[Music] you we talked just now about the Colin Dexter Easter eggs you know they're known as in the industry where viewers are looking for these special clues about something and there is so many of those in Russell's work through Endeavor from series 1 to series 9 thank you for joining us for the magic of Masterpiece collection PBS books was thrilled to host a conversation about Masterpiece final season of endeavor with producer Charlotte Weber hear insights into the making of the ninth season and final season learn about the inner workings of cast and crew and the process of adapting these beloved books onto the screen enjoy want more PBS books check out our website for our calendar of programs reading lists and more find it all at PBS books.org [Music] hi I'm Heather Marie montia and you're watching PBS books thank you for joining us PBS books in collaboration with Masterpiece is thrilled to be here with producer of endeavor Charlotte Weber let's start again yeah sorry about that that's okay I'm Heather Marie montia and you're watching PBS books thank you for joining us PBS books in collaboration with Masterpiece is thrilled to be here with producer of endeavor Charlotte Weber discussing the much anticipated season finale of endeavor with characters from Colin Dexter's books Sean Evans as Endeavor and Roger Alam as THD return for the ninth season of the critically acclaimed detective drama Endeavor premiering Sunday June 18th at 900 PM Eastern Standard Time on Masterpiece mystery on PBS set in the early 1970s in Oxford the final season finds Endeavor moris and Fred Thursday entering a new era it is thrilling and emotional let's take a moment to watch the trailer life will divide us into winners and everyone else nothing stays buried forever we get to the bottom of it for those destined always to walk a pace behind to never have their moment in the sun thought things would just go on but then they [Music] don't well don't miss the the season premiere um but to get ready for the season finale you can go behind the scenes of endeavor with the allnew documentary Morris and the last Endeavor it's aring on June 11th at 900m Eastern Standard Time on Masterpiece you'll have an opportunity to look back at the nine seasons of the prequel and the history of the inspector Morris character in this really exciting new documentary well today we are so excited to get to talk to the producer of endeavor Charlotte Weber so let's meet her Charlotte joined the mammoth family as executive producer in December 2022 having worked with the teams and various gues since 2018 Charlotte's first role with Mammoth screen was script editing world on fire and she has since scripted The Pale Horse and produce the last season that we're discussing today of endeavor before working for Mammoth Charlotte worked for BBC drama London and script edited good Omens for Amazon Prime as part of her remit as executive producer Charlotte is Keen to develop a diverse slate of bold distinctive projects with a queer focus it is my pleasure to welcome Charlotte hi Hi how are you it is so great to see you thank you so much for being here and for making the time to talk to us about this amazing show that is in its ninth season and its finale oh my pleasure lovely to see you lovely to talk to you well I always like to to remember that although so many people have been such a fan there are some people who out there there who could be unfamiliar with the series hard to believe that they might be unfamiliar with the series Colin Dexter's books or even the TV shows um inspector Morris or Inspector Lewis can you summarize given all of those those things the premise of endeavor well Endeavor is the prequel to The M series the inspector M series that you mentioned there and it uh follows Endeavor Mor um from early 196 early 1960s to 1973 and Morse is a character who a detective Sergeant who has a very complicated but uh very gifted brain in untangling and solving crimes that his peers cannot that is certainly a great explanation and he is so gifted and so smart and um it it is it makes um makes every SE like it makes the whole series so incredible to watch and anyone who's missed it you can actually kshop at pbs.org um so as a producer can you share can you discuss your role in Endeavor how long were you involved in the running season and what did you get to do well in producing the series because I'd had a slightly different role on series seven and eight but in producing in series nine the producer on Endeavor is across everything so across the script development from very early on working with the writer Russell Lewis and um supporting him as he develops His Amazing Ideas he's a very very self-sufficient writer he certainly doesn't need a great deal of support support in terms of coming up with them these amazing plots and the twists and the turns and of course he knows the characters incredibly well but still there's an involvement for the producer in terms of the creative input of the script also in working out what we can do within the time and the money that we have cast availability all of those sorts of more practical considerations so that is going on very early and then into the prep stage it's much more about making sure we've got the right teams on board bringing on board Direct directors for each episode crewing them up so they have their Director of Photography their editors and then making sure that all the teams have what they need as we continue to develop those scripts while also directing them more towards the Practical considerations that I've just mentioned and then into the shoot it's about being there supporting the team