Big Changes Coming to ‘Call the Midwife’ Season 14

More drama awaits in the 1970s Poplar when Call the Midwife returns with Season 14 later this month on PBS in the U.S. As you would expect, the installment features pretty strong storylines, which series star Jenny Agutter recently noted, praising creator Heidi Thomas, particularly for Episode 1, which involves a teen pregnancy. Agutter, who has portrayed Sister Julienne, the Sister-in-charge at Nonnatus House, since the very beginning of the period drama, dropped even more captivating details about the season while chatting with TV Insider, teasing major changes to come in Poplar.

Season 14 of Call the Midwife “is a conclusion” to all the loose strings from the 2024 special and is centered on “poverty and all the social issues that come out of it, the abuse that might happen, the difficulties.” While the 60s in Poplar had “a lot of growth and optimism,” Agutter explains that the new era is not so positive, saying,

“It also shows the beginnings of what one’s feeling in 1970, which [are] the problems that come out of expecting more from [what] might’ve been offered and what actually is on offer. We have strikes, people unhappy about what they’ve got. As far as Julienne’s concerned, the [Board of Health] really want Nonnatus House out of the game, so their sense of control there is being diminished. But they serve the community, and oftentimes when you hand over to state to take care of everything, it doesn’t actually take care of all those things.”

Racism & Homelessness Are Prevalent in ‘Call the Midwife’ Season 14

With poverty at the forefront of Call the Midwife Season 14, we also have homelessness and racism. As Agutter teases, an “extremely good” Trinidadian nurse of whom Sister Julienne is very proud joins the midwives and is later falsely accused of being negligent. Agutter says “it purely comes because she doesn’t like being touched by this person.” Another issue in store at Nonnatus House is “spina bifida,” with the actress adding, “the difficulties that sometimes come with we’re getting less home births, more births in the hospital, and then people being dismissed from hospital early and not being followed up.”

There’s even more! An explosion later this season of Call the Midwife is coming up as “there haven’t been enough checks on the building” with the state managing housing regulations. Fortunately, there are no deaths or injuries, but Agutter points out that “it’s a sign of something falling apart, going wrong.” Moreover, things will become very difficult at Nonnatus House as the midwives are being “monitored all the time,” making them unable to “run things efficiently in [their] own way.” Nevertheless, Sister Julienne will spend much of Season 14 figuring out how to keep Nonnatus House going, continuing the good work.

Call the Midwife Season 14 premieres on PBS on March 30. Stay tuned to Collider for further information.