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BRITISH TELEVISION                                                        Take Brit-TV poll at bottom of page!

PictureSmash hit "Downton Abbey"

British Television in America
British television is a godsend to the Anglophile.  Many shows that air on America's PBS--including many serial programs on Masterpiece Theater and Mystery!--are produced by the BBC.  Such television shows are a primary means by which Anglophiles learn about British culture.  Not all PBS stations air British programming, though most do.  And of those  that do, each station is free to air the specific programs they want--or, more accurately, to buy the ones they can afford.  British programming tends to be relatively expensive.  For the Anglophile, PBS can never carry too many Brit shows!  For this reason, we frequently pledge financial support to our local PBS stations during their fund drives.  Anglophiles may also watch British programming by subscribing to BBC-America through their cable carrier.  BBC-A allows viewers to catch the very latest in British television! 

Looking for other outlets for British TV?
  • Netflix (subscription)
  • Local library (free)
  • BBC-A's video clips (free)
  • Acorn TV (subscription)

British Television in Britain
Brits often use the endearing term "telly" for television.  BBC ("the Beeb") was Britain's first broadcast provider, but over the years, many competing networks have sprung up.   Nowadays, of course, cable and satellite television are big.  Two major players are Sky (satellite) and Virgin TV (cable).  BBC, however, is the only TV provider that is free of advertising.  It exists by decree of a royal charter and receives its operating money from the government.  Owners of television sets pay an annual "licensing fee" to fund it.  (No fund drives needed!)  BBC's stated mission is to provide the British people with public broadcasting services offering high quality content and news.  And high quality it is!  BBC's news programs, which are broadcast around the world, are considered by many as the gold standard of journalism--particularly in this age of editorialized news.  And  BBC's delicious comedy and drama programming is snapped up by whomever can afford it!  


Zella's Pick of Best British TV Shows for Anglophiles
(List includes both old and current programs)

  • 'Allo  'Allo
Comedy set in small cafe in occupied France during WW II

  • A Bit of Fry & Laurie 
Comedic word-play sketches (Details/Buy)

  • A Touch of Frost
Dramatic detective series (Details/Buy)

  • Absolutely Fabulous
Sitcom about a dysfunctional career woman (Detail/Buy)

  • Being Human
Paranormal drama with wit (Details/Buy)

  • Benny Hill
Slapstick sketch comedy (Detail/Buy)

  • Black Mirror
Dark drama about technology's impact on society 

  • Blackadder
Hilarious sitcom set in various historical periods (Details/Buy)

  • Britain's Got Talent
British talent competition (Its pilot was the inspiration for America's Got Talent)

  • Call the Midwife
Drama about nurse midwives in London's East End during the 1950s

  • Cadfael
Serious drama about herbalist knight-turned-monk who solves mysteries (Details/Buy)

  • Catastrophy
Drama/comedy about mismatched romantic couple coping with an unplanned pregnancy

  • Coupling
Sitcom about modern 30-somethings and their blunders in love and dating (Details/Buy)

  • Cracker
Detective show with brilliant criminal profiler (Details/Buy)

  • Dad’s Army
Comedic setup about the too-old- and too-young-to-serve who end up in homeland defense (Details/Buy)

  • Death in Paradise
British detective reluctantly accepts post on  Caribbean island 

  • Doc Martin
Phobic, curmudgeonly medical doctor practices in small village (Detail/Buy)

  • Doctor Who
Cult following; a time-space traveler who fights evil (Detail/Buy)

  • Downton Abbey
Wildly popular costume period drama featuring an aristocratic family and its servants (Details/Buy)

  • EastEnders
Soap opera about the East End's working class (Details/Buy)

  • Fawlty Towers 
Sitcom featuring a, hot-tempered hotel owner (Details/Buy)

  • Fleabag
Smart, witty drama/comedy about character "Fleabag" and her hedonistic ways

  • Foyle's War
WWII detective drama (Details/Buy)

  • Gavin & Stacey
Sitcom featuring the evolving, long-distance romance between Gavin and Stacey  (Details/Buy)

  • Good Neighbors
Suburban couple give up consumerism to become sustainable and self-sufficient; neighbors are horrified (Details/Buy)

  • Inspector Lewis
Detective show set in town of Oxford (Details/Buy) 

  • Inspector Morse
Brilliant but vulnerable detective; Lewis spun off from this show (Details/Buy)

  • Jeeves & Wooster
Light comedy about a gentleman and his valet (Details/Buy)

  • Keeping Up Appearances
Sitcom poking fun at class snobbery (Details/Buy)

  • Lark Rise to Candleford
Drama about residents of small market town in late 1800s