making sure each scene um is telling the story that Russell intended supporting the director to achieve that ironing out last minut problems with costume maybe was stuck um having been ordered from overseas and and hasn't made it through customs or any issue that crops up on the day somebody's poorly or whatever you can think of the producer is there to try and iron out those things to try and find a solution um and to support the cast and the crew really and getting through you know Endeavor for for this series three episodes it's four and a half weeks per episode it's it's a really it's a it's quite a slog and it's just making sure that the producer is alongside the team for the entire time they're supported looked after but also at the heart that that creative aim is always being looked to and adhered to and and trying to deliver on what we've set out to do really that's amazing so you spent about 14 weeks it sounds like in Oxford is that it all of these take place well no actually I'm delighted that you say that because it means we've done okay there um we actually shoot in and around hartfordshire um near well our base is at Kings Langley which I'm sure you know not sure many of your audience will have been to Kings Langley maybe they have it's a much smaller place and much nearer London and we have a base there we shoot the police station there and almost all of our exteriors are done in and around Kings Langley hartfordshire area north of London um but then we go to Oxford for three or four days per block and that's where we get big shots of you know the white and Oxford Endeavor on the street uh Thursday um and and everybody else where we see them out and about um but yeah um Thursday's house is in a studio in Kings Langley so it's a mixture it's a real mix and let me just ask do you close the streets and just shoot on the streets in there is that how that works how do how does it work well in a dream we would close the street and shoot um what nor normally happens is because of the period element of endeavor we can't just quickly grab a few shots and think right we'll go down this street albe It Oxford hasn't changed completely in the time uh since uh the 70s there are a lot of original features of course you've got all the beautiful architecture and and Oxford University is there and there is a lot that remains but of course we need to dress it so that it doesn't show the various satellite cables and dishes and all of those things that we might in a modern building uh double glazing all that sort of thing so we don't close the streets completely but we would either shoot very very very early in the morning before everyone starts we would try to um I can't remember what the phrase is now but there is a phrase about closing off the street for like like three minutes and then we open it back up for modern traffic to come through and then we go back to closing it getting our period Vehicles back onto the car cobblestones so it is actually a collaboration with the people and the tourists of Oxford where we let everybody know we're filming we plead with them please do not cross while we're trying to film and very very fortunately they're very very supportive of us in Oxford and everybody aders to that and stands by waiting for us to finish our shot that is that's wonderful thank you for sharing that I don't think I I really thought about it and because it is such a period piece these amazing cars and um yeah no that's I I hadn't really thought about how that how that worked and really what a challenge it must have been to get so to get the whole the whole thing to fit together so thank you um Colin Dexter did not write detective novels about the younger Endeavor Morris um I've read he he was heavily involved with the series through um writer Creator Russell Lewis and even made Cameo appearances in episodes until his death at 86 in 2017 I was wondering if you had the opportunity to meet Colin Dexter and if not is there a story that comes to mind about about about Colin Dexter well very sadly Colin and my time didn't cross on Endeavor um I began on the show in 2019 I think it must be and um as you say poor Colin had left us by that time what I do know is that Colin was as you say a big fan of the show and that is demonstrated in his cameos and his visits to set I think he was incredibly proud of the show and he didn't write you're right about young M um but he was incredibly supportive of Damen Timmer the head of Mammoth screen and Russell Lewis the writer their vision for for endeavor and the series and you know he had input he got to know sha Evans I believe he was instrumental in choosing um who was going to play in deor and was really very very fond of Shan they were great friends um and so what we've done since Colin's death because I think I must have come into the series just after then um after he died as we obviously couldn't have him for a cameo what we would do we'd have him pop up and fans of the show will know this um because they look out for every episode now where we've done a tribute to Colin so there was one one which I can tell you because it was from series 8 I won't tell you the ones from series 9 because they that's the fun the fans look for them but in series 8 for example we used in the one of the scenes where Thursday was watching football results we used we made an an um uh anagram sorry of Colin's favorite football team and made sure that was amongst the football results and of course eagley viewers super fans were able to spot that similarly we've had pictures of him I think it was a mug shot at one point um but pictures of him appear on on desks of victims or