The fall TV season is here. In stateside British TV, there are 15 national premieres, 9 of which are brand new shows, along with 25 titles added to streaming offerings.
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
Insert Name Here (UK)
Presented by Sue Perkins (The Great British Bake Off), with comedians Josh Widdecombe (The Last Leg) and Richard Osmund (Pointless) as team captains, this comic quiz show challenges teams to answer questions about famous people past and present — the twist being the only thing they have in common is their name. Insert Name Here premieres in the US on Wednesday, September 5, exclusively on BritBox.
Save Me: Season 1 (UK)
Lennie James (The Walking Dead) reunited with the makers of Line of Duty to bring this drama that he created, wrote, and stars in to telly. James plays a self-styled womanizer whose life is upended when police arrest him on suspicion of kidnapping his estranged teen-aged daughter — the one he hasn’t seen in ten years. Co-starring Suranne Jones (Doctor Foster), Save Me premieres in the US with its first two episodes (of six) on Thursday, September 6, starting at 9:30 PM ET, on Starz‘s Starz in Black channel.
The Miniaturist (UK)
Adapted from the best-selling novel by Jessie Burton, this three-part thriller set in 1686 stars Anya Taylor-Joy (Atlantis) as Nella Oortman, the teen bride of wealthy merchant Johannes Brandt (Alex Hassell, Hustle). His wedding gift is a miniature replica of their home, but the tiny furnishings created by an elusive miniaturist mirror happenings in the house and seem to predict the future with unsettling precision. As Nella begins to uncover its secrets and those of the Brandt household, she realizes the escalating dangers that await them all. Co-starring Romola Garai (Born to Kill), The Miniaturist premieres in the US on Sunday, September 9, at 8 PM ET, on PBS. (Check your local listings)
Hold the Sunset: Season 1 (UK)
This comedy centers on a widow (Alison Steadman, Orphan Black) who finally gives into the advances of her old flame, played by John Cleese (Fawlty Towers) — in his first TV series in nearly 40 years — only to have her adult son (Jason Watkins, A Very English Scandal) derail their plans when he shows up at her door and announces that he’s left his job, wife, and kids, and is moving back home in search of true happiness. Hold the Sunset: Season 1 premieres in the US on Wednesday, September 12, exclusively on BritBox.
Snatch: Season 2 (UK/US)
Rupert Grint (Harry Potter), Luke Pasqualino (The Musketeers), Phoebe Dynevor (Dickensian), and Lucien Laviscount (Coronation Street) are back as the Hill gang, and this time they’re doing their crime thing in Spain on the Costa del Sol. Co-starring Juliet Aubrey (The White Queen), Tamer Hassan (24: Live Another Day), and Dougray Scott (The Woman in White), and featuring Úrsula Corberó (Money Heist) and Tristán Ulloa (Cocaine Coast), Snatch: Season 2 premieres in the US on Thursday, September 13, exclusively on Sony Crackle.
The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes: Season 2, Part A (UK)
Award-winning architect Piers Taylor and actress and property enthusiast Caroline Quentin head to Portugal, Switzerland, Japan, and the United States to tour more one-of-a-kind homes with extraordinary architecture. The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes: Season 2, Part A, a Netflix Original series, premieres in the US on Friday, September 14, exclusively on Netflix.
Inside The Freemasons (UK)
Learn what Freemasonry is all about from Freemasons themselves in this four-part documentary. The producers were granted unique and unprecedented access to the Freemasons, a fraternal order and one of the world’s oldest social networking organizations, during the United Grand Lodge of England’s tercentenary celebration in 2017. Inside The Freemasons premieres in the US on Saturday, September 15, on Netflix.
Bancroft: Season 1 (UK)
Detective Superintendent Elizabeth Bancroft (Sarah Parish, Broadchurch) has given her life to the police force, but her stellar reputation is jeopardized when an ambitious recruit (Faye Marsay, Game of Thrones) takes on a cold case that threatens to bring a long hidden part of Bancroft’s devastating past into the present. For further details, read this article. Co-starring Linus Roache (Homeland) in his return to British television, Bancroft: Season 1 premieres in the US on Wednesday, September 19, exclusively on BritBox.
This Morning: This Week (UK)
As Britain’s #1 and longest-running morning show turns 30, BritBox launches a weekly compilation of the best of the week, featuring a mix of celebrity interviews, showbiz news, human interest stories, and cookery segments featuring cheeky celeb Italian chef Gino D’Acampo. Hosted by beloved duo Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, This Morning: This Week premieres in North America on Sunday, September 23, exclusively on BritBox.
