Midsomer Murder fans have raged at ITV for only airing the premiere episode of series 23, before pulling the programme off the schedule to make way for higher-profile shows.
The long-running show returned on Sunday night, with a new shocking murder for DCI John Barnaby and DS Jamie Winter to solve.
But viewers were left disappointed to discover that the rest of the episodes were not scheduled to air next week.
The 8pm to 10pm slot it usually airs in is instead being occupied by Britain’s Got Talent from 7.40-9pm, while the new and highly-anticipated thriller Red Eye will make its debut at 9pm.
Fans took to social media to question why Midsomer Murders was not on and ask when they could hope to see the rest of the series.
Midsomer Murder fans have raged at ITV for only airing the premiere episode of series 23, before pulling the programme off the schedule to make way for higher-profile shows
The long-running show returned on Sunday night, with a new shocking murder for DCI John Barnaby and DS Jamie Winter to solve
But viewers were left disappointed to discover that the next episodes was not scheduled to air next week, as the slot is being occupied by Britain’s Got Talent and new thriller Red Eye (pictured)
Several explained that ITV use the show as ‘filler’ between the end and beginning of bigger shows, and it is rarely aired over consecutive weeks.
This caused many to rage that they would have to wait even longer to see the full season, declaring it was ‘frustrating’ and ‘not acceptable’.
They fumed: ‘So apparently this is another random schedule filler, and its not on next week…FFS @itv @itvx This is not acceptable.; ITV doing their random episode then another one god knows when….’
‘#MidsomerMurders what on earth? S23 has 1 ep, then we have to wait for the next which is WHEN? S 23 & 24 have already aired (8 episodes), not sure where but not on ITV. So disappointing!; 2025 for the next one now probably’.
‘Absolutely fuming. And even more upset that we will probably have to wait until next year for the rest; Yup, no MM next week, using it again as a random filler. Its so frustrating.’
‘I was hoping @ITV was actually going to show us #MidsomerMurders fans some respect and air the whole series continuously; Yeah @ITV @itvpresscentre as much as I’m looking forward to #RedEye I would much rather have a whole series of #MidsomerMurders first’.
‘God forbid @itv show a whole series at once!; ‘It’s obvious @itv don’t give a fudge about #midsomermurders now and are just using it as a constant random filler for all their other promoted shows. Makes you wonder if they will bother making it for much longer.’
Fans’ anger was exacerbated by the fact that Midsomer Murders is currently on its 24th series, and has already aired the two most recent series across the globe, before in the UK, despite the show being British and set in England.
Fans took to social media to question why Midsomer Murders was not on, as several explained that ITV use the show as ‘filler’ between the end and beginning of bigger shows, and it is rarely aired over consecutive weeks
This caused many to rage that they would have to wait even longer to see the full season, declaring it was ‘frustrating’ and ‘not acceptable’
One tweeted: ‘It’s a UK show made for a UK audience (and on UK television for many years) but the station airing don’t care less about UK fans. Two years or more we’ve waited for this episode while every other country has seen it.’
There is currently no information as to when the rest of the episodes of series 23 will air on ITV.
Meanwhile, the premiere episode also attracted some negative reaction from viewers for being ‘far-fetched’ and ‘bonkers’.
The plot revolved around the discovery of the body of a local GP in a sprawling underground bunker.
At the root of the murder was a cover-up, following the escape of a pandemic virus from a bio-research lab, deep in the English countryside.
On top of that, another bizarre death saw another survivalist go for a walk in the woods and die after triggering a tripwire.
This caused a dinghy to self-inflate so rapidly that the bloke was bounced 20ft into the air and headfirst into a treetrunk.
Viewers took to social media to declare that the show was losing its touch and suggest it is ‘jumping the shark’.
Viewers took to social media to declare that the show was losing its touch and suggest it is ‘jumping the shark’
They tweeted: ‘What on earth have the writers of #midsomermurders been taking this week? Stories get more and more bizarre by each episode. Just keep it simple…; New episode of #MidsomerMurders was absolutely bonkers…’
‘Kudos to the actors delivering these lines with straight faces #MidsomerMurders this episode is jumping the shark big time; Even by #MidsomerMurders standards this bio-waste line is a bit far fetched’.
‘#midsomermurders Who writes this increasingly bizarre stuff? How can the actors keep straight faces?; possibly the worst #midsomermurders I’ve ever seen … and lets face it, it’s been dire for many seasons now.’
‘I remember when #Midsomermurders was good.; Time to knock #MidsomerMurders on the head with a Grand Finalé episode in which everyone dies by being bored to death watching the Grand Finalé of Midsomer Murders.