sometimes even the murderer's home or something like that where we've got a picture of him in a newspaper or some something like that so we've always got Colin with us and he's part of the show even now I love that um and I and I like the the ability for everyone out there as they watch season 9 to look for the picture of Colin makes even more fun than it already is even more of a puzzle than yeah for sure right yeah um I I heard that there was an interesting clause in Dexter's will about actors who were allowed to portray Endeavor Morse can you share about that because I was surprised by that yeah I mean I don't know I don't know the specifics of Collins will and they were incredibly friendly they got to know each other very well and he was incredibly pleased with Shan's performance and felt that he absolutely uh did a beautiful performance as MOS and also I know that Colin had because of the inspector M series that came before and Lewis but particularly John th MOS naturally there'd be a lot of interest in who was going to play Endeavor and that I know for certain that was a very big conversation that Colin was involved in but I don't know if um what exactly that that is stipulated in the will or if it isn't okay it's sometimes hard to know what is what is truth when one reads an article online and what is false which is why I thought I would ask absolutely of course of course fake news is out there even for endeavor absolutely Russell Lewis has written the full series as you discussed of endeavor all nine Seasons 36 screen plays quite the feat I must say um do you know where he finds his inspiration his ideas to to develop these plots that are it's car these these stories are carefully woven and they're very disturbing you know it's reading like lots of True Crime is a newspaper I mean sometimes truth is scarier than Fiction how does he come upon this and you know if you have any tidbits of of how he does it that would be wonderful to hear well I worked with Russell um on Series 7 in in the script Department I was the script editor so I've been very very fortunate to have that um experience of being in the room with him when he is coming up with these sort of elements now I'm not sure that it's true crime more than other things what I do know is that there is no TV show book play radio drama that I've ever mentioned to Russell that he hasn't been able to discuss with me in detail and that is Testament to him and his immersion in culture he seems to have this sort of brain that he watches something he reads something and he takes in everything and that goes for crime stories um that shows in in another recent series that he's done an extraordinary crime story that he brought to life but it's also it's it's the crime as you say and those disturbing often um and very complicated because of morse's brain to unpick all of these complicated things you know Russell has to come up with those and I honestly think I don't know this and and Russell certainly would not say this about himself he's incredibly modest but I do believe it is his ability to take in the works of a writer so it isn't just you'll pick up a book by somebody he'll read the whole thing he'll read their back catalog same as music everything he takes it all in and Tiny bits of each of these things seem to come together in his brain and he's able to pull on them and you we talked just now about the Colin Dexter Easter eggs you know they're known as in the industry where viewers are looking for these special clues about something and there is so many of those in Russell's work through Endeavor from series one to series 9 there is some in series 9 now that I still wouldn't be able to tell you about because some would be before my lifetime there will be cultural references that I don't remember or I'm not aware of and I'll think oh in this scene I've spotted five things that I know Russell has dropped in from something he's read or from a a story that came out in 1973 the same year as this series is set and I'll be so pleased with myself that I've managed to you know crack that scene because I found there's five and then you know I'll talk to a fan or I'll talk to a colleague here at Mammoth screen and they'll say oh did you see these and it'll be three I didn't even see in that scene so it's so rich and it's so brilliant and it all comes I think from his ability to really absorb everything that he takes in and and it comes out in these beautiful stories and the richness and texture of um of the of the time in which it's set well on that on that note and kind of a well as a producer how do you stay on your toes what type of research do you do I mean I'm I'm thinking if if you remember the 70s you probably don't remember much of the 70s um you know not to be too specific but like how do you know I mean I've always you know how do you how do you know what's right and do you do a lot of research how do you stay up on the you know what you're looking for and what's authentic well you know what I would love to say that I've done so much research on the 60s and 70s during Endeavor during my time working on Endeavor but actually Russell's scripts are so detailed that yes there is a lot of research involved as a producer you try and absorb you know what Russ is is going for and what he's included but actually he his scripts are like a guide you know they're like an a to zed of the year in which he's basing that this particular series on so for example in series eight um the series before this one where I was co-producing um that series there was um it was based on a we were in a football environment so Russell had put references in the script