Yorkshire veterinarian James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) has a new assistant to help him through lambing season: his 4-year-old son, Jimmy (Thomas Riches, above, with Ralph). And it’s not the only change in store in the tenderhearted Masterpiece drama’s sixth season, which premieres on PBS on Sunday, January 11: There’s a nearly four-year time jump, from Christmas 1941 to May 1945, as World War II comes to an end in Europe.
It’s a surprise for a series that tends to move at a beautifully leisurely pace. Until now, All Creatures Great and Small seasons have taken place in successive years, beginning in 1937, but, says executive producer Melissa Gallant, “if we were to continue the story chronologically for another four years, we could have ended up having a show in which we played more seasons in the war than out of it. The war has given us really rich, wonderful stories, but it’s time for a new chapter.”
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