For the last 15 years, I always knew where I could have a good, old-fashioned cry — sitting in the basement watching “Call the Midwife,” the long-running PBS show about a group of nurse-midwives in London’s East End.

I always tear up when a baby is born — and at least one or two are every episode — plus I’m a sucker for a show that begins and ends with a voice-over, as “Call the Midwife” does.

But the show is more than the sum of those parts. It tackles big subjects — birth, death, faith, place — with humor and skill. It has depth and a rare human touch.

Although the franchise isn’t ending, just taking a break and reassembling, it certainly felt like the end of an era last night when, as we have so often, my tissues and I settled down for our favorite show.

(Photo courtesy PBS.)