to one of the footballers who we focused on who had done some advertising and was you know a bit of a model and so we were able to just go look on the internet and sure enough 10 footballers from that year who had had modeling contract and so you could then follow the ads that they were or the brands that they were advertising also their fashion the Music Choice the houses they lived in but he puts that into the script you know he'll say reminiscent of sounds like this looks like that and in every single line the references are there you're never in any doubt he'll say you know some somebody will walk in in the style of so and so from this particular film and you look up the film and of course the film was released the very month that we are now setting in Endeavor in so that is his gift really that he doesn't send a script over and we're all sort of scrabbling around trying to find oh does he mean this does he mean that no you know because he's made it very clear and he really um sort of creates that feel and and it's just so very immersive and so so evocative of that time like you said I don't remember the 70s unfortunately because it was wonderful and so much of the Endeavor world is is just fantastic and the fashion but actually it it feels evocative of the time um just going through those scripts and that goes for the music the fashion but also the politics of the time you know during that episode that I mentioned there was also a postal strike and sure enough there was a postal strike at that time and so it's everything tied in together perfectly that's incredible and I will say I I really wondered that as I as I was watching all of the various years I was like I wonder if this so it's also a bit historic in in its own way which is really fun um what word or words would you say best defines the themes that we will see in the final season of endeavor well I would hope that people will agree that any word that we use to describe these last three episodes could be words that describe any episode of any previous series of endeavor because we want to be as true to Endeavor and the series in finishing it off as we can you know we didn't want it to be a departure we wanted it to be more of a coming home almost for ende so I think love would be the first one because of everything that he's been through and loss would be the second again because of everything he's been through and I think the final one which is really really hard because I want to honor his um his intellect I suppose but it would be poetry love loss and poetry would be my my three words if I could be so bold that's we'll have to come back to those in in a few minutes um okay so what can we expect what can we expect in this season for endeavor Morrison and Fred Thursday both professionally and personally what are some of the things that you can reveal without spoilers that we can expect to see well I think you can expect to see them both challenged more so than ever before I think of course we say that with every series because that's what we want for our characters we want to see them push to the edge but I really do think we've tried hard to really see what these characters can withhold and they are both of them push to their limit professionally and personally um we will see I think a lot of answers a lot of um I suppose truth I think both of them get truth M some they may not want others they may Embrace But ultimately we see a challenge for both of them and you know it's that age- old thing we talk about what a character wants and what a character needs and I think they both possibly lose out on what they want but they certainly get what they need well I want to remind everyone who's just joining us I'm Heather Marie montio you you are watching PBS books and it is my pleasure to be here with producer of endeavor Charlotte Weber back to the conversation okay so this is not a surprise to those of you who are Endeavor fans often Endeavor is very cerebral it can be dark and it is often a jigsaw of not one Sol one mystery to solve but multiple Mysteries to solve um and they all have to come together and who's able to to of them you've already said it but I'm really interested from The Insider Lookout how you think um inav Morris's brain works right like it's intriguing how he can just say oh that's this or oh that's that how do you think it works well actually I mean Russell would not have this um I don't think but I think this is true I think like Russell actually there is a an ability to connect and see pictures that other people cannot you know the gift of endeavor the reason why he's an exceptional detective is that he can look at a case and pull out patterns and pictures that his colleagues who are wonderful people very clever you know very able and determined but they don't have that intellect and that real Clarity of finding patterns and seeing things you know there have been times where he's deciphered Latin there have been times where he's deciphered I think it was oh God I can't remember if it was code or oh my goodness I'm going to forget this now but um you know it was to do with Naval practice and how they communicate at Sea and he was able to detect those signals and decipher them and it's things that other people are not looking for I think some of you know and and I'm sure this is true of of lots of um police officers and teams and indeed teams everywhere we're all different right we've all got our strengths but uh Endeavor is somebody who can look at something and look beyond the linear explanation and is willing to you know delve into the art into other cultural references and find actually and you know his one