Thirty programs from the UK, Canada, and Ireland, including 20 national premieres plus shows from Wales and Scotland, are coming to telly in July.
For updates about shows from the UK, Canada, and Ireland added to US channels and streaming services throughout the month, see the British TV Viewing Guide.
NATIONAL PREMIERES
The Tunnel: Vengeance (Season 3) (UK-France)
A burning fishing boat on the Channel turns into a new case for British Detective Chief Inspector Karl Roebuck (Stephen Dillane, Game of Thrones) and French Commander Elise Wassermann (Clémence Poésy, Genius) in the third and final season of this multiple award-winning series. In dealing with a toxic and terrifying duo, the detectives are tested to their limits and must make personal sacrifices. The Tunnel: Vengeance premieres in the US on Sunday, July 1, at 10:30 PM ET, on PBS. (Check your local listings.)
The Village: Seasons 1 & 2 (UK)
Created and written by Peter Moffat (The Night Of), this BAFTA-nominated historical drama stars John Simm (Trauma) and Maxine Peake (Silk) as John and Grace Middleton, parents of the central character who provides the vantage point in the story of life in a Derbyshire village. The series spans the period of 1914-1924, and covers the impact of the Great War, the Spanish Flu, societal changes, and more. The Village: Seasons 1 & 2 premieres in North America on Sunday, July 1, exclusively on BritBox.
The Last Leg: Season 14 (UK)
Hosted by Australian comedian Adam Hills and comedian co-hosts Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker, this weekly news chat show lampoons the headlines, puts a satirical spin on current affairs, and features celebrity guests, which have included David Tennant, Joanna Lumley, and Rebecca Front. The Last Leg: Season 14 premieres in North America on Tuesday, July 3, exclusively on BritBox.
Anne with an E: Season 2 (Canada)
Anne Shirley’s (Amybeth McNulty, Clean Break) beloved world of Green Gables becomes a much bigger place — with new faces and heartfelt lessons about love, loss, and growing up — in the second season of this drama series based on L.M. Montgomery‘s classic coming-of-age novels. Costarring Geraldine James (Black Work) and R.H. Thomson (Avonlea) as Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert (Avonlea), Anne with an E: Season 2, a Netflix Original Series, premieres in the US on Friday, July 6, exclusively on Netflix.
Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons: Season 2 (UK)
The second season of this factual series features a new presenter — Raphael Rowe (pictured), who spent 12 years behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit — investigating some of the world’s toughest prisons from the inside. Episodes include “Brazil: The Riot Prison,” “Papua New Guinea: The Breakout Prison,” “Ukraine: Prison in a War Zone,” and “Belize: The Prison That Found God.” Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons: Season 2, a Netflix Original Series, premieres in the US on Friday, July 6, exclusively on Netflix. (Photo courtesy of Netflix)
Harlots: Season 2 (UK-US)
Set against the backdrop of 18th century Georgian London and inspired by the stories of real women, the second season of this period drama continues the story of brothel owner Margaret Wells (Samantha Morton, Rillington Place), her family, and her rivalry with high-class madam Lydia Quigley (Lesley Manville, Mum). Featuring new cast member Liv Tyler (The Lord of the Rings) as heiress Isabella Fitzwilliam, Harlots: Season 2, a Hulu Original series, premieres in the US on Wednesday, July 11, exclusively on Hulu.
Killed by My Debt (UK)
This docu-drama tells the true story of Jerome Rogers (played by Chance Perdomo, Midsomer Murders), a popular 19-year-old council estate resident who finally got what he’d been working for: a new motorbike and his first real job as a courier. But his inability to pay two minor traffic fines resulted in them being increased exponentially, and collection agents were ruthless in hounding him to pay up. Under the immense pressure of this debt, Jerome took his own life. Killed by My Debt premieres in North America on Wednesday, July 11, exclusively on BritBox.
Murdered by My Boyfriend (UK)
This BAFTA Award-winning fact-based drama tells the story of teenager Ashley Jones and what happens to her when she falls in love with the wrong man. The everyday story of young love turns dark and sinister when the handsome and charming Reece (Royce Pierreson, Line of Duty) begins to dominate and control every aspect of Ashley’s life. Murdered by My Boyfriend premieres in North America on Wednesday, July 11, exclusively on BritBox.
