Telly that bridges the Pond
A Happy 2017 to you! Without further ado, let’s get to the shows that will help us ring in the new year and give us hours of fabulous British, Aussie, Kiwi, Canadian, and Irish TV entertainment.
By my count, 215 new programs and program seasons from the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada premiered stateside in 2016. Of them, here are my picks for the best 20 that were brand-spanking-new to the US.
Brokenwood, New Zealand. Where the locals are quirky, the country music is kickin’, and corpses are found high and low (at least when they don’t go missing).
Whether the weather outside is frightful or fantastic, chillax in front of your favorite telly screen with some terrific British TV this month, including the premieres of new and returning series and holiday specials.
September has arrived, and with it comes must-watch British TV premieres, plus lots more titles (some new-ish, some not) added to the major streaming services.
June used to be the start of summer rerun season, but these days it’s another month of British TV premieres, from returning favorites to brand new series.
Starting in little more than a week, the 66th Berlin International Film Festival will present the world premieres of three TV series from Great Britain and Australia/New Zealand.
February 2016. A shorter month days-wise, and one with fewer than ten British TV titles premiering in the US. However, those that debut this month make for some great viewing.
One hundred thirty TV shows from British Commonwealth territories and Ireland were new to the US in 2015, and selecting my fifteen favorites of the year took some doing.
Shows from the UK, New Zealand, and Canada won at the C21 Drama Awards ceremony, held last night at BFI in London.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, as holiday specials, dramas, a mockumentary and rockumentary, a music-filled movie, and a proper musical, premiere on US channels and streaming services this month.
It’s rare that two seasons of a show will premiere in the same year, yet that is what The Brokenwood Mysteries will do when its second series debuts in the US next week.