of his favorite pastimes is doing crosswood puzzles and I think that really plays into the larger workings of his brain which is he's always looking for the something that other people would miss and it's interesting because the one thing he always seems to miss the mark on is romantic relationships um and so why do you think this is and will we see more of this this struggle with romantic relationships in season 9 will he get over vieta what what if you're allowed to reveal anything can we expect well I don't think it's a spoiler to say that endeavor m is not prone to Happy Endings necessarily and and finds it very very hard to make you know I've just talked about connecting patterns and connection and I think actually human connection he finds quite difficult and there have been many lost loves along the way and continues to be so whether or not that will play out in this final series is for everybody to discover but what I will say is I think part of the character that Colin Dexter created and and Russell continued with is that that intellect we talked about is a defense and it means that he his work is his life he is always looking to save to rescue to solve to be that hero and it comes at a cost it comes at a personal cost and it comes at a cost to those who he loves and who he wants to be close to but just isn't able to and that is really the I suppose tragedy of the character but it is also why he's so relatable and so yeah absolutely you know it's it's it's that balance or imbalance possibly for sure for sure tragically for sure um throughout the series there there are often things that just they're out of the control they're beyond the control of Morris and Thursday and in fact often Thursday is the one saying no Morris it is what it is you have to accept it and Morris is like but it's not right right yeah yeah yeah police corruption though is certainly something ongoing in throughout the whole series from the simple things going missing at a crime scene to the more complex a case being locked closed for 50 years yeah why do you think that these themes are explored frequently throughout this series and will we see more of this well without getting too political um I think there is a good reason and it is a sad reason for why these themes come up in Endeavor throughout the series and come up in a number of of uh police dramas you know across the world UK America and everywhere in between and that is because it still exists and how lovely it would be to look back at Endeavor and 1973 series and say oh how Antiquated and how oldfashioned and how terrible it was in 1973 that there was police corruption you know police and author beyond the police force but we know this that actually it still exists certainly in the UK we've got headlines at the moment and certainly in the last six months to a year we've had incredible headlines where the police are at the center of corruption stories um allegations and so naturally we um explore those sorts of themes it's like any theme within the police force that you see in police drama different types of murders different victims you know serial killers all those awful things that we explore through drama are things that terribly sadly go on in real life and police corruption and Beyond in government and elsewhere is no different and painful as it is that is seems to be even today what is happening and so I think it's natural that we through drama tell those stories we do see some exploration of that further in series 9 and I hope some closure on it not all but some if only we could have the same in real life right yes for sure so not to be political but also the the US is a very different space so I've read that handguns and assault rifles are completely banned in Britain and only a small percentage of British police officers carry guns now maybe that has happened post 1973 but you know it's very very interesting because guns appear quite frequently in Endeavor and I was surprised when I was watching the series over the over the various um seasons and so I was wondering why that was made has a policy changed in Britain or that okay yeah so you're absolutely right um policy and gun crime laws in this country we're incredibly fortunate in the UK you're absolutely right no one is allowed to carry a gun unlicensed in this country and you know even those with licenses they have to be locked in a box and the box has to be nailed to the wall and they will be Firearms officers who inspect routinely and you issued another certificate and all of those you know people would say bureaucratic um requirements but they're essential uh to keep us all safe have all come in after a terrible terrible incident in this country which happened in a in a children's I think it was a nursery or a school in in a a small town called D Blain and it is is absolutely renowned you know we all remember if we were if you were born before then everybody knows D Blain and what happened there and it was a terrible terrible thing and after that the entire laws around um armed um police and indeed more so civilians was changed totally so it went from still not free and easy with um Firearms but certainly a much I'm sure that before that absolutely um Firearms were more easy to come by than they were after that incident um so even though it isn't a place even in 1973 it wasn't common place it certainly wasn't as stringent as it is now now I think partly why we in Endeavor and in other shows we see guns used partly it's drama um you know it it raised is the stakes and it brings in that element it plays into the the darker element of endeavor where we see you know um that sort of hidden