Midsomer Murders returned after a three-month hiatus at the beginning of July but viewers of the popular ITV drama have been continuously let down, many claiming they want it to go back to how it was in the early days.
During the third instalment tonight, many avid fans took to their social media to slam the episode and claimed the ITV had turned it “woke”, airing their grievances on X.
The synopsis for the latest instalment reads: “An organic bakery in the newly restored Larkton’s Mill causes resentment in Lower Blissingham, with many of the old village businesses struggling, traffic has increased and rumours that owners Tom and Chrissie Larkton are planning to expand.
“The complaints are not taken too seriously until several people are dosed with a dangerous hallucinogenic, with Barnaby and Winter called in to investigate, and the situation escalates when a farmer is murdered.”
One X user complained: “WOKE City without a doubt…”
“WTF is going on?!” another asked before a third said: “What the hell am I watching? Midsomer Murders caught the Woke virus. @ITV Leave it alone you idiots.”
Midsomer Murders has been plagued with complaints from its viewers
ITV
A fourth noted: “Woke somer murders.”
This isn’t the first time that the series has been slammed, as eagle-eyed viewers recently noticed a major change to key characters.
Some couldn’t help but notice how much time – narratively – had passed between seasons 22 and 23, including the fact that Tom Barnaby’s (played by Neil Dudgeon) daughter Betty (Isabel Shaw) had grown a lot since she last appeared in the previous season.
One pointed out: “If ever I needed proof that there’s always such a gap between episodes of #MidsomerMurders, it’s seeing how Barnaby’s daughter has gone from literal toddler to schoolgirl in a matter of no episodes at all.”
Midsomer Murders fans have also claimed they want storylines like the early days of the series
ITV
Others were also left divided by the two-hour episode, with some labelling the plot “boring” and others comparing the show to its early days.
Dudgeon recently spoke out and claimed that he felt fans of the series deserved more consistency, and noted: “Some years ago, ITV decided to schedule single episodes, or just two episodes from a series, so that Midsomer could take on rival shows on the other side.
“I think this is a shame. For an audience with any programme, they like to know when their show is going to be on, say, for the next four weeks. But they stopped doing this some time ago.
“They started dotting them against whatever’s on the BBC, for instance. It’s been brilliant because we’ve kept our audience, and the audience is very loyal, and they love the show.
Neil Dudgeon also recently aired his own grievances with the series
ITV
“But it would be nice if it went out as a series again, but we’ve got two [new episodes] this time. I think that’s terrible. Because you put a new episode on, and people think, ‘Oh, a new series’.
“And then the following week you follow it with a repeat. People sit there and start watching and say, ‘Hang on. I’ve seen this before’.”