Ackley Bridge: Series 2 (UK)
Set in a 50/50 multicultural school in West Yorkshire, this award-winning school-based drama returns with twelve new episodes of gritty, funny, and truthful character-driven stories that show the daily dramas of the teachers, teenagers, and families whose lives and cultures collide in a fictional 21st-century Northern town. Ackley Bridge: Series 2 premieres in the US and Canada on Monday, September 24, exclusively on Acorn TV.
Good Morning Britain (UK)
Piers Morgan returns to American television with Susanna Reid as they host this daily breakfast show that now brings the latest headlines, lifestyle, entertainment, and sports news, and weather updates from the UK to the US every day in a near-simulcast. Good Morning Britain premieres in North America on Monday, September 24, exclusively on BritBox.
King Lear (UK)
Anthony Hopkins (Hannibal) stars as the eponymous monarch in this adaptation of Shakespeare‘s tragedy. Set in the fictional present, the 80-year-old King Lear divides his kingdom among daughters Goneril (Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks), Regan (Emily Watson, Apple Tree Yard), and Cordelia (Florence Pugh, Marcella) according to their affection for him. When Cordelia, his youngest, refuses to flatter him, Lear banishes her, and with that fateful decision, family and state collapse into chaos and warfare. King Lear, a Prime Original movie, premieres in the US on Friday, September 28, exclusively on Prime Video.
Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father: Season 2 (UK)
Comedian and actor Jack Whitehall (Bad Education) and his straight-man dad, Michael, return for a new season of adventures in this comedy-travel documentary series. This time, they take on Easten Europe, including the Bavarian Alps, Istanbul, Budapest, Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine. Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father: Season 2, a Netflix Original series, premieres in the US on Friday, September 28, exclusively on Netflix. (Video is from Season 1)
The Durrells in Corfu: Season 3 (UK)
This, the penultimate season of the hit dramedy based on Gerald Durrell’s memoirs, The Corfu Trilogy, finds Louisa (Keeley Hawes, The Missing) and her children dealing with the death of a relative, the arrival of a new family on Corfu, and more relationship ups and downs. The Durrells in Corfu: Season 3 premieres in the US on Sunday, September 30, at 8 PM ET, on PBS. (Check your local listings)
Poldark: Season 4 (UK)
September has another penultimate season in the fourth season of this historical drama based on “The Poldark Saga” novels by Winston Graham. In the opener, Cornwall locals riot in the midst of food shortages, George Warleggan (Jack Farthing, Blandings) has a challenger in the election, and Ross (Aidan Turner, And Then There Were None) and Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson, Ordeal by Innocence) discuss their future. Poldark: Season 4 premieres in the US on Sunday, September 30, at 9 PM ET, on PBS. (Check your local listings)
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)
Echoes (UK)
Based on the late Maeve Binchy’s novel, this four-part drama, set in the small Irish seaside town of Castle Bay between 1952-1962, is a compelling and evocative story of love, friendship, and obsession. Starring Geraldine James (Anne with an E) and Dermot Crowley (Luther), Echoes begins streaming Monday, September 3.
The Last Dukes (UK)
This hour-long documentary features interviews with and insights about dukedoms past and present from some of the men and women of the 24 non-royal ducal estates that remain in Britain today. They include the Duke of Atholl, who until 2012 was a rural South African sign-maker named Bruce Murray; the Scottish Duke of Montrose, one of the few dukes remaining in House of Lords; and the Duchess of Rutland, whose business savvy has kept the family seat of Belvoir Castle in good repair. The Last Dukes begins streaming Monday, September 3.
The Rector’s Wife (UK)
Adapted from the bestselling novel by Joanna Trollope, this four-part drama stars Lindsay Duncan (Sherlock) as a spirited woman who, caught in a stultifying marriage, takes a fateful step to expand beyond the limits of her life. Co-starring Pam Ferris (Rosemary & Thyme), Jonathan Coy (Rumpole of the Bailey), and Prunella Scales (Fawlty Towers), The Rector’s Wife begins streaming Monday, September 10.
Wire in the Blood: Series 1-2 (UK)
Based on characters created by Scottish author Val McDermid in her “Tony Hill/Carol Jordan” novels, this popular crime drama stars Robson Green (Grantchester) as Dr. Tony Hill, a clinical psychologist who puts himself inside of the minds of both killers and victims to aid the police in solving gruesome serial killings in Northern England. Co-starring Hermione Norris (Cold Feet), Wire in the Blood: Series 1 and 2 begins streaming Monday, September 17.