belly of Oxford if you like um and someone like Thursday who had a military background he had served in London previously before um in central London before he'd gone to Oxford and so there is a much sort of harder Edge I don't know how familiar your viewers will be with the cray twins but it was you know a big gangster scene in East London here in London where you know gun crime was for them commonplace Not Unusual um but for um now absolutely you're right it's totally totally different thank you for that explanation um because I had no idea and I've I've learned a lot and I'm sure I can understand I can understand You' find that surprising for sure it makes sense yeah well and it's interesting how things have changed too and and just it's it's interesting to hear about the different policies and how things change over time so thank you for that um something else as as as we think about drama and what makes um well while the guns certainly create drama something else that have a a very dramatic effect in all of endeavor throughout the the many um the 30 is it 36 episodes are the it's really music right music it's it's striking it's Incorporated throughout Endeavor um even even the theme song um whether it's the focus of an episode or the background music classical music often Opera plays as a really important critical role throughout the series can you discuss the selection of music who selects it how it becomes part of the show how you often have a lot of musicians too how do you find musicians like what is that process as someone who loves music and was very familiar with a lot of the music I heard um you know I would love to hear about it oh that's fantastic to hear it's lovely you know when fans hear favorites and I must confess I mean there is a song used in film 3 the FI the final episode of the entire series that I was really Keen to have I won't it because it reveals too much about the story as part of that but there was a song that I really felt was important to the story and we talked about it and it was a big discussion and it's a pop song from the 70s and so that's where my expertise if you like starts and ends with pop music um and I'm comfortable in suggesting those sorts of tracks in terms of Opera classical music that absolutely is not my lane and it PA comes first of all suggestion from Russell but he so barington Fong was the original composer he composed the M tune with the Pips at the beginning and all of that and he was responsible entirely for the composition and you know we all know it was voted one of the most loved TV themes ever and it's a huge cultural Touchstone in this country that piece of music and Matt Matthew Slater who was his prodige um took on the mantle and has composed her Endeavor since barrington's uh death sadly a few years ago not long after Colin in fact and Matt has stayed true to the legacies honored barrington's Legacy but he's also brought a beautiful freshness and you know something more of him to to the uh songs that we pieces of music that we record or Choose Or that he composes himself but Russell and Matthew are very close and so Russell will come up with an idea you know in series 7 they wrote an opera together so Russell came up with this idea to go to Venice we want to do the Opera and him and he and Matt together wrote this beautiful Opera and so that there's a real Synergy between them and a love for each other they are fantastic me know Matthew is a genius as barington was before him so that is a real element of the show that for me I just sit back I listen and I it washes over me and I love it but it's certainly not you know we in uh series nine now the viewers will see in episode one it's not a spoiler to reveal that endeavor goes to um an orchestra performance and when we were putting together those scenes I had to Matthew must have been absolutely Fed Up of me writing to him just for Clarity on how many musicians how many were playing the violin how many were playing this that and the other because I just it was a total new world for me and it was opened my eyes and I wouldn't like to take a test on it now because I'm not sure how much of that really sunk in but what I can tell you is that Matthew and Russell and the orchestra the London I think they're the London Metropolitan Orchestra but that's terrible if I've um renamed them now but they were actually created they were formed to perform the original mors theme and they've been together ever since and it is them who have um done the final recording for this they've done every recording for the whole series but also including this final recording as well well I will say that um if if that is not the right name we will put it in the chat and if it is we suggest that everyone actually clicks on the link that's just been put in the chat and learns more about that Orchestra obviously there are so many talented musicians uh that you will see in the in the first episode of season n and listen to the music throughout um yeah and just to I want to pay Testament actually as well the orchestra were phenomenal and also we had three or four cast members guest cast who also came and played and they were professional musicians as well and to see their talent to come with their acting skills and the music and do that on screen was Sensational and I think you know with that episode is all the greater for them well I can't wait to see it as I'm sure everyone out there as well and since I will say the music I mean when I when I think of endeavor it's it's the music it's beautiful cinematography throughout right and these shots and the music and the just how it's beautiful um and and you know