Murdered by My Father (UK)
BAFTA winner Adeel Akhtar (River) stars in this one-off drama as Shahzad, the widowed father of two children. He has promised his daughter Salma (Kiran Sonia Sawar, Next of Kin) in marriage to one man, but she is head over heels for another: the charismatic charmer Imi (Mawaan Rizwan, Next of Kin). With the family’s honor at stake, Shahzad takes drastic and devastating measures. Murdered by My Father premieres in North America on Wednesday, July 11, exclusively on BritBox.
Murdered for Being Different (UK)
The Best Single Drama winner at the 2018 BAFTA Awards, this docu-drama stars Abigail Lawrie (Tin Star) as Sophie Lancaster, a 20-year-old who was attacked and severely beaten on August 24, 2007, by a gang of hooligans because she, dressed like a goth, looked different from them. Sophie died from her injuries, while her goth boyfriend, Rob Maltby (Nico Mirallegro, The Village), ended up in a coma. Murdered for Being Different premieres in North America on Wednesday, July 11, exclusively on BritBox.
Letterkenny: Seasons 1 & 2 (Canada)
Created by and starring Jared Keeso (19-2), this hilarious and award-winning comedy series set in the eponymous (and fictional) Ontario town, centers on Wayne (Keeso) and his buds the Hicks. Their kerfuffles with their small-town rivals, the Skids and the Hockey Players, about the most mundane things often ending with someone getting their butt kicked. For further details, read this article. Seasons 1 and 2 of Letterkenny premiere in the US on Friday, July 13, exclusively on Hulu.
Hidden (Craith) (UK/Wales)
Co-created and written by Hinterland‘s Mark Andrew and Ed Talfan, this gritty Welsh noir crime drama follows DCI Cadi John (Sian Reese-William, Requiem) as she and partner DS Owen Vaughan (Sion Alun Davies, 35 Diwrnod) investigate the death of a young woman, whose body was found in a remote mountain river. For further details, read this article. Hidden premieres in the US on Monday, July 16, exclusively on Acorn TV.
Fields of Gold (UK)
Benedict Cumberbatch (Patrick Melrose) had his first TV role in this conspiracy thriller telefim that revolves around genetically-modified crops and Big Pharma. Anna Friel (Marcella) and Phil Davis (Poldark) star as press photographer Lucia Merritt and world-weary journalist Roy Lodge, who together find themselves investigating the sinister connections between government, big business, and biotechnology. Fields of Gold premieres in the US on Thursday, July 19, exclusively on BritBox.
Amazing Interiors (UK)
It looks like Netflix is becoming the HGTV of streaming as it adds another British home show to its library. In this factual series, houses might look ordinary on the outside, but inside they have some jaw-dropping secrets to reveal. Amazing Interiors, a Netflix Original series, premieres in the US on Friday, July 20, exclusively on Netflix. (You can add it to your queue now.)
Killjoys: Season 4 (Canada)
The penultimate season of this sci-fi drama series picks up soon after the events in the Season 3 finale, with D’av (Luke Macfarlane, Brothers & Sisters) and John (Aaron Ashmore, Warehouse 13) trapped in deep space. Along with Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen, The Tunnel), the team will have more bounty-hunting adventures in space while taking on The Lady, an “immeasurable manifestation of evil without beginning or end.” Killjoys: Season 4 premieres in the US on Friday, July 20, at 10 PM ET, on Syfy.
This Country: Seasons 1 & 2 (UK)
This critically-acclaimed and award-winning mockumentary comedy series centers on the day-to-day lives of two young people — Kerry Mucklowe and her cousin Lee ‘Kurtan’ Mucklowe (played by series co-creators and real-life siblings Daisy May Cooper of The Wrong Mans and Charlie Cooper) — living in a small village in the Cotswolds. This Country: Seasons 1 & 2 premieres in the US on Friday, July 20, exclusively on Hulu.
Wynonna Earp: Season 3 (Canada-US)
Melanie Scrofano (Letterkenny) returns as the eponymous great-great-granddaughter of lawman Wyatt Earp in this supernatural Western horror series based on the comic books by Beau Smith. The new season finds Wynonna and her Black Badge crew taking on the demon who cursed the Earp family in the first place, leaving the fate of the Ghost River Triangle, and the world, hanging in the balance. Wynonna Earp premieres in the US on Friday, July 20, at 9 PM, on Syfy.
