Pauline
Forums Admin
There are some great TV shows made in the United Kingdom, and others from Europe that are shown on UK channels.
If you are living outside of the United Kingdom, you can still watch British TV via your computer by using a VPN - Virtual Private Network. This is software that lets you log in to the internet through portals in other countries. Most "on demand" TV on the internet is restricted to people in the same country (e.g. you have to be in the UK to watch BBC iPlayer). Using the VPN, you make it look like you are in the UK. Read more about this on my blog.
Online on demand options are available for BBC (BBC iPlayer) and some of the commercial channels - Channel 4, ITV. Sky is our paid TV, like HBO in the US, and is not available online to non-subscribers.
Some of these programs come to the US on PBS or BBC America, or on DVD.
I will keep a master list in this first post, but please post your suggestions in this thread.
2016
BBC Two - Line of Duty. Season 3 starts March 2016. A drama about the investigations of AC12, a controversial Police Anti-Corruption Unit.
BBC One - The Night Manager. March 2016. Drama series based on the John le Carré novel. A hotel night manager is recruited by a government agent to infiltrate the inner circle of a ruthless arms dealer.
BBC One - Happy Valley - series 2. Another season of this excellent police drama starts in February.
BBC One - Shetland - season 3. Another great season of this murder mystery series set in Scotland. Parts of this season are set in Glasgow.
BBC One - War and Peace this week. It is six parts. I liked it - beautiful costumes and scenery.
BBC One - And Then There Were None which was shown recently. A good interpretation of an Agatha Christie mystery.
BBC One - Sherlock - The Abominable Bride. Just one show, but great.
2015
ITV - Downton Abbey. The final season (thank goodness).
BBC One - Luther, series 4. A very good detective show set in London, starring Idris Elba (who was in the US show The Wire).
London Spy on BBC Two. It stars Ben Whishaw who is Q in the new James Bond films, and was very good in The Hour. It is a gay love story and a spy story.
Series 3 of The Bridge on BBC Four has started. The first two series were very good and this one is starting out well.
River on BBC was shown in the fall. It is available on Netflix in the US now. This was an excellent police drama.
Poldark on BBC One, starting in March, a remake of Poldark, a romantic saga set in 18th-century Cornwall and based on the novels of Winston Graham, filmed in the south Cotswolds at Chavenage House in Tetbury (the setting for the Poldark family's Cornish home, Trenwith).
Indian Summers on Channel 4 started in February. Drama set in the summer of 1932 when India wants independence but the British are still in power.
The Casual Vacancy, on BBC One, based on the J.K. Rowling novel. Starts Feb 15. Starts in April on HBO in the US.
Broadchurch Season 2 on ITV started Jan 5 2015.
Wolf Hall on BBC Two and Masterpiece Theater on PBS - started Jan 2015.
Adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Booker Prize-winning novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies. "The six-part serial will follow the meteoric rise of Cromwell in the Tudor court, from his lowly start as the son of a blacksmith to becoming King Henry VIII’s closest advisor." Damien Lewis plays Henry VIII.
Mapp and Lucia on BBC1 (3 episodes) is great! The series stars Miranda Richardson and Anna Chancellor and is a "1930s comedy drama based on EF Benson's novels, about the rivalry between two women in a quaint village." It makes fun of village life, is well acted and very, very funny.
2014
The Missing on BBC One was a good series about a British child going missing when the family is on holiday in France. Most of it is set in France.
The Fall on BBC Two had two seasons this year, both were following the same story. Gillian Anderson played the lead police detective. Set in Belfast in Northern Ireland. This was an excellent show.
The Honourable Woman on BBC Two starring American actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. It is very slow moving (very slow!) but has built up to be a very complex story. Current too - about relations between Israel and Palestine.
The Trip to Italy on BBC Two - another "Trip" series from Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. In the first series they toured the restaurants of northern England. In this series they go to Italy!
Jamaica Inn on BBC One, from Daphne du Maurier's book (see post below - sound issues with episode 1).
Hinterland on BBC Four, a Welsh crime drama with half of it in spoken Welsh with subtitles! But I don't recommend it. See post below (story was not good).
Prey on ITV, a 3 part crime thriller starring John Simms (from Life on Mars).
Line of Duty on BBC Two - Season 2 is showing now. This is a fabulous police drama. Season 1 was very good, season 2 is even better.
Shetland on BBC One - Season 2 starts Tuesday March 11. Detective series based on the Shetland books by Ann Cleeves. Very good and great Shetlands scenery.
Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death on SKY is not quality TV but is funny and has great Cotswold scenes. Agatha is the hot-shot London business woman who sells her business and moves to the Cotswolds. Filmed on the southern outskirts of the Cotswolds, in Biddestone, Wiltshire, near Castle Combe.
Happy Valley on BBC One - Season one was very good (6 episodes), set in Yorkshire, a dark mystery with great characters. There will be a second season.
2013 AND EARLIER
The Tunnel on Sky is the British/French version of the Danish drama, The Bridge.
Death Comes to Pemberly on BBC One was very good. Based on the PD James novel, it continues the Pride and Prejudice story with Darcy and Elizabeth happily married, when a murder happens (and gets solved).
Sherlock on BBC One, a modern Sherlock Holmes starring Benedict Cumberbatch, is big hit here and in the US.
Downton Abbey on ITV is at the point now where I think they are making it for the American audience. The first season was good, but now it seems to me like a period soap opera.
Doc Martin on ITV recommended by Kathy is in its fourth season.
Call the Midwife on BBC One recommended by Kathy is in its third season.
THE SCANDI DRAMAS
(Also listed in the Other Countries forums, since these are set in Scandinavia.) The Killing was the first Scandinavian drama that Brits became obsessed with, but more have come our way.
BBC Four - Follow the Money. Started March 2016. Danish crime thriller series set in the world of economic crime.
Trapped on BBC Four. Detective murder mystery set in northern Iceland in the winter. Snow! Very good.
The Killing on BBC Four had 3 very good seasons. This is a detective murder mystery set in Denmark. It was very good and was a big hit here.
The Bridge on BBC Four is a joint Swedish/Danish production, with English subtitles. There have been two seasons, and season 3 started in 2015. This was my favorite of the Scandi Dramas.
Borgen on BBC Four is from Denmark and sounds boring but was not. A very good political drama. The main character is the female leader of Denmark. There were 3 seasons and it is finished now.
The Legacy on Sky. A new Scandi Drama showed in the UK in 2014. There have been two seasons of this. Very good.
OLD FAVORITES
Upstairs, Downstairs. A British television drama series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975.
KEEPING THIS LIST UP TO DATE
I have missed many shows I think, but will add them as I think of them or as people suggest them.
If you are living outside of the United Kingdom, you can still watch British TV via your computer by using a VPN - Virtual Private Network. This is software that lets you log in to the internet through portals in other countries. Most "on demand" TV on the internet is restricted to people in the same country (e.g. you have to be in the UK to watch BBC iPlayer). Using the VPN, you make it look like you are in the UK. Read more about this on my blog.
Online on demand options are available for BBC (BBC iPlayer) and some of the commercial channels - Channel 4, ITV. Sky is our paid TV, like HBO in the US, and is not available online to non-subscribers.
Some of these programs come to the US on PBS or BBC America, or on DVD.
I will keep a master list in this first post, but please post your suggestions in this thread.
2016
BBC Two - Line of Duty. Season 3 starts March 2016. A drama about the investigations of AC12, a controversial Police Anti-Corruption Unit.
BBC One - The Night Manager. March 2016. Drama series based on the John le Carré novel. A hotel night manager is recruited by a government agent to infiltrate the inner circle of a ruthless arms dealer.
BBC One - Happy Valley - series 2. Another season of this excellent police drama starts in February.
BBC One - Shetland - season 3. Another great season of this murder mystery series set in Scotland. Parts of this season are set in Glasgow.
BBC One - War and Peace this week. It is six parts. I liked it - beautiful costumes and scenery.
BBC One - And Then There Were None which was shown recently. A good interpretation of an Agatha Christie mystery.
BBC One - Sherlock - The Abominable Bride. Just one show, but great.
2015
ITV - Downton Abbey. The final season (thank goodness).
BBC One - Luther, series 4. A very good detective show set in London, starring Idris Elba (who was in the US show The Wire).
London Spy on BBC Two. It stars Ben Whishaw who is Q in the new James Bond films, and was very good in The Hour. It is a gay love story and a spy story.
Series 3 of The Bridge on BBC Four has started. The first two series were very good and this one is starting out well.
River on BBC was shown in the fall. It is available on Netflix in the US now. This was an excellent police drama.
Poldark on BBC One, starting in March, a remake of Poldark, a romantic saga set in 18th-century Cornwall and based on the novels of Winston Graham, filmed in the south Cotswolds at Chavenage House in Tetbury (the setting for the Poldark family's Cornish home, Trenwith).
