Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama[1] that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on Caroline Graham's Chief Inspector Barnaby book series, originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz.
From the pilot episode on 23 March 1997 until 2 February 2011 the lead character, DCI Tom Barnaby, was portrayed by John Nettles OBE.
In February 2009 it was announced that Nettles had decided to leave Midsomer Murders after the conclusion of series 13 in July 2010. When his last episode "Fit for Murder" aired on 2 February 2011, Nettles had appeared in 81 episodes.[2][3]
Since 2011 the lead character has been DCI John Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon), who permanently joined the show following John Nettles' 2011 departure. He is the younger cousin of DCI Tom Barnaby. Like his cousin, John Barnaby works for Causton CID.
As of 23 July 2024, 135 episodes have aired on ITV over 23 series.