'Call the Midwife' Season 12 Filming Already Underway

Call The Midwife Season 11 has only just finished airing here in the states, but across the pond, Neal Street Productions already has the team back, hard at work for Season 12. There's a lot to celebrate with that news, including a first look at the first upcoming episode of this new batch, the show's yearly Christmas special. Filming April means PBS fans will have to go back to the traditional one cycle-per-year format after a banner edition of Seasons 10 and 11 airing back-to-back in fall and spring for the 2021-2022 television season. It's also a sign that we have normality in at least one series.

Things are so back to normal that Helen George, who plays Trixie, revealed that this is the first season since the pandemic hit that the COVID protocols are being relaxed. Not that they'll disappear entirely, crew members are still masking, etc. But for, the actors no longer have to functionally social distance on set while trying to make it look natural for the cameras. Speaking of Helen George, the actress is back for the new season after taking off halfway through Season 11 to look after her godmother, who had taken ill in Italy. In reality, George was off for a far more on brand reason — she went on maternity leave after a spot of real-life birthing.

This year, actors Jenny Agutter, who plays Sister Julienne, and Linda Bassett, who plays Nurse Crane, did the honors of posing for the traditional clapperboard shot that kicks off the season. As the show has done every year since it became a hit, a new season's filming starts with the Christmas Special, followed by an eight-episode regular season.