In Praise of British TV

 RHYS BOWEN:

One of the things I’m enjoying in England is British TV. It’s not as good as it used to be IMHO. Too many game shows, home improvement shows etc. But it still does the classic mystery awfully well.  Back home in the US I find that I watch an awful lot of it. Our local PBS has great nature, travel shows that originated in UK as well as all the fabulous mysteries… Father Brown, Sister Boniface etc. 

I’ve also become addicted to Britbox. I’m so chuffed that they now send Jungle Reds their new mystery series to preview. They now have original content, like the Murder in Provence series that I loved. (John didn’t. It upset him that French people were speaking in various English accents. I pointed out that you couldn’t have a whole mystery with people speaking in fake French, rather like Poirot: I ‘ave brought you ‘ere to name zee murderer…)

I love the GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW (I think it’s Netflix, right?). It was one of my staples during the pandemic when anything I watched had to be heart-warming. I also love to re-watch old British comedies and especially Miranda. She is hilarious. Any other fans out there?

And when I’m stressed one of those calm and lovely travel programs like Penelope Keith visiting her favorite English villages, or Prunella Scales on a canal boat. And of course all the history shows, like Lucy Worsley talking about the Tudors.  I’m so lucky that many of them show up on PBS eventually. 

So are you a fan of British TV? What are your favorites?

LUCY BURDETTE: We had Britbox for a while so we could watch Shetland and Vera, and the other Ann Cleeves show about Matthew Venn. Then Shetland was finished, and John got sick of Vera…so we’ve let it lapse. This isn’t British, but we both loved DEAR EDWARD (after the first traumatic episode.) Have you seen it? I’m sad that there won’t be a second season. We’re now watching THE DIPLOMATS, which has gotten very silly. I think we’ll finish it anyway. John is anxious for us to move on to the new season of HAPPY VALLEY.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, I adore LINE OF DUTY. We watched every single one of the millions of episodes, devoured them, and didn’t I hear there's a new season to come? One of the best shows I’ve ever  seen.  We watched THE DIPLOMATS (wait, that’s not British, right?), and it’s fun and ridiculous, (even though I kept thinking Kerri Russell looks like a too-disheveled version of Lisa Gardner, and I’m not fond of the guy who plays her husband) (I know, I’m the outlier) but we loved it.  Cannot wait for the next season. And to find out what happened! And what was the one–THE MAN, THE WIFE AND THE CANOE? Or something like that? That was bizarrely entertaining.

HALLIE EPHRON: I still watch Poirot but I  confess to getting tired of all the storylines that involve helpless young women. Still Suchet is magnificent. And I loved Vera… and Scott and Bailey. And I’d love to rewatch Rumpole if it were on. I agree with Rhys that the shows aren’t as good as they once were. 

JENN McKINLAY: BIG fan! Hub and I used to live for Inspector Lewis, DCI Banks, and Broadchurch. We then rolled onto Flea Bag (soooo good) and Slow Horses (fantastic), so, yes, we’re definitely British TV watchers. I’m the GBBO watcher, whereas Hub is not. I do love that there are more British shows on all of the streaming services. Yay! 

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Brit Box is on my list of services to sign up for - now Netflix is crashing down on sharing with family, I’m likely to start doing that thing where you sign up for a month or two to see your favorite show in entirety and then cancel and hop elsewhere. Meanwhile, as Jenn said, there’s a lot of great British TV on other platforms. I loved the chilling YEARS AND YEARS (HBO), a dystopian near-future look at what might be described as the ultimate Brexit, and THE NIGHT MANAGER (Amazon Prime) which is a) based on a John LeCarre novels and b) has the most amazing cast. Amazon also has quite a few of the BBC “A Christie for Christmas” productions from the past decade. 

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I am so behind on all my British shows! But I adored watching the Chelsea Flower Show on Britbox, and our latest stress-free treat has been Junior Bake Off, the kids version of GBBO on Netflix. The kids are so freaking cute, and they can bake things I'd never even attempt. Also, I keep waiting to see if Season 6 of The Great Pottery Throw Down will air in the US on HBO, but no sign of it yet. It's amazing how riveting a pottery competition can be.

When I am actually in the UK, I watch a lot of things that are never available in the US, like 24 Hours in the A&E and the police reality shows. Research!

RHYS: Who else is a fan of British TV? New shows to recommend?