutally murdered with two wedding rings in his throat... While Sidney and Geordie investigate, Amanda, who has been disowned by her father, is threatened with homelessness until Vicar Leonard discreetly brings her to the rectory on Christmas Eve... "‘Christmas in Grantchester’ is a heartwarming crime drama that is nowhere near as dark as the previous season. The spirit of Christmas is celebrated here and hope is palpable everywhere. Although some moments border on kitsch, this line is not crossed. In other scenes, however, the period piece shows the pressure of social norms and the icy coldness with which they are enforced. Overall, “Christmas in Grantchester” is a successful episode that conveys a positive mood, partly due to the Christmas festival as the setting for the plot." (Thomas Heuer, on: mellowdramatix.de) ---- With Christmas just around the corner, Sidney has to prepare for the wedding of Linda Morgan and the much older Bill Davis. However, when the groom-to-be is found murdered in his company, the police initially assume it was a robbery. But the case is more complicated than it first appears. Meanwhile, Amanda, who has been rejected by her father, hopes for a future with Sidney.