Back in the 1960s, America became obsessed with British-related media which included music artists like the Beatles and the first James Bond movies starring a young Sean Connery. Hence, this phenomenon became known as the ‘British Invasion’. Though with each passing decade, British media didn’t achieve quite the same level of popularity in terms of music.
Instead, the focus shifted to television shows from sketch comedies such as Monty Python’s Flying Circus to serious crime dramas like Agatha Christie’s Poirot. Now with streaming services like Acorn TV, American audiences have access to all kinds of British shows that are very popular.
10 Delicious
For those who like food and drama, Delicious is just the right combination of those two elements. Set and filmed primarily in Cornwall, England, the show focuses on the Penrose Hotel owned by a celebrity chef named Leo and his attractive wife Sam.
However, Leo secretly has an affair with a cook named Gina who was also his first wife. On top of that, the reason for Leo’s success as a chef is because he actually stole many of Gina’s recipes. Released in 2016, this show currently has three seasons with four episodes in each one and no plans for a fourth season.
9 Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries
Despite its title, this show actually takes place during the 1960s and is a spinoff of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. Fortunately, all the viewer needs to know is that the main heroine Peregrine is the niece of Phryne (the original show’s female detective) who has gone missing.
So Peregrine inherits her aunt’s estate and then sets off to become a detective in her own right while being aided by women in the Adventuresses’ Club that her aunt was a part of. Also spelled as Ms Fisher’s MODern Murder Mysteries, the show currently has one season with four movie-length episodes.
8 Agatha Raisin
Based on a series of novels by M. C. Beaton, which is a pseudonym for Marion Chesney, this show blends comedy and drama. Starting with the pilot movie Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death, the titular heroine is a city girl that moves into a small village called Carsley.
Then after entering a quiche-making competition, she becomes a suspect in a murder case and has to clear her name to earn the trust of Carsley’s occupants. From there, the show goes into several stand-alone cases with the episodes being relatively long and even movie-length in the later seasons.
7 Manhunt (2019)
While Jack the Ripper may arguably be the most famous serial killer in British history, there are others that have gotten attention recently. For instance, the 2019 British drama Manhunt focuses on the real-life murder of a French student and several unsolved cases during the early 2000s.
It was determined that most of these were caused by Levi Bellfield, who got life imprisonment for them, even though his connection to some of the other crimes is highly contested. Nevertheless, a police detective named Colin Sutton wrote a memoir about his work on the case which inspired the Manhunt show.
6 Mystery Road (2018)
A spinoff of the Australian film series of the same name, Acorn TV’s Mystery Road stars Aaron Pedersen reprising his role from the movies as the aboriginal detective Jay Swan. Taking place between the two movies, it has Jay assigned to investigate a cattle station where two farmhands have disappeared.
Aided by a police sergeant named Emma James, played by Judy Davis, Jay uncovers a more complex plot involving drug trafficking and past injustices. Currently, there is one season with six episodes that are each almost as long as a movie. Yet a second season set to premiere sometime this year.
5 Midsomer Murders
One of the longest-running detective dramas available on Acorn TV, Midsomer Murders originally debuted in 1997 and is currently on its 20th season. Based on the Chief Inspector Barnaby books, it focuses on deadly cases within the fictional Midsomer County in England in modern times.
These cases are then investigated by the titular protagonist of the books and an ever-changing police sergeant. Compared to similar shows, this one combines dark humor with interpersonal drama and has a distinctly traditional British tone. The show received some controversy for not having many POC characters which got rectified in later seasons.
4 No Offence
Set in contemporary Manchester, England, the show focuses on a division of police detectives who investigate a series of notorious crimes that span several episodes per season. Now compared to other police procedurals, most of the characters in No Offence are women.
While there are some male characters too, they mainly act as support to the main three female detectives Viv Dinah and Joy. Like Midsomer Murders, though, No Offence combines drama and humor with the latter being more emphasized than the former element. Yet in the most recent season, the show got pretty serious and political in its subject-matter.
3 Foyle’s War
As World War II was going on across Europe, Britain was naturally affected by this and even threatened by German Nazi forces. Yet during this tumultuous time in history, there were crimes being committed on British soil which included murder.
Enter Christopher Foyle, a detective chief superintendent who investigates such crimes while being aided by his female driver and a police sergeant. Spanning eight seasons, Foyle’s War was initially canceled after five but then revived for three more. While most of the series takes place during World War II, the last two seasons have Foyle get involved with MI5 and the Cold War.
2 Detectorists
Though metal detectors serve a practical use for detecting bombs, there are people that attempt to find hidden treasures with them. Sometimes, these searches yield positive results that lead to quick riches and even historically significant discoveries. But this rarely happens as demonstrated in the British comedy Detectorists.
Originally broadcast in 2014, it tells the story of a metal detecting club in Danebury (a fictional town in Essex, England). In particular the lives of its members, which include Lance and Andy who are played by Toby Jones and Mackenzie Crook respectively. With three seasons currently, Detectorists earned a British Academy Television Award in 2015.
1 Line of Duty
At a glance, this show seems like another police procedural-type show. But what makes Line of Duty distinct is that it specifically focuses on a unit that investigates corruption within the police. Now police corruption itself is nothing new, but it is an ongoing issue which makes the subject still relevant today.
There are even real anti-corruption units within several major police departments, though how they are viewed from within has changed over the years. Some see such investigations as a nuisance, but others see it as a necessity. Nevertheless, several publications site Line of Duty as being one of the best crime dramas ever made.
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