Burden of Truth (Canada)
Kristin Kreuk (Smallville) stars in this new legal drama as Joanna Hanley, a big city attorney who returns to her small hometown of Millwood to represent a Big Pharma company after their vaccine is suspected of causing the mysterious illness that affected several teen girls. Costarring Peter Mooney (Rookie Blue), Star Slade (Frontier), and Nicola Correia-Damude (Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments), Burden of Truth premieres in the US on Wednesday, July 25, at 8 PM ET, on The CW.
The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco (UK-Canada)
Opening in 1956, three years after The Bletchley Circle: Season 2 finale (see below), this follow-up series follows two of the original lead characters — Millie (Rachael Stirling, Detectorists) and Jean (Julie Graham, Shetland) — as they travel to the US and join forces with two American code-breakers to tackle a string of new murder cases. Episode 1 finds them going after a serial killer from their war days. The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco, a BritBox Original series, premieres in North America on Thursday, July 26, exclusively on BritBox.
Coastal Railways with Julie Walters (UK)
In this factual series, Julie Walters (National Treasure) rides the UK’s coastal railways to experience the beautiful landscapes and the people along the way. Episodes feature her trips along Scotland’s West Highland Railway, the East Coast Main Line from Newcastle to Edinburgh, and the Great Western main line, and her journey from Aberystwyth to Liverpool. She even travels aboard Harry Potter‘s Hogwarts Express! Coastal Railways with Julie Walters premieres in the US on Monday, July 30, exclusively on Acorn TV.
LOCAL/REGIONAL PREMIERES
Shetland (UK/Scotland)
Douglas Henshall returns as DI Jimmy Perez in the new season (commissioned as Series 4) of this Scottish noir mystery drama based on the crime novels by Ann Cleeves (read my latest interview with her here). The six-part original story revolves around the murder of a retired detectives’s (Sean McGinley, Republic of Doyle) daughter soon after convicted killer Thomas Malone (Stephen Walters, Outlander) is released from prison, still proclaiming his innocence — forcing Perez to reopen Malone’s 23-year-old case while investigating the recent homicide. KCET debuts Shetland on Monday, July 9, at 9 PM PT. (Check your local listings or contact your public TV station for info about the series airing in your area.)
NON-PREMIERE PROGRAMS ADDED TO PROGRAMMING SCHEDULES
Titles in this section begin streaming on the dates shown below on Acorn TV and the Acorn TV channel on Amazon. (Photos in this section courtesy of Acorn TV)
Like Father, Like Son (UK)
Jemma Redgrave (Doctor Who) stars in this psychological thriller as Dee Stanton, a divorced mum who moved on from the darkness of her past to be the fiancée of Dominic Milne (Robson Green, Grantchester). Eleven years ago, Dee’s husband Paul (Phil Davis, Whitechapel) was arrested for brutally murdering four young women. Now Dee faces another nightmare: her 15-year-old son is accused of strangling a fellow pupil at school. Like Father, Like Son begins streaming Monday, July 2.
Proof: Series 1 & 2 (Ireland)
In the first season of this thriller, journalist Terry Corcoran (Finbar Lynch, Breathless) connects a car thief’s murder and a corrupt accountant’s suspicious death to a German banker’s stolen laptop, and links them and human trafficking to the rise to power of the about-to-be elected Taoiseach. The second season finds Corcoran and press officer-turned-journalist Maureen Boland (Orla Brady, Into the Badlands) investigating former employees and the managing director of an Irish Big Pharma company. Proof: Series 1 & 2 begins streaming Monday, July 2.
The Agatha Christie Hour (Complete) (UK)
Lesser-known protagonists of Agatha Christie‘s works become embroiled in illicit love affairs, supernatural mysteries, false accusations, life-changing encounters, and murder in this collection of adaptations of the author’s short stories. Set in Art Deco-era England, they include “The Case of the Middle-Aged Wife”; “In a Glass Darkly”; “The Girl in the Train”; “The Fourth Man”; “The Case of the Discontented Soldier”; “Magnolia Blossom”; “The Mystery of the Blue Jar”; “The Red Signal”; “Jane in Search of a Job”; and “The Manhood of Edward Robinson.”