Indian Summers on Channel 4 started in February. Drama set in the summer of 1932 when India wants independence but the British are still in power.
The Casual Vacancy, on BBC One, based on the J.K. Rowling novel. Starts Feb 15. Starts in April on HBO in the US.
Broadchurch Season 2 on ITV started Jan 5 2015.
Wolf Hall on BBC Two and Masterpiece Theater on PBS - started Jan 2015.
Adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Booker Prize-winning novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies. "The six-part serial will follow the meteoric rise of Cromwell in the Tudor court, from his lowly start as the son of a blacksmith to becoming King Henry VIII’s closest advisor." Damien Lewis plays Henry VIII.
Mapp and Lucia on BBC1 (3 episodes) is great! The series stars Miranda Richardson and Anna Chancellor and is a "1930s comedy drama based on EF Benson's novels, about the rivalry between two women in a quaint village." It makes fun of village life, is well acted and very, very funny.
2014
The Missing on BBC One was a good series about a British child going missing when the family is on holiday in France. Most of it is set in France.
The Fall on BBC Two had two seasons this year, both were following the same story. Gillian Anderson played the lead police detective. Set in Belfast in Northern Ireland. This was an excellent show.
The Honourable Woman on BBC Two starring American actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. It is very slow moving (very slow!) but has built up to be a very complex story. Current too - about relations between Israel and Palestine.
The Trip to Italy on BBC Two - another "Trip" series from Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. In the first series they toured the restaurants of northern England. In this series they go to Italy!
Jamaica Inn on BBC One, from Daphne du Maurier's book (see post below - sound issues with episode 1).
Hinterland on BBC Four, a Welsh crime drama with half of it in spoken Welsh with subtitles! But I don't recommend it. See post below (story was not good).
Prey on ITV, a 3 part crime thriller starring John Simms (from Life on Mars).
Line of Duty on BBC Two - Season 2 is showing now. This is a fabulous police drama. Season 1 was very good, season 2 is even better.
Shetland on BBC One - Season 2 starts Tuesday March 11. Detective series based on the Shetland books by Ann Cleeves. Very good and great Shetlands scenery.
Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death on SKY is not quality TV but is funny and has great Cotswold scenes. Agatha is the hot-shot London business woman who sells her business and moves to the Cotswolds. Filmed on the southern outskirts of the Cotswolds, in Biddestone, Wiltshire, near Castle Combe.
Happy Valley on BBC One - Season one was very good (6 episodes), set in Yorkshire, a dark mystery with great characters. There will be a second season.
2013 AND EARLIER
The Tunnel on Sky is the British/French version of the Danish drama, The Bridge.
Death Comes to Pemberly on BBC One was very good. Based on the PD James novel, it continues the Pride and Prejudice story with Darcy and Elizabeth happily married, when a murder happens (and gets solved).
Sherlock on BBC One, a modern Sherlock Holmes starring Benedict Cumberbatch, is big hit here and in the US.
Downton Abbey on ITV is at the point now where I think they are making it for the American audience. The first season was good, but now it seems to me like a period soap opera.
Doc Martin on ITV recommended by Kathy is in its fourth season.
Call the Midwife on BBC One recommended by Kathy is in its third season.
THE SCANDI DRAMAS
(Also listed in the Other Countries forums, since these are set in Scandinavia.) The Killing was the first Scandinavian drama that Brits became obsessed with, but more have come our way.
BBC Four - Follow the Money. Started March 2016. Danish crime thriller series set in the world of economic crime.
Trapped on BBC Four. Detective murder mystery set in northern Iceland in the winter. Snow! Very good.
The Killing on BBC Four had 3 very good seasons. This is a detective murder mystery set in Denmark. It was very good and was a big hit here.
The Bridge on BBC Four is a joint Swedish/Danish production, with English subtitles. There have been two seasons, and season 3 started in 2015. This was my favorite of the Scandi Dramas.
Borgen on BBC Four is from Denmark and sounds boring but was not. A very good political drama. The main character is the female leader of Denmark. There were 3 seasons and it is finished now.
The Legacy on Sky. A new Scandi Drama showed in the UK in 2014. There have been two seasons of this. Very good.
OLD FAVORITES
Upstairs, Downstairs. A British television drama series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975.
KEEPING THIS LIST UP TO DATE
I have missed many shows I think, but will add them as I think of them or as people suggest them.
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