Love Hurts: Series 3 (Final) (UK)
The third and final season of this early ’90s dramedy brings to a close the story of the romance between Tessa Piggott (Zoë Wanamaker, Girlfriends) and Frank Carver (Adam Faith, The House That Jack Built), as well as the stories of their friends and families. Featuring Tony Selby (Doctor Who), Robin Weaver (The Inbetweeners), and Richard Cordery (Dickensian), Love Hurts: Series 3 begins streaming Monday, September 24.
Titles in this section begin streaming on the dates shown below on BritBox and the BritBox channel on Amazon.
WPC 56 (UK)
This BBC daytime drama ran for three seasons, the first two of which star Jennie Jacques (Vikings) as Gina Dawson, the first female police officer in her hometown. The Brinford police station is a bastion of male chauvinism and sexism in 1956, making it difficult for WPC Dawson, the default office tea maker and paper filer, to be taken seriously as an officer. For further details, read this article. WPC 56 begins streaming Saturday, September 1.
Britain’s Tudor Treasures: A Night At Hampton Court (UK)
Historian presenters Lucy Worsley (Secrets of the Six Wives) and David Starkey (Monarchy) celebrate the 500th anniversary of Hampton Court, Britain’s finest surviving Tudor building and Henry VIII’s pleasure palace, in this hour-long documentary that recreates the christening of Henry’s long-awaited son, Prince Edward. Britain’s Tudor Treasures: A Night At Hampton Court begins streaming Saturday, September 8. (Photo by Guy Levy © BBC, courtesy of BritBox)
Justice (UK)
Robert Pugh (Vanity Fair) stars in this legal drama as Patrick Coburn, a charismatic judge with a troubled past who heads up the groundbreaking new public justice center in his hometown of Dovefield in Liverpool. Featuring Gillian Kearney (Emmerdale) and Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), Justice begins streaming Wednesday, September 26.
White Heat (UK)
Created by BAFTA winner Paula Milne (The Politician’s Wife), this six-part drama follows the lives of seven friends from their days as students in the 1960s to the present day. It features an all-star cast that includes MyAnna Buring (In the Dark), Paul Copley (Downton Abbey), Sorcha Cusack (Father Brown), Lindsay Duncan (Close to the Enemy), Claire Foy (The Crown), Lee Ingleby (Innocent), Michael Kitchen (Foyle’s War), and Juliet Stevenson (Retribution), amongst many others. White Heat begins streaming Saturday, September 29.
Titles in this section begin streaming on the dates shown below on Netflix.
Call the Midwife: Series 7 (UK)
Leonie Elliott (Black Mirror) joins the regular cast of this beloved period drama as West Indian midwife Lucille Anderson. She and the Nonnatus House nuns and nurses face several challenging issues in 1963 — from leprosy, tokophobia, and stroke, to Huntington’s chorea, unmarried mothers, and cancer. Call the Midwife: Series 7 begins streaming Monday, September 10.
Titles in this section begin streaming on the dates shown below on Prime Video.
Asylum (UK)
Inspired by headlines, this comedy stars Ben Miller (I Want My Wife Back) as Dan Hern, a whistle-blower forced to seek asylum in the El Rican embassy after leaking sensitive information about CIA cover-ups. Being trapped here for a year has left the irritating Hern desperately bored while his El Rican hosts, MI6, and the CIA want him extradited. Asylum begins streaming as a Prime Video offering on Saturday, September 1.
The Broker’s Man: Seasons 1-2 (Complete) (UK)
Kevin Whately (Inspector Lewis) stars in this mystery-crime drama as Jimmy Griffin, a former detective who uses his skills from the police as a fraud investigator for an insurance company. Storylines involve a vehicular collision, firearms theft, and sexual harassment, amongst others. The Broker’s Man: Seasons 1 and 2 begins streaming as a Prime Video offering on Saturday, September 1.
The Field Of Blood: Seasons 1-2 (UK/Scotland)
Adapted from Scottish author Denise Mina‘s novels The Field of Blood and The Dead Hour, this Glaswegian mystery-crime drama series stars Jayd Johnson (River City) as Paddy Meehan, the gal Friday-turned-newspaper reporter whose investigative work helps solve several murder cases. Co-starring David Morrissey (Britannia) and featuring Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who), The Field Of Blood: Seasons 1-2 begins streaming as a Prime Video offering on Saturday, September 1.
Harry And Paul’s History Of The 2s (UK)
Created by comedians Harry Enfield (Upstart Crow) and Paul Whitehouse (The Fast Show) for BBC Two’s 50th anniversary, this mockumentary skewers execs at the Beeb, UK politicians, and Britons from the North, as well as BBC Two shows The Apprentice, The Great British Bake Off, and Have I Got News for You. Harry And Paul’s History Of The 2s begins streaming as a Prime Video offering on Saturday, September 1.