The ensemble casts feature John Nettles (Midsomer Murders), Amanda Redman (The Good Karma Hospital), James Grout (Inspector Morse), Stephanie Cole (Doc Martin), Rupert Everett (My Best Friend’s Wedding), Nicholas Farrell (Thirteen), and Cherie Lunghi (Unforgotten). The Agatha Christie Hour begins streaming Monday, July 9.
Anglo Saxon Attitudes (UK)
Adapted from Angus Wilson‘s satirical novel, this BAFTA Award-winning miniseries skewers British social and academic hypocrisy to the very core. It stars Richard Johnson (The Camomile Lawn) as 60-year-old Gerald Middleton, a distinguished and disillusioned retired historian trying to come to peace with his past, including his witnessing the hoax of a pagan, phallic fertility idol found in a 7th-century bishop’s grave and having an affair with his best friend’s fiancée (Tara Fitzgerald, Game of Thrones). Anglo Saxon Attitudes begins streaming Monday, July 16.
Birds of a Feather Christmas Special (UK)
In the 2016 Christmas special of this long-running sitcom’s revival, Sharon (Pauline Quirke, Broadchurch), Tracey (Linda Robson, The Bill), and Dorien (Lesley Joseph, Night & Day) leave the comforts of Chigwell and travel by plane, ferry, car, and camel to find Tracey’s son Travis (Charlie Quirke, Casualty), who’s gone missing in Morocco, and to bring him home for the holidays. Birds of a Feather Christmas Special begins streaming Monday, July 23.
Love Hurts (UK)
Zoë Wanamaker (Girlfriends) stars as jilted mistress Tessa Piggott and Adam Faith (The House That Jack Built) as Frank Carver, an entrepreneur and Tessa’s new beau, in this classic BBC comedy-drama. The series follows the couple’s romance and the stories of their friends and families. Featuring Tony Selby (Doctor Who), Jane Lapotaire (Edward the King), and Robin Weaver (The Inbetweeners), Love Hurts begins streaming Monday, July 30.
Titles in this section begin streaming on the dates shown below on BritBox and the BritBox channel on Amazon.
Van Gogh: Painted with Words (UK)
Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) portrays Vincent Van Gogh in this critically-acclaimed docu-drama, which tells the famed artist’s story in his own words. Every word of dialogue in this feature-length drama is sourced from Van Gogh’s original writings, gathered during years of painstaking research. Van Gogh: Painted with Words begins streaming Thursday, July 19.
Titles in this section begin streaming on the dates shown below on Hulu.
The League of Gentlemen: Seasons 1-4 (Complete) (UK)
Co-written and performed by Mark Gatiss (Sherlock), Steve Pemberton (Whitechapel), and Reece Shearsmith (Inside No. 9), this classic comedy series follows the lives of dozens of bizarre townspeople in (fictional) Royston Vasey. The League of Gentlemen: Seasons 1-4 begins streaming Friday, July 6.
Mary Kills People: Season 2 (Canada)
Caroline Dhavernas (Hannibal) returns as the eponymous ER doctor by day and angel of (euthanasia) death by night in this darkly-comic drama. Opening eight months after the Season 1 finale, Season 2 finds Des (Richard Short, 666 Park Avenue) getting out of jail and going back to work with Mary. But certain events cause Mary to reconsider this and others of her partnerships and relationships, especially when she becomes the target of a blackmail scheme. Mary Kills People: Season 2 begins streaming Sunday, July 8.
The Bletchley Circle: Season 2 (UK)
The second season of this period mystery series features Hattie Morahan (My Mother and Other Strangers) costarring with series regulars Julie Graham (William and Mary), Anna Maxwell Martin (Motherland), Sophie Rundle (Peaky Blinders), and Rachael Stirling (Capital). Morahan plays another former World War II code-breaker, albeit one about to hang for murder, which prompts Jean, Susan, Lucy, and Millie to use their skills to find the actual killer in the first of two stories. The Bletchley Circle: Season 2 begins airing Monday, July 23, at 10 PM ET, on Ovation TV.
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Did you miss any of the new shows from previous months? Check the British TV Viewing Guide 2018 Archives to find out.
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For details about the July premieres of shows from Australia and New Zealand, visit The Down Under TV Place. For those about the debuts of original-language, English-subtitled programs from Europe, visit The Euro TV Place.
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