The dog days of summer are here, so grab an iced beverage and your screen of choice and cool off with the 26 titles coming available this month.
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 Bletchley Circle: San Francisco (Canada/UK) — Heads-up: While the series premiered in the US on Thursday, July 26, its new episodes will debut on Wednesdays starting August 1, exclusively on BritBox.
I Am a Killer (UK)
This ten-episode documentary series offers a fascinating look at death row inmates convicted of capital murder in America, each of whom gives a firsthand account of their crimes. Featuring never-before-seen footage, the program reveals the killers’ motivations, expectations, and how they view their crimes after having spent time on death row. I Am a Killer, a Netflix Original series, premieres in the US on Friday, August 3, exclusively on Netflix. (You can add it to your queue now.)
24 Hours In Police Custody: Seasons 1 & 2 (UK)
This observational documentary series primarily follows Bedfordshire Police over 24-hour periods as they respond to emergencies and investigate cases. Using more than 80 fixed-rig and handheld cameras, and with unique access to both detectives and suspects, the program allows viewers to witness close-up details of interrogations as the police piece together cases and work against the clock to put criminals behind bars. 24 Hours In Police Custody: Seasons 1 & 2 premieres in North America on Saturday, August 4, exclusively on BritBox. (Video clip is from Series 6)
No Offence: Series 2 (UK)
The 2016 Royal Television Society Best Drama Series award winner, this brilliant police procedural returns to US telly with a new season that, like Series 1, features a crime story arc and self-contained crime threads within the seven episodes. In Series 2, DI Vivienne Deering (Joanna Scanlan, Hold the Sunset) and her team at the Friday Street police station in Manchester go up against Nigerian crime matriarch Nora Attah (Rekie Ayola, Holby City). No Offence: Series 2 premieres in the US and Canada on Monday, August 6, exclusively on Acorn TV.
Three Girls (UK)
A BAFTA Best Miniseries award winner, this true-crime drama tells the poignant, powerful, and brutally honest story about a childhood friendship broken by abuse and underage girls betrayed by the very system that should have kept them safe. Starring Maxine Peak (The Village) and Lesley Sharpe (Scott & Bailey), and based on the victims of the Rochdale sexual abuse scandal, Three Girls premieres in North America on Wednesday, August 8, exclusively on BritBox.
Million Pound Menu (UK)
Presented by First Dates‘ Fred Sirieix, this reality-competition program, a mashup of Dragons’ Den (the Brit version of Shark Tank) and MasterChef, centers on next-generation restaurateurs who get the opportunity to open their own pop-up eateries and hopefully impress the paying public as well as a panel of discerning investors. Million Pound Menu, a Netflix Original series, premieres in the US on Friday, August 10, exclusively on Netflix. (You can add it to your queue now.)
Ordeal by Innocence (UK)
Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Agatha Christie, this limited series follows the aristocratic Argyll family following the murder of matriarch Rachel (Anna Chancellor, Trust) by her adopted son Jack. But when a man turns up, claiming to have an alibi for Jack, the family realizes the murderer could be one of them. For further details, read this article. Ordeal by Innocence premieres in the US on Friday, August 10, exclusively on Prime Video.
Avoiding Apocalypse (Canada)
This six-episode documentary asks and offers answers to questions such as “how will humanity survive in a world that is over-exploited, over-populated, and ravaged by human activity,” and shows how humankind, particularly denizens of Canada, can survive the threatening dangers. Avoiding Apocalypse premieres in the US on Tuesday, August 14, on Prime Video.
Bliss (UK)
Created and written by Primetime Emmy® winner David Cross (Arrested Development), this comedy series follows the complicated double-life of Andrew (Stephen Mangan, The Split), a successful travel writer who, through extenuating circumstances, finds himself living between two families. For further details, read this article. Bliss premieres in North America on Wednesday, August 15, exclusively on BritBox.
Suffragettes (UK)
In this feature-length 2018 docu-drama that marks the 100th anniversary of women (over the age of 30 and who owned property) gaining the vote in the UK, the fabulous historian, author, and television presenter Lucy Worsley (Secrets of the Six Wives) tells the story of a group of astonishing young working-class suffragettes who often risked their lives to campaign for votes for women. Suffragettes premieres in North America on Saturday, August 18, exclusively on BritBox.
