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UK (And Europe) TV SERIES THREAD: Britbox, Acorn TV, PBS Masterpiece


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Posted (edited)

I grew up watching a few of the classics like Benny Hill and Are You Being Served. Now thanks to streaming and some recommendations here from @Brothahorn and in real life when I meet tourists from the UK I have watched a pretty good amount of shows. I know some of y’all can add to this list so please feel free to do so. 
 

Apps to use: Britbox, Acorn and PBS Masterpiece will get you the good stuff. Some shows might be on Prime as well.
 

Shows: 

Line of Duty: AcornTV For my money it is the best show I have watched. Adrian Dunbar and Martin Compston are great working in AC-12 together. “Letter of the Law” from Dunbar’s character will get stuck in your head. I cannot get enough of this show. If you only watch one show let it be this one.

Endeavour (PBS Masterpiece)/Inspector Morse/Inspector Lewis(Britbox)

Best series of shows on here. Just absolutely, positively superb. Endeavour just finished their final season. Bittersweet to know it is done. Will eventually watch all three series again.

Vera: They are coming back for another season which will be the 13th. Fairly incredible considering Brenda Blethyn, the character playing Vera, also films a comedy series and is just short of 80. This is an awesome, must-see show.

Shetland: Britbox. Highly underrated, but another must-see set in the Shetland Islands. One of the actors is actually from there. Douglas Henshall’s main character is just perfect for the show.

Bloodlands: AcornTV. Three seasons. You will hate one of the main characters and might hate-watch the show because of them. I know I did.

The Bay: This is a pretty good show. Combo of police work and home lives.

Midsomer Murders: AcornTV @Brothahorn recs this show and that’s enough for me.

Death in Paradise: Britbox

Beyond Paradise: Britbox

London Kills: AcornTV

Madame Blanc Mysteries: AcornTV

Darby and Joan: AcornTV

One Lane Bridge: AcornTV

Manhunt: AcornTV

Vienna Blood: PBS Masterpiece 

Astrid: PBS Masterpiece. French show with subtitles. Based around a main character that is autistic.

Miss Scarlet and the Duke: PBS Masterpiece. Very nice show based in the Victorian Period. Female private detective trying to prove she belongs.

Tin Star: This show goes hard in the paint. Highly recommend. 

The Mallorca Files: Britbox

McDonald and Dodds: Britbox

Murder in Provence: Britbox

Bancroft: Britbox

Traces: Britbox

Fortitude: This show is great. Stanley Tucci is in it.

Prime Suspect (Starring Helen Mirren)

New Tricks

Luther: Britbox

Happy Valley: AcornTV

Broadchurch: PBS Masterpiece 

The Chelsea Detective: AcornTV

Silent Witness: Britbox

Murdoch Mysteries: AcornTV

Unforgotten: PBS Masterpiece 

Foyle’s War: AcornTV

I am leaving out so many amazing shows, but this is a good starting point. Please feel free to add to this list. I will keep updating new shows y’all recommend on this post.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by UpperWestside
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  • UpperWestside changed the title to UK (And Europe) TV SERIES THREAD: Britbox, Acorn TV, PBS Masterpiece

I didn’t put a brief synopsis of each show because the message was long enough. I enjoyed all of them though. Some are done and others are still putting out new seasons. Some are serious and others are more comedic like The Mallorca Files with a German detective. 

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Shetland is awesome. The scenery is so good it's stupid. I need to go through my britbox history and see if there's anything you missed,  but you hit pretty much everything. 

New tricks is great. Especially the first few seasons before most of the original cast was gone. 

 

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Old Comedies that are raunchy and funny  

Inbetweeners - still on prime  

Ideal - pot dealer with colorful visitors and emphasis on dark for the comedy part  

Spaced. Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost. 

Fresh Meat - on prime. 6-7 uni students sharing a flat. Same creators as peep show. 

Coupling - on prime. Concepts such as porn buddies, captain subtext, Dick Darlington.  
 

 

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The Detectorists.

I can't recommend this show highly enough. One of my favorite shows ever.  It's sweet, charming, light and funny.  The cast is outstanding and the story doesn't drag. 

It's a dopamine hit for me.

 

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Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, dogbreath said:

 

Fresh Meat - on prime. 6-7 uni students sharing a flat. Same creators as peep show.

