With temperature records being broken on both sides of the pond, the dog days of summer have well and truly arrived. So stay in the AC (or get into some) and check out the new shows and seasons coming to the US in August.
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.
Dates are subject to change without prior notice.
NATIONAL PREMIERES
Father Brown: Season 7 (UK)
In the latest season of this hit Brit mystery series starring Mark Williams (Harry Potter) as the eponymous soul-saving, crime-solving Roman Catholic priest, there’s quite a bit of mischief in 1950s Kembleford. To wit: the kidnapping of parish secretary Mrs. McCarthy (Sorcha Cusack, A Discovery of Witches) and socialite Lady Felicia (Nancy Carroll, Will) during a train robbery, and the disappearance of both Father Brown and Inspector Mallory (Jack Deam, DCI Banks). Father Brown: Season 7 has its US SVOD premiere on Thursday, August 1, exclusively on BritBox.
Derry Girls: Season 2 (UK)
Change and peace may finally be coming to Northern Ireland, but Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson, The Five) and her friends show no signs of letting up on their old tricks while they navigate parents, parties, love interests, and school in the new season of this award-winning, utterly hilarious comedy series. Derry Girls: Season 2, a Netflix Original series, premieres in the US on Friday, August 2, exclusively on Netflix.
Bulletproof: Season 1 (UK)
Rescheduled from its July debut date, this buddy cop drama created by and starring Noel Clarke (Doctor Who) and Ashley Walters (Top Boy) follows detectives and best friends Aaron Bishop (Clarke) and Ronnie Pike Jr. (Walters), who investigate traffickers, drug dealers, armed robbers, and others of the UK’s most dangerous criminals. Costarring Lindsey Coulson (EastEnders), Bulletproof: Season 1 premieres in the US on Wednesday, August 7, at 8 PM ET, on The CW.
35 Days: Seasons 1-3 (35 Diwrnod) (UK/Wales)
This terrific mystery series starts with a shocking murder, then immediately rolls back 35 days to unleash the chain of events that led to that fateful day, all while revealing the dark sins and secrets that lurk beneath seemingly normal lives. Featuring Matthew Gravelle (Living a Lie, Broadchurch) and shown in Welsh with English subtitles, 35 Days: Seasons 1-3 premieres in North America on Tuesday, August 13, exclusively on BritBox.
Downton Abbey Live! (US)
In anticipation of the September 2019 release of the Downton Abbey feature film, this live special celebrates the wildly successful British drama. Broadcast from New York City before a live studio audience, the scheduled participants include cast members Phyllis Logan (Mrs. Hughes), Lesley Nicol (Mrs. Patmore), Kevin Doyle (Molesley), and Harry Hadden-Paton (Bertie), and executive producers Gareth Neame and Liz Trubridge. Downton Abbey Live! premieres Sunday, August 18, at 9 PM ET, on PBS. (Check your local listings) (Photo courtesy of Nick Briggs / Carnival Film & Television Limited for MASTERPIECE)
This Way Up (UK)
Created by and starring Aisling Bea (Trollied), this new comedy series about the pursuit of happiness follows Aine (Bea), a foreign language school staffer who, with the help of her sister Shona (Sharon Horgan, Catastrophe), tries to put her life back together after suffering a nervous breakdown. Featuring Aasif Mandvi (Blue Bloods), Indira Varma (Game of Thrones), and Tobias Menzies (Outlander), This Way Up premieres in the US on Wednesday, August 21, exclusively on Hulu.
Age Before Beauty (UK)
Set in a Manchester beauty salon, this family saga follows the lives and dramas of the Regan family. With Bel (Polly Walker, Mr Selfridge) having just waved her twins off to uni, her brother-in-law and best friend Teddy (Robson Green, Grantchester) steps in to fill the void — first by begging her to save the family business, then by plotting to break up her marriage to Wesley (James Murray, Him). Costarring Sue Johnston (Downton Abbey), Age Before Beauty premieres in North America on Tuesday, August 27, exclusively on BritBox.