The Investigator: A British Crime Story: Season 2 (UK)
This documentary series returns with its second season, in which former police officer, investigative journalist, and program presenter Mark Williams-Thomas re-investigates cases involving unsolved disappearances and murders that could be linked to convicted serial killers Peter Tobin and Angus Sinclair. The Investigator: A British Crime Story: Season 2, a Netflix Original series, premieres in the US on Sunday, August 19, exclusively on Netflix.
X Company: Season 3 (Final) (Canada)
In the final season of this award-winning spy thriller series set during World War II, Camp X operatives Aurora (Evelyne Brochu, Orphan Black), Alfred (Jack Laskey, Endeavour), and Neil (Warren Brown, Luther) press forward on their last mission together for the Allies, hoping to deliver a blow to the enemy that will change the course of the war. Costarring Hugh Dillon (Flashpoint) and Torben Liebrecht (Homeland), X Company: Season 3 premieres in the US on Monday, August 20, at 10 PM ET, on Ovation TV.
The Innocents (UK)
Starring Emmy® Award winner Guy Pearce (Jack Irish), this sci-fi drama revolves around Harry (Percelle Ascott, Youngers) and June (Sorcha Groundsell, In Plain Sight), in-love teens who discover that she has the ability to shape-shift… and is the target of a kidnapping plot. The Innocents, a Netflix Original series, premieres in the US on Friday, August 24, exclusively on Netflix. (You can add it to your queue now.)
Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (UK)
Set against the backdrop of iconic Edinburgh Castle, featuring a large variety of military bands and hundreds of performers, and culminating in a fireworks display from the top of the castle, this annual event is a spectacular display of military ceremony from across the British Commonwealth and the world. Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo will be simulcast in North America on Monday, August 27, exclusively on BritBox. (Video is from 2017 event)
Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled (UK)
Hosted by Alan Davies (QI, Jonathan Creek) and featuring an eclectic mix of comedians, comedy writers, and other figures in the UK’s entertainment industry, this panel-talk show finds Davies holding an unscripted roundtable discussion with four guests in each episode. Episodes begin without a title but conclude with one, often a quote from one of the guest’s anecdotes. Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled premieres in North America on Wednesday, August 29, exclusively on BritBox under the streaming service’s Panel Channel.
LOCAL/REGIONAL PREMIERES
Meet the Hedgehogs (UK)
Presented by British naturalist Steve Backshall, this fun and kid-friendly documentary uncovers the secretive life of the world’s most popular spiny mammal and reveals current efforts to protect them. During the program, he visits a hedgehog rescue center founded by Brian May (lead guitarist of the rock band Queen) in Surrey. Meet the Hedgehogs is confirmed for airing on the public TV stations and regional networks listed below, starting on or after August 1. Check your local listings or contact the station that serves your area for air dates and times. If your station isn’t on the list, contact its Viewer Services department or American Public Television to request the show.
| STATE | CITY | STATION |
|---|---|---|
| ARIZONA | Tucson |  |
| IDAHO | Boise, Coeur d’Alene, Moscow, Pocatello, Twin Falls |  |
| NEW YORK | Binghamton, Elmira |  |
| TEXAS | Austin |  |
| TEXAS | Dallas |  |
| WISCONSIN | Green Bay-Appleton, La Crosse-Eau Claire, Madison, Menomonie, Park Falls, Wausau-Rhinelander |  |
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)
Mr. Palfrey of Westminster: Series 1 & 2 (Complete) (UK)
In the vein of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, this classic ’80s British drama follows one Mr. Palfrey (Alec McCowen, Travels with My Aunt), a mild-mannered British civil servant who’s secretly a master of counterespionage and a spy-catcher extraordinaire. Mr. Palfrey of Westminster: Series 1 & 2 begins streaming Monday, August 6.