 

 

Which is also the same creator as Succession, Jesse Armstrong.

I'm also a fan of British comedy/panel shows.

Taskmaster - 5 comedians compete in random tasks, and it's the best thing ever. The season with James Acaster is my favorite.

Would I Lie to You - Simple panel show but David Mitchell and Lee Mack are the wittiest people on earth.

That Mitchell and Webb Look - British sketch comedy show from 15 years ago or so.

https://youtu.be/nZ3eJnRJPXY?si=Ow1nC_j_GKFSLwwp

Edited by fellside
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18 hours ago, henrygandorf said:

it would also be helpful to attach networks to some of these.

i just did a roku search for line of duty and it's on hulu, amazon, and britbox.

I will try and go through the shows listed and attach the streaming app. I am just going to find them based on the three apps I use since they are all just for shows from the UK, Europe or a few Oceania-based shows. 

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I started watching Midsomer during the covid lockdown. It's on ovation every afternoon. They stretch two one and half hour episodes into five hours with commercials. 

I've seen Lewis and Morse and am on season two of Endeavour. 

I've also seen the full run of Doc Martin. The Cornwall coast speaks to my pasty British heritage. 

One thing I've noticed is seeing the same actors over all the different series. It really reminds you how small GB is - they have like sixty actors they recycle again and again. 

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Posted (edited)

Two shows that aren't dark and/or about murders...

The Lost King (a shortish film released in the UK in 2022) new on Acorn is good and uplifting. A woman with a job in marketing quits because she wants to learn more about King Richard III. What she learns changes the public understanding of history.

800 Words is a New Zealand tv series (3 seasons)  about a Sydney newspaper columnist who, after the unexpected death of his wife, impulsively moves with his teenage kids to a remote beach town in New Zealand. Gorgeous scenery. Not overly soapy or dramatic imo. All 3 seasons are on acorn, 2 are on roku and peacock.

edit - also I resisted watching Foyle's War for awhile but once I got around to it, it was remarkable.

Not certain it hasn't already been mentioned but an excellent British cold case detective show that's on Prime is Unforgettable (edit - goddammit UNFORGOTTEN). 4 seasons. Season 5 was shown in the UK this year so should be on US streaming soon. It may be on PBS Masterpiece first.

Edited by Chopper
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One Foot in the Grave - Richard Wilson as Victor Meldrew, a curmudgeon's curmudgeon. He's what I imagine what most of surly will turn into in their old age. 

And I'll always have a laugh at Keeping Up Appearances. 

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I will second:

Endeavor. Good stories with with 60s and 70s nostalgia thrown in. Spot on.

Unforgotten. Complex weave of cold cases and more complex than you average detective shows.

Line of Duty.  Modern set with corruption thread weaving through all seasons.

White Chappell. Cheesieier than the above, but shorter. Easy to watch and good characters and sets. Good material too, would not be surprised at a reboot.

All on Prime.

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On 8/27/2023 at 8:49 PM, Post Oak said:

The Detectorists.

I can't recommend this show highly enough. One of my favorite shows ever.  It's sweet, charming, light and funny.  The cast is outstanding and the story doesn't drag. 

It's a dopamine hit for me.

 

Those detectorists are some interesting people.

I ran into one on PINS after a fishing tournament down there when we were headed off the beach. He was was way down about the 48 mm.

We stopped to check out his 15' bamboo surf rods that je deployed.

The old man had a Spanish real on a necklace. Said he had found three from the 1550 wrecks at the 58, 59, and 60.

According to Texas law, detecting is not even allowed on PINS, but if you do find something, you are supposed to turn it iver to the state antiquities board.

Old man did not give a fuck and was terminal with cancer. Stopped for about an hour and gave him some beer. Tons of stories...and apparently Mel Fisher is a wanker.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Every now and then we watch an episode of Above Suspicion as well as Prime Suspect, both on Britbox. Above Suspicion stars a young, smokin' hot and sultry Kelly Reilly (Beth Dutton from Ystone) as a newbie Detective Investigator partial to tight fitting skirts that extend just above the knee. Prime Suspect stars a younger Helen Mirren as a DCI trying to take charge of an investigatory unit where she has to battle both the criminals and the old boys network. As tv police dramas, Prime Suspect holds up better; extremely well, in fact. But both are highly entertaining.

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