Netflix Update

image source: pexels

The UK is a goldmine when it comes to television productions. If you’re looking for quality content check out some of what British television has to offer. We’ve made a list of some of the best new British shows on Netflix. Whether you like drama, comedy, or the supernatural, you are certain to find something you’ll enjoy on our list.

What Are the Newest British Shows?

Photo by Charles  on Unsplash

Safe

Created by Harlan Coben, a crime author, Safe is British drama television series that is co-produced by Canal+ and Netflix. C8 airs the show in France while Netflix is tasked with streaming the show elsewhere. The relatively new show is set in England with filming taking place in Manchester, Liverpool, and Cheshire around mid-2017. On 10th May 2018, it premiered in 190 countries comprising 8 episodes.

This British shows revolve around Tom, a pediatric surgeon who struggles to raise his two daughters on his own after the passing of his wife a year ago. Tom seems to be doing a great job raising his daughters, partly because he has close friends nearby and a prospective new romantic partner. Things, however, take an undesired turn when Tom’s eldest daughter goes missing together with her boyfriend. In a bid to find his daughter and boyfriend, Tom seeks the help of his new girlfriend Sophie, who is a police detective. During the search for his daughter and her boyfriend, Tom unearths a lot of dark secrets about his close friends and his neighbors.

The Innocents

The Innocents is a British show that can be described as a supernatural love drama or as an unconventional modern day Romeo and Juliet, but with combinations of thriller and sci-fi. The show stars Sorcha Groundsell as June and Percelle Ascot as Harry. Groundsell starred in Far from the Apple Tree and Cliques while Ascot featured in Wizards vs. Aliens.

June and Harry are teenager lovers that run away from their repressive families, but face an unusual challenge after they find out that June has an extraordinary ability to shape-shift. While struggling and trying to come to terms with this new discovery and trying to find a way to control June’s powers, they come across a mysterious professor who informs June that there are more people like her and promises to cure her. He also promises to unite her and her mother who deserted her while she was a toddler. But it is not as easy as they thought and they have to make hard choices between fulfilling their dreams and accepting the new changes in their lives and risk everything.

Luther

Luther is one of the best British shows on Netflix, drawing inspirations from Sherlock and Columbo. The show creator, Neil Cross created a titular character for John Luther (Idris Elba), a brooding and rage-filled detective who has a passion and a knack for solving the most difficult and complex crimes.

Luther is about a dedicated and hardworking police detective who is engrossed in his work which consumes him to the detriment of his personal life. He hunts down killers while trying to remain unaffected by humanity’s darkness. Luther expertly tracks down murderers, but he constantly battles the emotional toll they leave on him. He forms a peculiar connection with a brilliant psychopath and murder, Alice Morgan, after failing to nail her down. She helps him solve some crimes and she eventually unintentionally leads him on a collision course with an organized crime boss.

Collateral

Collateral is one of the best British shows which is a four-part thriller that takes place in London over a period of four days. The show is about an investigation into the murder of a pizza delivery man which occurs in South London. Detective Inspector Kip Glaspie (played by award-winning Carey Hannah Mulligan) is in charge of the investigation and convinced that this was not a regular murder and vows to look deeper.

Her investigation leads her into the criminal underworld of London bringing her face to face with the drug dealers, smugglers, and spies. Contrasting worlds collide and entangle as the investigations continue when a politician becomes embroiled in the events while trying to conceal an affair between his ex and the only witness to the murder.

Peaky Blinders

Peaky Blinders is by definition one of the best British shows because it won a BAFTA Television Award in 2018 for Best Drama Series, which is no small feat. The show is about the Peaky Blinders, a gang that emerged after World War 1 in Birmingham, England. The gang is made up of war veterans, the majority of whom suffered from Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after fighting in France.

The show is similar to Boardwalk Empire when it comes to smoky cinematography, costume design, and the uncanny ability to convince the audience to side with evil. It also draws its inspirations from real life occurrences just like Boardwalk. It is a catchy show that will have you glued to your screen. The Peaky Blinders steal a crate of weapons that they had mistaken to be motorcycles. This attracts the wrath of the government forcing their leader Tommy Shelby (played by Cillian Murphy) to go out of his way to cover up the robbery.

The Fall

This psychological thriller, featuring X-File’s very own Gillian Anderson as a brilliant detective who is called upon to solve the murders committed by a serial killer, 50 Shades of Grey’s Jamie Dornan. The Fall presents a compelling, frightening look at an intelligent murderer without watering down the efforts of the ensuing authorities, which is common in many serial killer-themed televisions shows.

The exemplary performances by Dornan and Anderson enhance the show by increasing the intensity and capturing the attention of the audience by turning it into a cat-to-cat game. It may not come as a shocker to learn that Dornan defined this as her all-time favorite role, even surpassing Dana Scully.

The Crown

The Crown is a British show based on the award-winning play (“The Audience”) by showrunner Peter Morgan. This highly acclaimed Netflix-original television show revolves around the life of Queen Elizabeth II (played by Claire Foy) spanning over a period of 70 years.

After the death of her father King George VI, the queen ascends to power at a considerably young age of 25 years. This marks the start of her reign as Queen Elizabeth II which is the basis of the show’s story. As the show progresses, personal intrigues, romances, and political rivalries take center stages as we get a glimpse of how these factors shaped and influenced the political and social landscape in the decades that followed.

Sherlock

Sherlock is a British crime drama television show that is based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes detective stories. The series is set in the 21st century and has scooped several high profile awards with critics praising the quality of the writing, performances, and direction.

The show is about a consultant detective Sherlock Holmes (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) who helps the police solve many mysterious crimes with the help of his assistant, Dr. John Watson (played by Martin Freeman). Watson has just come back from Royal Army Medical Corps after serving in the military in Afghanistan. Although the members of the police force are a bit unwelcoming towards Sherlock, he wins them over with his intelligence and observational skills that are extremely helpful in solving several crimes that the department is struggling with.

The Great British Baking Show

The Great British Baking Show is a television series where a group of amateur bakers compete against each other over a period of 10 weeks, making their best dishes with an aim of being crowned as the United Kingdom’s best baker. The show offers a unique perspective on different baking methods while also giving a refreshing insight into British culture and tradition. Plus, if you love the cake you will absolutely love this show!

Requiem

Requiem can be categorized as a supernatural or thriller television show. It is about a talented musician and an accomplished cellist Matilda Grey (played by Lydia Wilson) whose life takes an unexpected turn after her mother commits suicide, raising questions about her identity and her past. These questions arise after Grey goes through her mother’s possessions where she finds a box stuffed with old newspaper cuttings with stories of a young girl that went missing over 20 years ago in a small town in Wales. With the help and company of her best friend and fellow musician Harlan “Hal” Fine (played by Joel Fry), she embarks on a journey to Wales to investigate whether the death of her mother is related in any way to the case of the missing girl.

British Stars On Netflix

Image Source: pexels

Idris Elba: You can catch him on “Luther” or the critically acclaimed “Beasts of No Nation.”Benedict Cumberbatch: He stars as Sherlock Holmes in “Sherlock”Martin Freeman: A household name. Catch him on “Sherlock”Carey Mulligan: She has starred in “Collateral” and “The Great Gatsby”Ruth Wilson: You can catch her in “Luther” and “The Lone Ranger”Vanessa Redgrave: She is a 2003 American Theatre Hall of Fame inductee. She stars in “Call the Midwife” and “Julia”

Conclusion

gif source: giphy

If you’ve binged your way through all the American Netflix shows, don’t be scared to dip your toes and get cultured with some of these thrilling new British shows.

Featured Image by Andrés Rodríguez from Pixabay