Million Pound Menu: Season 2 (UK)
In the new season of this reality-competition series presented by Fred Sirieix, several food entrepreneurs pitch their concepts to a panel of investors in a battle to secure investment money to open their restaurants. Amongst the ideas: a seasonal British pop-up restaurant, a Burmese supper club, and a Filipino food van. Million Pound Menu: Season 2, a Netflix Original series, premieres in the US on Tuesday, August 27, exclusively on Netflix.
Workin’ Moms: Season 3 (Canada)
Created by and starring Catherine Reitman (Black-ish), the new season of this comedy about modern-day working moms finds Kate (Reitman) with a new apartment, a new business, and a new baby in her new post-Nathan-the-cheater life. Recently renewed for a fourth season, Workin’ Moms: Season 3, a Netflix Original series, premieres in the US on Thursday, August 29, exclusively on Netflix. (Video is from S2)
The A List (UK)
This thriller follows a group of teens at an idyllic summer camp on the majestic Peregrine Island. Popular girl Mia (Lisa Ambalavanar, Doctors) expects to be the queen bee here, but the arrival of the mysterious Amber (Ellie Duckles, The Bay) thwarts her intentions, and this “holiday of a lifetime” turns into a twisted nightmare for everyone. The A List, a Netflix Original series, premieres in the US on Friday, August 30, exclusively on Netflix.
GameFace: Season 2 (UK)
Series creator, writer, and star Roisin Conaty (After Life) returns as aspiring actress Marcella in her award-winning comedy series. The new season finds Marcella’s career at a new low and her friends and family moving on with their lives. Feeling left behind yet determined to turn her life around, Marcella confronts her drinking habit, faces the biggest audition of her life, charts new territory with driving instructor Jon (Damien Molony, Suspects), and braves other ups and downs. Gameface: Season 2 premieres in the US on Friday, August 30, exclusively on Hulu.
Keeping Faith: Series 2 (UK/Wales)
The new season of this Welsh drama sensation opens 18 months after that what-the-what! Series 1 cliffhanger, and finds lawyer, wife, and mother Faith Howells (Eve Myles, Torchwood) and her family still reeling in the aftermath of what they lived through. Faith also takes on the challenge representing Madlen (Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Detectorists) in her first murder case. Keeping Faith: Series 2, an Acorn TV Original series, premieres in the US on Friday, August 30, exclusively on Acorn TV.
Maigret (UK)
Adapted from Belgian author Georges Simenon‘s best-selling novels, Maigret, which stars Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) as French detective Jules Maigret, makes its national linear TV debut on Ovation TV. Kicking things off is “Maigret Sets a Trap,” in which the detective investigates the murders of four women found dead in the Montmartre area of Paris during the summer of 1955. This episode airs on Saturday, August 31, at 7 PM ET. The remaining three episodes air weekly on consecutive Saturdays at the same time.
OTHER NATIONAL PREMIERES TO CONSIDER
Preacher: Season 4 (Final) (US)
It all goes to hell in the end. In the fourth and final season of this fabulous fantasy dramedy based on the comic book series of the same name by Garth Ennis and the late Steve Dillon, Jesse (Dominic Cooper, Fleming), Tulip (Ruth Negga, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), and Cassidy’s (Joseph Gilgun, Misfits) thrill ride to find God thrusts them into a twisted battle spanning Heaven, Hell, and everywhere in between. Preacher: Season 4 premieres on Sunday, August 4, at 9 PM ET, on AMC.
Carnival Row: Season 1 (US)
Renewed for a second season before the first has even launched, this fantasy series is set in a city where mythological immigrant creatures, whose homelands were invaded by men, struggle to coexist with humans in the grimiest section of town — forbidden to live, love, or fly with freedom. But human detective Rycroft Philostrate (Orlando Bloom, The Lord of the Rings) and refugee faerie Vignette Stonemoss (Cara Delevingne, Suicide Squad) rekindle a dangerous affair despite an increasingly intolerant society. Vignette harbors a secret that endangers Philo’s standing during his most important case yet: a string of gruesome murders threatening the uneasy peace of the Row. As Philo investigates, he reveals a monster no one could imagine. Carnival Row, an Amazon Original series, premieres in the US on Friday, August 30, exclusively on Prime Video.
LOCAL/REGIONAL PREMIERES
American Public Television is releasing the British TV program below in August. As always, check your local listings or contact the station that serves your area for air dates and times. To request the show, contact your station’s Viewer Services department or APT.
