Richard Armitage Leads New Crime Thriller ‘Winter’ for PBS & ITV — Filming Starts Soon

Richard Armitage, widely recognized for his recent role in Netflix’s Fool Me Once, is set to star alongside Annabel Scholey (Rivals, The Salisbury Poisonings) in a new crime procedural titled Winter. The upcoming series is a major collaboration between PBS Masterpiece and ITV, adapted from the long-running and highly popular French crime drama Balthazar.

The series centers on Ethan Winter, played by Armitage, a brilliant and unconventional forensic pathologist whose extraordinary powers of deduction make him indispensable to complex murder investigations. His partner, DI Lauren Bell, portrayed by Scholey, is a determined, pragmatic detective who heads the murder squad. Together, they form a tense yet dynamic investigative duo capable of solving cases others cannot.

But beneath Winter’s confident exterior lies a devastating personal secret — the unsolved murder of someone he deeply loved, a trauma that drives him with obsessive intensity and threatens to pull him into dangerous moral territory.

A Major International Co-Production

Winter is the latest transatlantic collaboration between ITV and PBS, joining previous hits such as Downton Abbey, Grantchester, and Professor T. The project is produced by Eagle Eye, the ITV Studios-owned production company known for adapting European hits for English-speaking audiences, including The Couple Next Door and Professor T.

Filming is scheduled to begin early in 2026, taking place in Bristol, UK and Belgium, with funding support from the Belgian Tax Shelter program. ITV Studios will distribute the series internationally.

Series creator David Allison (The Couple Next Door) has penned the adaptation alongside Mark Greig (Ashes to Ashes). Directors Dries Vos (The Couple Next Door, Professor T) and Kaat Beels (The Twelve) will lead production, while Matt Baker (Professor T) serves as producer. Executive producers include Jo McGrath and Walter Iuzzolino, representing Eagle Eye.

Industry Leaders Highlight Series Ambition

Masterpiece head of scripted content and executive producer Susanne Simpson praised the drama’s depth and tone:

“Ethan Winter is a compelling character treading the line between diligent professional and reckless maverick. He has a painful secret and a fatalistic self-destruct button over which his finger constantly hovers.”

Simpson added that the ambition of the writing aims to refresh and challenge the crime procedural genre, blending gripping casework with psychological storytelling.

Fans of character-driven detective dramas and dark forensic thrillers are already expressing excitement online, noting the strong creative team and Armitage’s proven skill in complex roles.

As anticipation builds, Winter is expected to become one of the most talked-about crime dramas of 2026, appealing to international audiences across streaming and broadcast platforms.