Harry Price: Ghost Hunter (UK)
Based on the book The Ghost Hunters by Neil Spring, this made-for-TV movie set in the 1920s stars Rafe Spall (The BFG) as the eponymous psychic researcher. A member of Parliament hires Price because his wife (Zoe Boyle, Frontier) claims their house is haunted. Co-starring Cara Theobold (Downton Abbey) and Lewis Reeves (Unforgotten), Harry Price: Ghost Hunter begins streaming as a Prime Video offering on Saturday, September 1.
The Kevin Bishop Show: Season 2 (UK)
Comedian and actor Bishop, along with costars that include Karen Gillan (Doctor Who) and Sam Hazeldine (The Innocents), performs skits in this sketch comedy show made to look like you’re channel surfing. The Kevin Bishop Show: Season 2 begins streaming as a Prime Video offering on Saturday, September 1.
London Irish (UK)
Kerr Logan (C.B. Strike), Peter Campion (Love/Hate), Sinead Keenan (Being Human), and Kat Reagan play twenty-something ex-pats from Belfast navigating their way through life in London. Featuring Ardal O’Hanlon (Father Ted) and Tracey Lynch (No Offence), London Irish begins streaming as a Prime Video offering on Saturday, September 1.
The Man Who Lost His Head (UK)
Martin Clunes (Doc Martin) stars in this telefilm as Ian Bennett, a curator at the British Imperial Museum who travels to New Zealand to investigate a repatriation claim for a precious Maori wood carving. For further details, read this article. The Man Who Lost His Head begins streaming as a Prime Video offering on Saturday, September 1.
The Palace (UK)
Before there was The Royals, there was this drama series about a fictional British Royal family. It stars Rupert Evans (The Man in the High Castle) as King Richard IV, who ascends the throne after the death of his father. The Palace begins streaming as a Prime Video offering on Saturday, September 1.
Parents (UK)
This sitcom stars Sally Phillips (Miranda) as Jenny Pope, a 40-something woman whose job loss results in the repossession of the London house she shares with her husband Nick (Darren Strange, Father Brown) and their two children, and prompts their move to Kettering to live with her parents, Len (Tom Conti, DNA) and Alma Miller (Susie Blake, Coronation Street). Parents begins streaming as a Prime Video offering on Saturday, September 1.
Rocket’s Island: Season 1 (UK)
This BAFTA-nominated family drama revolves around the Boulsworth family, who look after foster children at their beautiful, secluded island home of Knot Farm, where young Rocket Boulsworth (Joe Gallucci, Possum) and his friends have many adventures. Rocket’s Island: Season 1 begins streaming as a Prime Video offering offering on Saturday, September 1.
Sam’s Game (UK)
This 2001 sitcom stars Davina McCall (Dead Set), Ed Byrne (Round Ireland with a Fridge), Tristan Gemmill (Coronation Street), and Tameka Empson (EastEnders) as friends and neighbors who get involved in each others’ lives while renting flats in a large house in London. Sam’s Game begins streaming as a Prime Video offering on Saturday, September 1.
The Triangle (UK/US)
Sam Neill (Hunt for the Wilderpeople) leads the cast of this Primetime Emmy® Award-winning sci-fi miniseries as a shipping tycoon who hires a tabloid journalist (Eric Stoltz, Madam Secretary), a meteorologist (Michael E. Rodgers, American Dreams), an oceanographer (Catherine Bell, JAG), and a psychic (Bruce Davison, Those Who Kill) to discover the truth about the Bermuda Triangle. The Triangle begins streaming as a Prime Video offering on Saturday, September 1.
Trust (UK)
Nominated for Best Drama Serial by the Royal Television Society, this made-for-TV movie stars Caroline Goodall (The White Queen) as Anne Travers, a successful barrister who defends her psychiatrist husband, Michael Mitcham (Mark Strong, Low Winter Sun), after he is accused of murdering a young woman. Featuring Nathaniel Parker (Inspector Lynley Mysteries), Abigail Thaw (Endeavour), and Pip Torrens (Preacher), Trust begins streaming as a Prime Video offering on Saturday, September 1.
Wild At Heart: Seasons 1-8 (Complete) (UK)
A newly-blended family finds common ground in the African bush when veterinary surgeon Danny Trevanion (Stephen Tompkinson, DCI Banks), his second wife, and their children relocate from England to South Africa, where they attempt to rehabilitate a game reserve for wild animals and establish a veterinary surgery and animal hospital. Wild At Heart: Seasons 1-8 begins streaming as a Prime Video offering on Saturday, September 1.
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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 September 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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