Inside the Foreign Office (UK)
This three-part documentary follows the men and women who work in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of Britain, a less-known but highly prestigious branch of British government. It was filmed over the course of a year in mid-2017 as the Foreign Office staff worked tirelessly to respond to global crises and reassert British influence on the world stage. Inside the Foreign Office is confirmed for airing on the public TV stations listed below.
| STATE | CITY | STATION |
|---|---|---|
| CALIFORNIA | Los Angeles |  |
| CALIFORNIA | Monterey, Salinas, San Francisco, San Jose, Watsonville |  |
| COLORADO | Denver |  |
| IDAHO | Boise, Coeur d’Alene, Moscow, Pocatello, Twin Falls |  |
| MARYLAND | Annapolis, Baltimore, Frederick, Hagerstown, Oakland, Salisbury |  |
| OKLAHOMA | Tulsa |  |
| OREGON | Bend, Corvallis, Eugene, La Grande, Portland |  |
| TEXAS | Dallas |  |
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NON-PREMIERE PROGRAMS BEING ADDED TO STREAMING SERVICES
Titles in this section begin streaming on the dates shown below on Acorn TV and the Acorn TV channel on Amazon. All images courtesy of Acorn TV.
David Jason’s Secret Service (UK)
In this three-part factual series, Sir David Jason (A Touch of Frost), a passionate enthusiast of all things espionage, scours the UK and beyond to reveal the secret places and people who act as guardians and gatekeepers of the incredible yet true story of Britain’s spy history. David Jason’s Secret Service begins streaming Monday, August 5.
Seesaw (UK)
Adapted from Deborah Moggach‘s best-selling novel of the same name, this miniseries stars David Suchet (Poirot) and Geraldine James (Back to Life) as Morris and Val Price, a middle-class couple who are forced to sell everything to pay the ransom for their kidnapped daughter, and then must come to terms with her becoming pregnant by the kidnapper. Seesaw begins streaming Monday, August 5.
The Scapegoat (UK)
Based on Daphne du Maurier’s renowned novel of the same name, this telefilm tells the provocative story of two very different men who have one thing in common: their face. Starring Matthew Rhys (The Americans), along with Dame Eileen Atkins (Doc Martin) and Andrew Scott (Fleabag), The Scapegoat begins streaming Monday, August 12.
Thorne: Series 1-2 (UK)
Based on Mark Billingham‘s novels Sleepyhead and Scaredycat, this crime drama stars David Morrissey (The Walking Dead) as DI Tom Thorne, who investigates the murders of three women in the first story, and discovers that two serial killers are working in partnership in the second story. Costarring Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan) and Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones), and featuring Sandra Oh (Killing Eve) and Natascha McElhone (Designated Survivor), Thorne: Series 1-2 begins streaming Monday, August 19.
Acorn TV Summer School
Art of the Heist: Series 1-2 (US) — Narrated by actor Dion Graham (The Wire), this documentary series investigates the most high-profile art thefts of the 20th and 21st centuries, fitting together the pieces of the crime jigsaw puzzles and studying the masterpieces coveted by the criminal world, including works by Cezanne, Degas, Munch, Rembrandt, Renoir, and Vermeer.
- The Joy of AI (UK) — In this hour-long documentary, Professor and TV presenter Jim al-Khalili (Gravity and Me) investigates the progress of artificial intelligence and offers a refreshingly optimistic look at why the machines we’ve created to simulate, augment, and even outperform the human mind shouldn’t spook us.
- Magic Numbers (UK) — Presented by Dr. Hannah Fry (The Joy of Data), this three-part documentary journeys through the evolution of Math, from its philosophical origins to its status as a universal language and the foundation for all of science, in the hope of answering the fundamental question: where did Math come from?
Acorn TV Summer School programs begin streaming Monday, August 26.
Titles in this section begin streaming on the dates shown below on BritBox and the BritBox channel on Amazon.