it's so interesting to just hear how it's been put together just the care and the craft of putting it all together for us to be able to enjoy and we're so very appreciative well that is Russell and Matthew for sure take the credit they absolutely they did an absolutely beautiful job well I want to ask you because you kind of alluded to a little bit how some people they were musicians and they were maybe actors so I have read that sha Evans also directed and I was hoping you could share a little bit about that and then also share were there have there been other people who crossed from actors to directors or writers to write just kind of how that works because it's really intriguing the EB and flow of of that yeah I mean I'm I'm sure it's becoming more common maybe now possibly I think it is but actually um Endeavor is fantastic for this um in the sense that and this is actually due to Damen Timmer a lot as well and Mammoth screen in terms of role people who are doing roles becoming and playing different roles in and I don't mean acting on screen I mean for sha as you rightly say so sha is our lead does a beautiful job as Endeavor Mor and I think it was series five or six I think six it was Apollo all the fans will know well know that straight away and I should um his first episode that he directed was episode one of either Series 5 or series six Apollo beautiful and he then went on to direct episode one each time um of each series and he's done the same again in series nine and what's wonderful about Shan there's lots and lots of things but he is such a generous actor and he's such a generous director so he is incredibly supportive of the crew he's very very creative he obviously knows the character of endeavor Mor better than any of us and so he has done that beautifully he's crossed over and and it's not even a crossing over because he's still acting and he's directing as well so he's managed to play those two roles absolutely beautifully and has done a great job and I know the cast and crew you know there have been days where things are really tight and we need a couple of minutes extra and you know when it's Shan I know always the crew will say yeah we'll do it because he is so supportive and so brilliant and he knows what he wants he knows the show he knows what he's doing he's confident and he gets great results out of everybody so Sean absolutely has done an amazing job there but in terms of um people crossing over into other roles um behind the scenes you know that I'm very very fortunate to have had this opportunity I was script editor when I did Series 7 co-producer series8 and then produce series nine and my wonderful co-producer on series nine was a man called Joe shre who is now producing a series of Mammoth as well he was actually a runner on Endeavor many series ago I think it was Series 3 and eventually he worked his way and now he's he was co-produced from series 9 and we are not the only two there are a number of people who have done one role on the show and then gone on to do others and as I say that's Testament to um uh Damien John and James at Mammoth who take a chance they took a chance with me and and allowed me to produce the final series and I'm sure Joe would agree they took a chance to and and my goodness but with Joe it paid off because he did a fantastic job but it's still you know they take a risk and they encourage people to try a new role and and move up a little or or across a little if someone says well actually I work in the art department but I'm really really interested in costume you know they're supportive of that sort of thing so Endeavor is a really a big gift in that sense and um Shan is a wonderful example of when things can go really well and somebody can do more than one thing well you maybe kind of answered this question already because it I wanted to ask you if you had a favorite character and it sounds like your favorite person might be sha Evans Sean but I I can't choose how can I choose between sha and Roger it's impossible I love them I love all the cast equally that is the truth it's like your children right you can't pick one and I never would I love them all dearly is there anything you've struggled with as as a producer for season 9 and any regrets anything you think oh if I could just have you know had one more cut or one more edit like something you would have done differently well in terms of struggles because the team on Endeavor of come through long before me you know I joined in series seven and there were six series previously where everybody had come together and and done a beautiful job already the things I struggled with were far more personal because they were the the the crew is set up the team know what they do it's a Well o machine it's wonderful I think probably it was a learning curve for me and um what we did struggle with even on series n9ine was the covid-19 issue I'm sorry we've got this far before we mention it but of course here it is um and we were still when we started filming series 9 subject to very strict protocols um and indeed we had a couple of cast members come down with covid and we had to stand down and we had to change the schedule so the biggest struggle really was trying to make sure that we didn't lose days lose time lose money because of those unfortunate cases thankfully they wen't poorly they they they didn't have symptoms but of course they couldn't come to set so those were the struggles there were the things where we were trying to be reactive and responsive to solve those problems now in terms of regrets um and I'm not somebody who says oh I have no regrets because I think we all have regrets and