They got rid of Sidney in Grantchester because they wanted to bring new life to the show and Sidney’s storyline was coming to an end.
Grantchester adds an interesting element to the typical British crime mystery genre by being about a priest who also investigates mysteries in his town.
It was even more shocking when fans of the show found out that the series would be getting rid of this priest, and the main character of the show, Sidney Chambers, at the end of its fourth season.
Why do people still watch Grantchester?
Grantchester is a mystery television series set in an English village in the 1950s and it follows the series of short stories depicted by James Runcie in The Grantchester Mysteries. However, this show is not your average run-of-the-mill mystery drama.
When this series first started airing in 2014, viewers saw familiar scenes that you might expect from a mystery drama show that is set in 1950s Britain.
However, what fans did not expect to find was that the main character in the show, Sidney Chambers, an Anglican priest, spends his free time investigating and solving various mysteries, with the help of Inspector “Geordie” Keating, throughout the show.
The intrigue and on-going conflict as Sidney tries to balance both aspects of his life is what encourages fans to keep watching Grantchester.
Why did they get rid of Sidney on Grantchester?
Since Sidney Chambers is so central to the Grantchester narrative, many fans of the show were shocked and conflicted when they found out that Sidney would be leaving the show for good after its fourth season.
Up to this point, when his character left the show, the main storyline had been closely following Sidney and the mysteries that he investigates, as well as his endearing friendship with Inspector Geordie Keating, his various romantic involvements, and his struggles with his own sense of duty and faith.
Although it came as a shock to many Grantchester fans that such a central character would be leaving the show at the end of its fourth season, which aired in 2019, the actor who plays Sidney Chambers on screen, James Norton, has assured fans that this was the best choice to breathe a new energy and life into the show for its following seasons.
Sidney’s departure from Grantchester comes at a somewhat pivotal point for the character in the show, as he and his girlfriend, Amanda, have chosen to break up and Sidney has finally chosen the church as his priority moving forward.
Within the wider storyline of the show, the reason why Sidney leaves is to go and spread God’s word throughout America.
However, in terms of marketability, this has been an excellent opportunity for the show to change course and introduce viewers to the personal struggles and growths of a new character in the shape of Reverend Will Davenport.
What is the point of them getting rid of Sidney on Grantchester?
At the end of the third season and the beginning of the fourth season of Grantchester, there is a clear shift in Sidney’s story arc.
In the fourth season, Sidney struggled with love and faith, as he did in the previous seasons. Once most of these issues were resolved, there was a crucial decision that had to be made.
The Grantchester creators decided that it was better to get rid of Sidney in season four, instead of trying to build a new story arc for the character.
This is why Sidney left the series to continue his work and why the show is focusing on a new main character from its fifth season.
The point of this is to ensure that the show has a fresh and new plotline that fans can watch unfold on their screens.
Who is replacing Sidney in Grantchester?
The new character, who is introduced in season four as a replacement for Sidney, is Reverend Will Davenport.
Will is named as the vicar after Sidney’s departure and he initially wants nothing to do with the investigative work that Sidney conducted outside of his official duties.
However, Will has his own personal struggles to overcome and he eventually also gets pulled into the new mysteries, which provides the show with a new and refreshing perspective on the same format that viewers are used to seeing in the show.
How has the show changed after Sidney left?
Although Sidney is still sorely missed by many Grantchester viewers, the show has been very successful after the fourth season.
Since this change in 2019, the show has had a sixth season and the final episode of the seventh season aired in April of 2022. Furthermore, Grantchester has already been renewed for its eighth season.