All Creatures Great and Small: What Is It About & How Many Seasons Are There?

Writer James Herriot is still very popular in the UK and many other countries around the world. His books are on the reading list for British teenagers and are sure to be found in every home. And, of course, his works have been filmed more than once.

All Creatures Great and Small Had a Number of Adaptations

In 1975, just a few years after publication, the feature film All Creatures Great and Small, starring Anthony Hopkins as Siegfried Farnon, was released, followed in 1976 by its sequel, It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet, with a new cast.

From 1978 to 1990, the BBC1 series All Creatures Great and Small ran for seven seasons, and in 2011 a miniseries Young James Herriot was released about the author's youth, based on documents from his personal archives and the archives of the Glasgow Veterinary College.

All Creatures Great Is a Calm and Comforting Show

In 2018, Channel 5 and PBS commissioned a new series based on the same work by the author. If you've read Herriot's books, you probably know what to expect.

A leisurely, everyday story about pre-war Britain, the country folk and their habits, their pets and, of course, various cases from the veterinary practice of James Herriot and his teacher and colleague Donald Sinclair, who is introduced in the books as Siegfried Farnon.

James Herriot, who began his veterinary studies when horses were still the main driving force of industry and were actively used in the army, graduated at a time when their numbers in Britain had plummeted, giving way to tractors and trucks in the fields and on the roads.

The country was left with a huge surplus of qualified vets with nothing to do. The episodes in the series show how attitudes towards animals and veterinary medicine in general were changing before the war.

All Creatures Great and Small Has a Superb Cast

All Creatures Great and Small has a brilliant cast: everyone from the little-known Nicholas Ralph in the main role to the experienced Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter films) and Diana Rigg (Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones) are spot-on and perfect in their roles.

And, of course, there's the show's silent cast of horses, cows, donkeys, sheep, dogs, cats, parrots and all the other creatures great and small that vet James Herriot encounters in Yorkshire.

Where to Stream All Creatures Great and Small?

Currently, All Creatures Great and Small is available to watch on PBS.