August Christie Summer Cinema
- Murder Most Foul (UK) — Based loosely on Agatha Christie’s novel Mrs. McGinty’s Dead, this comedy-mystery film stars Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple. As she is the sole dissenting jury member in the trial of a man charged with murdering an actress, Miss Marple joins a theatrical company to investigate the crime on her own. As she gets closer to H. Driffold Cosgood (Ron Moody, Oliver!)) and his fellow performers, another actor is found dead, and Miss Marple finds herself in danger. Murder Most Foul begins streaming Friday, August 2.
- The Alphabet Murders (UK) — Agatha Christie’s novel The ABC Murders is the source material for this comedy-mystery film, which stars Tony Randall (The Odd Couple) as Hercule Poirot. Here the Belgian sleuth trails a killer whose murdering spree appears to be linked to the letters of the alphabet. With a cameo from Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple. The Alphabet Murders begins streaming Friday, August 9.
Britain’s Biggest Adventures with Bear Grylls (UK)
In this three-part series, famed adventurer Bear Grylls immerses himself in the British countryside, combining natural history with the adrenaline rush of a survival show to experience the British Isles at its most spectacular. Britain’s Biggest Adventures with Bear Grylls begins streaming Tuesday, August 20.
All Creatures Great and Small: Seasons 1-3 (UK)
Based on the beloved books by James Herriot, pen name of English veterinary surgeon Alf Wight, this drama follows the trials and misadventures of the staff of a country veterinary office in 1940s Yorkshire. Starring Christopher Timothy (EastEnders), Robert Hardy (Harry Potter), and Peter Davison (Doctor Who), All Creatures Great and Small: Seasons 1-3 begins streaming Friday, August 30.
Titles in this section begin streaming on the dates shown below on Hulu.
Pure: Season 2 (Canada)
Based on true events of the Mennonite Mob, this drama’s second season finds former pastor Noah Funk (Ryan Robbins, Sanctuary) separated from his family after fleeing the drug cartel. His wife Anna (Alex Paxton-Beesley, Cardinal), after being turned away by the Mennonite community and given no choice by drug cartel boss Hector Estrada (Victor Gomez, Orphan Black), joins the drug business her husband tried to bring down. Pure: Season 2 begins streaming Thursday, August 1.
Titles in this section begin streaming on the dates shown below on the PBS Masterpiece channel on Amazon.
Breathless (UK)
Set in 1960s London, this drama follows the lives of members of a hospital’s staff who secretly perform illegal abortions, and explores the societal changes that were happening in Britain at the time. The cast includes Zoe Boyle (Downton Abbey), Jack Davenport (Next of Kin), Shaun Dingwall (Above Suspicion), Iain Glen (Game of Thrones), Natasha Little (Case Histories), and Joanna Page (Gavin & Stacey). Breathless begins streaming Saturday, August 10.
Frankie Drake Mysteries: Season 2 (Canada)
This female-led mystery series set in 1920s Toronto follows private detective Frankie Drake (Lauren Lee Smith, This Life) and her business partner Trudy Clarke (Chantel Riley, Wynonna Earp) as they investigate a kidnapping gone wrong, the suspicious death of a baseball player, the killing of a magician’s assistant, and more. Frankie Drake Mysteries: Season 2 begins streaming Monday, August 12.
Titles in this section begin streaming on the dates shown below on Sundance Now and the Sundance Now channel on Amazon.
Raised by Wolves: Seasons 1-2 (Complete) (UK)
Created and written by bestselling author Caitlin Moran (How to Be a Woman), this raucous, award-winning comedy follows the lives of the Gary family — six socially-isolated, home-schooled siblings, their formidable single mother (Rebekah Staton, Spy), and their grampy (Philip Jackson, Poirot). Raised By Wolves: Seasons 1-2 begins streaming August 6.
Brief Encounters (UK)
Loosely based on Jacqueline Gold’s 1995 memoir Good Vibrations, this dramedy stars Sophie Rundle (Peaky Blinders), Angela Griffin (Ordinary Lies), Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey), and Sharon Rooney (My Mad Fat Diary) as friends wrestling with family and financial pressures in early 1980s England. Then they become party organizers for the Ann Summers line of lingerie and sex toys, and become businesswomen who shake up their relationships and their town. Brief Encounters begins streaming Thursday, August 29.
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Did you miss any of the new shows from previous days, weeks, or months? Check out the British TV Viewing Guide 2019 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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