Masterpiece To Remake Classic European Series 'Van der Valk'

First Masterpiece brought back the 1970s-era period drama Poldark for the 21st century. Soon it will be reviving heartwarming family series All Creatures Great and Small for a modern audience. Now comes word that another classic series is returning to public television, albeit in a new form. PBS Masterpiece is officially a co-producer of a new version of the detective series Van der Valk, which initially ran for five seasons starting in 1972 and ending in 1992.

The title Van De Valk refers to Dutch detective Commissaris "Piet" (real name Simon) van der Valk, who was played by actor Barry Foster. The series ran for two seasons, six episodes apiece back to back in 1972-1973. It then disappeared for a few years before returning in 1977 with a 12-episode Season 3. The show then went on an extended hiatus, coming back in the early 1990s for two more rounds. The final seasons were more in the style of Endeavour, with four and then three episodes apiece, each running two hours. The early episodes are available for streaming on Amazon.

Technically the show was credited as being adapted from the novels of Nicolas Freeling, who created the character. But none of the series actually followed any of the mysteries from the books. Plus with huge gaps between seasons, the only throughline for the series was Foster. The character's French wife, for instance, Arlette Van der Valk, was played by three different actresses: Susan Travers in the first two seasons, Joanna Dunham in 1977, and Meg Davies in the 1990s. The same went for his boss, Hoofd-commissaris Samson, who was played by three different actors over the five seasons (Martin Wyldeck, Nigel Stock, and Ronald Hines).