Picture Credit: BBC
If you’ve just finished bingeing Call the Midwife season 15 on Netflix, you are likely still recovering from that incredibly emotional finale. With major structural changes happening for the midwives and the tragic loss of a beloved fan-favorite character, the future of the show is looking quite different.
Call the Midwife has proven to be one of the most enduring period dramas in television history. But after an earth-shattering season 15 finale that saw Nonnatus House temporarily closed due to funding cuts and the heartbreaking death of Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) from end-stage renal failure, fans are clamoring to know: what comes next?
Here is everything we know so far about Call the Midwife season 16, the upcoming spin-offs, and when you can expect the franchise to return to Netflix.
Is Call the Midwife returning for season 16?
Yes! The good news is that the BBC and Neal Street Productions have officially confirmed that Call the Midwife has been renewed for a sixteenth series. However, viewers are in for a longer wait than usual.
Typically, a new season kicks off with a Christmas special followed by a run of episodes in January on the BBC, eventually making its way to Netflix US by September. But creator Heidi Thomas has confirmed that the show is breaking from its traditional release pattern to make room for some exciting expanded universe projects.
Speaking at the National Television Awards just this week (September 2026), where the show once again won the award for Returning Drama, Thomas gave a brief update on the flagship show’s status: “I don’t have any news on series 16 yet. I’ve been completely immersed in [the prequel] Sisters in Arms. There’s no immediate news we can share yet, but watch this space.”
Why the delay? Enter the Prequel and the Movie
Before season 16 graces our screens, the Call the Midwife universe is expanding in a major way.
First up is Sisters in Arms, a highly anticipated three-part prequel mini-series set during the London Blitz in World War II. Expected to take the place of the traditional 2026 Christmas special, this series will follow younger incarnations of cherished characters—Sisters Julienne, Evangelina, and the recently departed Monica Joan—as they navigate war-torn London alongside three brand new young midwives. Filming on that particular project wrapped in early August.
Following the prequel, the main cast will be reuniting for a Call the Midwife feature film. Set in 1972, the movie will take the midwives out of the East End and on an overseas medical mission. In the season 15 finale, Sister Julienne hinted at potential locations for this mission, mentioning the Gilbert and Ellice Islands, British Columbia, or a remote part of Australia.
Only after these two massive projects wrap will production pivot back to season 16.
When could Call the Midwife Season 16 release on Netflix?
Because of the packed production schedule for the prequel and the movie, the normal September Netflix release window is being thrown out the window.
Heidi Thomas has previously noted that a standard season takes about 14 months to produce. With filming currently focused on the prequel and the movie taking priority in 2027, it’s highly unlikely that season 16 will air on the BBC before late 2027 or early 2028.
For Netflix US viewers, that means we likely won’t see season 16 on the platform until at least late 2028. The streaming status of the Sisters in Arms prequel and the feature film remains unconfirmed, but we are keeping our fingers crossed that PBS and Netflix will secure the rights to bring them stateside.
What will season 16 be about?
When the main series eventually returns, the landscape of Poplar is going to look completely different. With Nonnatus House’s maternity operations suspended and the building pivoting to a “house of prayer and charity,” the midwives will be adjusting to a new era of 1970s healthcare.
Heidi Thomas has hinted that season 16 will explore these massive shifts in the NHS. “Series 16 will have a slightly different setting because of changes in the NHS,” Thomas recently teased. “It’ll still be in the East End of London, but possibly something like a small community hospital or a GP practice.”
As for the cast, while fans are still mourning the loss of Judy Parfitt’s Sister Monica Joan, the rest of the core cast—including newlyweds Cyril (Zephryn Taitte) and Rosalind (Natalie Quarry)—are expected to return after their overseas excursion in the feature film.
Are you willing to endure the long wait for season 16? Will you be tuning in for the WWII prequel? Let us know your thoughts on the future of Call the Midwife in the comments below!