it's not that I don't have regrets necessarily on this show but I think we all pull together and every single person on the team did everything they possibly could to make the show with love and I you know people will scoff at this but it's true we had a very loving team and a very collaborative team and and Damen and our exec producer who has now left Mammoth Helen zegler you know really gave us the opportunity to produce the show independently and do it and with their careful guidance but we were able to um you know put our own stamp on this series and and that was an enormous gift from them and from Russell too but I think it was not a regret but it's still you feel the legacy of the show on your shoulders a little bit that might be very Grand but you do feel like there has been a lot gone before and everyone has always made this show tremendous and mor is such a such a much loved character and Series in everybody's heart certainly in the UK and I know um in the US as well so you do feel have I done enough have we done enough um to make sure we honor the character all of the characters and the series as well and I really hope that we have well everyone will will get to see very soon and I and I do think they'll be pleased um I hope so thank you so do you have a favorite episode that you've worked done while you've been working on Endeavor well my favorite episode I can't help it but and we like we said we shouldn't have favorites but the favorite episode is episode two of this final um series and I want to say why but there's something I've just realized in my notes i' made a note thinking about it when I was um thinking about the series as a whole but I I shallan say exactly why because it gives away way a tiny thing which isn't a huge spoiler but it means a lot to me so I think I I'll wait to see what everybody thinks but in series two of this final series we see a world that is very entertaining it's a passion of mine and it's a world that we very rarely see on television and it's done there's a tiny bit of tongue and cheek and there's a real irreverence to it the really I think Russell Russell's writing really lends itself beautifully to that sort of style and humor and charm and so I was in love with the script from day one I thought the twist and turns in the story are just so satisfying it's a real challenge for endeavor in that episode um and also we I got to work with a director that I really admire Nepal Bogle um who is a phenomenally talented man and a just the loveliest human being and he and his um dop Adam they were a force to be reckoned with absolutely wonderful team and so that was a real special time for me and and I the result you know um I nearly gave away something there but I won't um the result really really made me very very proud and very happy of the whole team you know as your last question what is your biggest lesson learned from working on Endeavor the biggest lesson learned I think for me is to really let your colleagues and team do their jobs so what is so lucky um there is a um I don't remember his surname but I hope you'll forgive me a guy called Vince who worked with us um he was the gaffer up to series 8 and he he retired on series 8 and he had worked on some Bond movies back in the day he had done tons of Inspector Mor he done some Lewis and then he did series one to eight of endeavor and the lesson that I learned when I was um because it was my first time producing as well was why would I question what anyone is doing here when someone like Vince has been doing it forever and has been doing an amazing job forever and so it was really leaning into other people's strengths and thinking okay I'll come in when there's a problem and try and find someone who can help us deal with it but I'm going to sit back and I'm going to allow everybody to bring their ideas and their creativity and that can feel quite scary at the beginning because you feel like oh gosh you know Damien and Helen and Mammoth screen here they're going to be asking me what the answers are but it's actually I don't necessarily have to find those answers on my own there will be an expert on our team somewhere and the the strongest thing one a producer can do is trust the experts on their team and bring them into finding Solutions rather than trying to push from what would have been from me quite a naive good idea to solve the problem well I think that's an incredible lesson for life right to trust the people and lean into their strengths um I always like to hire people who compensate for my weaknesses absolutely and that's why I've got a massive team H I don't believe it this has been such a fun conversation I really appreciate you taking the time to be here and to share insights with everyone I know everyone is really looking forward to watching Endeavor season 9 The Final Season it is the end of an error but um we're excited to be able to embark on thata well we're really excited all of us uh for you all to see it and we hope that you enjoy it as much as we've we've loved being a part of it well I'm sure on this side of the pond we will love it just as much if not more thank you so much lovely to talk to you nice to talk to you as well and I just want to um thank all my library Partners out there more than 1,800 strong and PBS stations Across the Nation for sharing this important content with all of you but most importantly we' like to thank you for being here today A last reminder that endeavor season 9 premieres um on Sunday June 18th at 900m on Masterpiece on PBS but check your local listing until next time I'm Heather Marie montia and happy reading [Music] e [Music] [Applause] [Music]