  • Last of the Summer Wine  
Comedy about the hijinks of three elder gents (Details/Buy)

  • Later... with Jools Holland
Musical variety show (Details/Buy)

  • Little Britain
Comedic sketches mocking British stereotypes (Details/Buy)

  • Luther
Smart detective drama about the London Metropolitan Police's  Serious Crime Unit

  • Mapp & Lucia
Quaint drama set in the 20s and 30s; snobbery abounds (Details/Buy)

  • MI-5
Fast-paced drama featuring agents from MI-5, UK's counter-intelligence and security agency (Details/Buy)

  • Midsomer Murders
Detective and criminal investigations in a rural county (Details/Buy)

  • Miranda
Sitcom about very tall, socially awkward woman trying to fit in  (Unavailable)

  • Misfits
Modern sci-fi about young offenders who gain supernatural powers (Details/Buy)

  • Mr. Selfridge
Period drama about the man who founded Selfridge's & Co. department store in the 1910s

  • Mony Python
Cult classic; comedy sketches with farce and surrealism (Details/Buy)

  • One Foot in the Grave
Sitcom featuring retirees in the suburbs (Details/Buy)

  • Only Fools and Horses
Comedy about two wheeling-dealing brothers (Details/Buy)

  • Peep Show
A modern story about two mismatched flatmates (Details/Buy)

  • QI
Witty quiz show with unusual scoring method (Unavailable)

  • Robin of Sherwood
A gritty, realistic version of the legendary Robin Hood (Details/Buy)

  • Rosemary & Thyme
Two female gardeners solve murder mysteries (Details/Buy)

  • Rumpole of the Bailey
Skillful barrister defends the poor at the "Old Bailey" (Details/Buy)

  • Sherlock
Fast-paced; features a modern-day, tech-savvy Holmes and Watson (Details/Buy)

  • Skins
Teen drama with serious themes (Details/Buy)

  • Spaced
Fast-paced, modern sitcom featuring guy and gal flatmates (Details/Buy)

  • The Avengers
Straight-up 60s; the delightful Steed and Mrs. Peel engage in spy capers (Details/Buy)

  • The Catherine Tate Show
Catherine Tate does comedy sketches (Details/Buy)

  • The Graham Norton Show
Comedy/talk show featuring comedian Graham Norton interviewing celebrities

  • The Great British Bake Off
Reality show featuring amateur baking contests

  • The IT Crowd
Comedy featuring the IT department of a London company (Details/Buy)

  • The Office (UK)
Wildly popular "mockumentary" about corporate life (Details/Buy)

  • The Prisoner
Modern, tense, psychological spy drama (Details/Buy)

  • The Royal
Medical drama; goings-on at the St. Aidan's Royal Free Hospital (Unavailable)

  • The Sweeney
Police drama about London's violent-crime unit (Details/Buy)

  • The Thick of IT
Satirical look at the goings-on of the British government (Details/Buy)

  • The Hour
Investigative journalists drama set in 1950's Britain

  • The Vicar of Dibley
Sitcom about female vicar in small village (Details/Buy)

  • To the Manor Born
Comically caustic aristocrat loses her country manor--but not her uppity attitude (Details/Buy)

  • Top Gear
Program covering automobiles and motoring

  • Two Fat Ladies
Hilarious cooking show; stars two fat ladies (Details/Buy)

  • Upstairs/Downstairs
Classic about Edwardian-era aristocratic family who live upstairs, and it servants who live downstairs (Details/Buy)

  • Young Ones 
Sitcom with surreal moments, featuring four punk/hippie/alternative-type students living together (Details/Buy)


I greatly appreciate readers making additional suggestions for my list.  
Here are TV TITLES SUGGESTED BY FELLOW ANGLOPHILES:
  • Ashes to Ashes (Sci-fi, British police procedural drama  )
  • Bottom (Comedic sit-com with violent overtones )
  • Life on Mars (Police drama with sci-fi elements)
  • Merlin (Fantasy-adventure featuring Merlin as a young wizard)
  • Outnumbered (Realistic sit-com about family life)
  • Peaky Blinders (Historic crime drama, post-WWI, Birmingham)
  • Porridge (Sit-com about prison inmates)
  • Red Dwarf  (Comic, sci-fi series)
  • Robin of Sherwood (Gritty, realistic version of tales)
  • State of Play (Serial: journalist investigates woman's death)
  • The League of Gentlemen (dark comedy)
  • Torchwood (Sci-fi)

Zella's Comment:  My sincere thanks to "Everything I Know about the UK I Learned from the BBC" for suggesting several TV titles.  Theirs is an excellent website that provides much commentary about British TV.  See website HERE  

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