'Professor T' Heads Back to School for Season 4 When Summer Ends

Ever since it debuted in July 2021, the U.K. adaptation of Professor T has bounced around the PBS schedule like a rubber ball. Season 2 of the series arrived in September 2023, and Season 3 in June 2024. Obviously, that could only mean that Season 4 would debut sometime in August 2025, since the month so obviously got skipped over, and while that sort of logic probably wouldn't hold up for one second under the scrutiny of Jasper Tempest (Ben Miller), PBS did us a solid anyway, scheduling the return of Professor T for Season 4 to align with the debuts of The Marlow Murder Club Season 2 and Unforgotten Season 6 the weekend before Labor Day 2025.

Much like last season, Professor T's renewal was already commissioned months ahead of time, and Season 5 is already greenlit. That's a record for the franchise, which has four other versions: the original Belgian series, and the German, French, and Czech spinoffs, all of which preceded the U.K. version. The French and Czech versions flopped, but the original ran three seasons (totalling 39 episodes) and the German variation four seasons (totalling 16 episodes). That makes this version of Professor T hitting Season 5 a record in a sense, now officially the longest running version. 

However, it's still only second in terms of episode count—Season 4 brings the U.K. version to 24 episodes, and Season 5 will bring the total to 30. The U.K. set version will have to reach Season 7 if it wants to be considered the most popular version of the lot. (Somehow, that doesn't seem like it will be a problem.)

Here is the synopsis for Season 4:

Set against the stunning backdrop of one of the most prestigious of educational institutions, Cambridge University, Professor T Season 4 returns six months after the shocking finale of Season 3, and the team must overcome their grief to tackle a dangerous crime wave. This time, the gloves are well and truly off for Professor T in his lectures and a new musical pursuit, romance is very much alive for his mother Adelaide Tempest, and the lines between professional and personal become blurred for therapist Helena Goldberg.

As for the returning cast, Ben Miller (Death in Paradise) will, of course, be back as the titular Jasper Tempest, along with Frances de la Tour (Enola Holmes) as Adelaide Tempest, Juliet Stevenson (The Long Call) as Dr. Helena Goldberg, Barney White (Masters of The Air) as the now-promoted DI Dan Winters, and Sunetra Sarker (Playing Nice) as DCI Maiya Goswami. Season 4 will also introduce Rhian Blundell (Torchwood) as DS Chloe Highsmith, filling the space left open by the exit of Emma Naomi (Bridgerton) as DS Lisa Donckers, who was killed off at the end of Season 3

Belgian helmers Joel Vanhoebrouck and Kaat Beels (Hotel Beau Séjour) split helming duties across Season 4's six episodes, with Stephen Brady returning to pen all episodes after taking over the series from original scribe Matt Baker in Season 3. Eagle Eye co-founders Jo McGrath and Iuzzolino return as executive producers. 

Professor T Season 4 debuts at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 24, 2025, ahead of the premieres of The Marlow Murder Club Season 2 at 9 p.m. and Unforgotten Season 6 at 10 p.m., on most PBS stations, the PBS app, and the PBS Masterpiece channel. All three series will air and stream weekly through the end of September. All six episodes of Professor T Season 4 will be available as a binge for members on PBS Passport on premiere day. As always, check your local streaming service/listings. Seasons 1 through 3 are available to stream on PBS Passport for members, along with all three seasons of the Belgian version.