Telly that bridges the Pond
April showers bring May flowers, and this month’s British TV program premieres bring hours of viewing enjoyment with the return of midwives, the arrival of alien-battling teens, and more to telly.
Women working in the world’s oldest profession are front and center in Harlots, the new British costume drama starring Samantha Morton, Lesley Manville, and Jessica Brown Findlay, and premiering in the US on Hulu.
Amy Huberman is tickled pink. Her new series, Striking Out, is Ireland’s #1 new drama, and it’s premiering in the US on the greenest, shamrock-iest day of the year: St. Patrick’s Day.
What a way to start a new week! The news that the new season of Fortitude has been picked up for stateside viewers is welcome, indeed.
National Treasure, a drama based not on fake news but inspired by a very real police investigation and celebrity arrests for sex crimes in the UK, is soon to make its US debut.
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).
Autumn is here, and with the crispness of the air and fewer hours of daylight come a bevy of British TV premieres, including some of the most highly-anticipated program returns.
Agatha Raisin, the quirky new UK comedy-drama mystery series starring Ashley Jensen as the eponymous amateur sleuth, is set to stream exclusively on Acorn TV.
Amazon Prime Video in the US is adding another British TV title to its offerings. It’s Fleabag, a new BBC Three comedy from actress-writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
The Night Manager, one of the most binge-worthy new miniseries of the year, will be yet another selection for Amazon Prime Video subscribers later this year.