Five Days: The Train (UK)
Suranne Jones (Vanity Fair) and David Morrissey (Britannia) lead the cast of this crime thriller, which follows several intersecting lives on five non-consecutive days after the body of a young Muslim suicide victim hits a train and a baby is found abandoned in a hospital toilet. Featuring Shaun Dooley (Cuffs), Steve Evets (Girlfriends), Bernard Hill (Unforgotten), Matthew McNulty (Versailles), Anne Reid (Hold the Sunset), Derek Riddell (Hard Sun), Nina Sosanya (Strike Back), Hugo Speer (London Kills), and Ashley Walters (Bulletproof), Five Days: The Train begins streaming Monday, August 13.
Murder Investigation Team: Series 1 & 2 (Complete) (UK)
Created and written by BAFTA nominee Paul Marquess (London Kills, Suspects), this gritty police procedural follows a squad of elite detectives as they investigate horrific crimes in London. With an ensemble cast that includes Lindsey Coulson (EastEnders), Richard Hope (Poldark), Michael McKell (Doctors), and Samantha Sprio (Grandma’s House), Murder Investigation Team: Series 1 and 2 begins streaming Monday, August 13.
The Spy Who Went Into the Cold (UK)
This 75-minute documentary tells the story of Kim Philby, a well-educated Englishman who, while working for British intelligence agency MI6 for 30 years, concurrently spied for the Soviet Union before he defected to Moscow in 1963. The Spy Who Went Into the Cold begins streaming Monday, August 20.
Testament (UK)
Presented by Egyptologist John Romer (Byzantium: The Lost Empire), this seven-episode documentary series tells the story of the Bible from an historical point of view, with Romer traveling throughout the Middle East and Europe to examine the authorship of the Bible and its relationship with history. Testament begins streaming Monday, August 20.
Love Hurts: Series 2 (UK)
The second season of this early ’90s dramedy continues following the romance of Tessa Piggott (Zoë Wanamaker, Girlfriends) and Frank Carver (Adam Faith, The House That Jack Built) 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: Series 2 begins streaming Monday, August 27.
Titles in this section begin streaming on the dates shown below on BritBox and the BritBox channel on Amazon.
Marley’s Ghosts (UK)
Sarah Alexander (Coupling) stars in this fantasy-comedy series as Marley Wise, a 40-something magistrate who discovers she has a rare gift — the ability to talk to the dead — after her husband (John Hannah, A Touch of Cloth), her lover (Nicholas Burns, Uncle), and the local vicar (Jo Joyner, EastEnders) die within hours of each other. What’s more, she must live with them, since they won’t leave her house. Marley’s Ghosts begins streaming Wednesday, August 1.
The Monarchy (UK)
This six-episode documentary series from the early ’90s looks at the public and private lives of the British Royal Family, offering revealing insights into the world’s most famous family, how the monarchy works, how it has evolved over the centuries, and the challenges it faces in the present and the future. The Monarchy begins streaming Saturday, August 11.
In Plain Sight (UK)
Douglas Henshall (Shetland, read my interview with him here) stars in this three-part historical drama as William Muncie, a detective in Lanarkshire, Scotland, who pursued the notorious serial killer Peter Manuel (Martin Compston, Line of Duty) until the latter was finally convicted. In Plain Sight begins streaming Saturday, August 25.
Titles in this section begin streaming on the dates shown below on Hulu.
Heartland: Season 10 (Canada)
Based on the “Heartland” novels by Lauren Brooke, this series is the longest-running scripted drama in Canadian television, and was recently renewed for its twelfth season. The family drama stars Amber Marshall (Dark Oracle) as Amy Fleming, who uses her gift in natural horsemanship to continue her late mother’s work in healing horses on the eponymous ranch in Alberta, Canada. Heartland: Season 10 begins streaming Wednesday, August 1.
Titles in this section begin streaming on the dates shown below on Prime Video.
Victoria: Season 2 (UK)
Renewed for a third season, the second season of this lavish period drama finds the young Queen Victoria (Jenna Coleman, Doctor Who) giving birth to two more children, quarreling and reconciling with her husband, Prince Albert (Tom Hughes, The Game), saying a final farewell to the dying Lord Melbourne (Rufus Sewell, The Man in the High Castle), and getting involved in domestic and foreign affairs. Victoria: Season 2 begins streaming as a Prime Video offering on Tuesday, August 14.
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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 August 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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