Can British TV decelerate for a second? This 12 months has already been a monster of a 12 months for must-see sequence out of the UK, and we’re solely midway performed.
From the spectacular return of Physician Who to essentially the most talked-about present of the 12 months, not one however two good comedies about 18th-century outlaws, a sequence that makes us cry nonetheless excited about it, the steamy return to the Ton, and the triumphant second chapter of our favorite all-women Muslim punk band, 2024’s TV choices have been high tier.
This is the 15 greatest British TV exhibits of 2024 (to date) and the place you’ll be able to watch them, each inside the UK and out of doors it.
15. Attempting, Season 4
Esther Smith and Rafe Spall return for an additional pleasant season of “Trying.”
Credit score: Apple TV+
Andy Wolton’s uplifting sequence Attempting returned for a fourth season, digging into some deeper themes round dying and id all whereas maintaining us afloat with comedy. A heartfelt journey by way of the trials and tribulations of beginning a household, Attempting has lengthy been one in all Apple TV+’s underrated gems. This season, everlasting optimist Nikki and deadpan delight Jason (Esther Smith and Rafe Spall) assist their children navigate main questions on household, together with query marks about Princess’ start mom. Episode 2, entailing an old style date with Jim Broadbent as George, is a season spotlight. — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor
The way to watch: Attempting Season 4 is now streaming on Apple TV+.
14. The Outlaws, Season 3
They’re baaaack.
Credit score: BBC / Huge Discuss
Stephen Service provider and Elgin James’ sharply scripted and hilariously carried out comedy sequence The Outlaws returned for a 3rd spherical this 12 months, and it is as contemporary because the day it started its mandated group service. The sequence follows a gaggle of random miscreants in Bristol charged with payback obligation who’ve ended up an unlikely and steadfast modern-day heist crew. Although they’ve performed some issues they don’t seem to be so happy with, the crew have bonded over the previous couple of seasons with some harebrained schemes, main operations, and shifting moments of friendship. In Season 3? There is a useless physique, new careers, greater stakes, and the wondrous addition of Richard E. Grant. Wait, did we are saying useless physique? — S.C.
The way to watch: The Outlaws Season 3 is streaming on BBC iPlayer within the UK and Prime Video within the U.S.
13. The Utterly Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin
Hugh Bonneville and Noel Fielding in “The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin.”
Credit score: Apple TV+
Considered one of two tales of freeway theft in 18th-century England this 12 months, The Utterly Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is as foolish and enjoyable as its prolonged title suggests. Based mostly on the exploits of Essex brigand Dick Turpin (Noel Fielding in full Vince Noir mode), the sequence seizes on the truth that Turpin’s life was wildly romanticised after his dying at 33 (by hanging, for horse theft) — then amps it as much as 11. Rolling concerning the woods together with his Essex Gang of misfits, Turpin takes on a peril of the week in Monty Python meets Our Flag Means Loss of life meets The Mighty Boosh vogue. Throw in some cameos from Britain’s largest comedians, with standout appearances by Tamsin Greig, Greg Davies, and Intercourse Schooling‘s Connor Swindells, and you have a surreal, satisfying, history-adjacent journey in your palms. — S.C.
The way to watch: The Utterly Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin is now streaming on Apple TV+.
12. Renegade Nell
Louisa Harland in “Renegade Nell.”
Credit score: Robert Viglasky / Disney
Proving you could by no means have too many highwaymen on display, the pleasant Renegade Nell continues the development set by The Utterly Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin.
Created by Blissful Valley‘s Sally Wainwright and starring Derry Ladies‘ Louisa Harland, Renegade Nell delivers a brand new heroine to root for in Nell Jackson (Harland). Framed for homicide by nobles, Nell and her sisters discover themselves caught up in a lifetime of crime, with all of 18th-century England fearing Nell as a infamous freeway robber. Count on stunts to die for, historic journey, and magic, courtesy of Nell’s guardian spirit Billy Bly (Ted Lasso‘s Nick Mohammed). Plus, Harland cements her star standing with a efficiency that’s as charming as it’s badass. — Belen Edwards, Leisure Reporter
The way to watch: Renegade Nell is now streaming on Disney+.
11. Huge Temper
Lydia West and Nicola Coughlan knock it out of the park in “Big Mood.”
Credit score: Channel 4
It is formally the 12 months of Nicola Coughlan, with each Bridgerton and Huge Temper making this best-of checklist. The latter sees Coughlan in a superb pairing with It is a Sin star Lydia West as two greatest associates in Londo who’re navigating their thirties and all of the social strain that comes with it. Written by playwright Camilla Whitehill and directed by Rebecca Asher (Lifeless to Me, Grace and Frankie) Huge Temper is a humorous, shifting, and beautifully acted exploration of psychological well being and friendship, particularly by way of bipolar dysfunction and unprocessed grief. In case you favored This Method Up, you may like Huge Temper. — S.C.
The way to watch: Huge Temper is now streaming on All4 within the UK and Tubi within the U.S.
10. Queenie
Dionne Brown as Queenie Jenkins in “Queenie.”
Credit score: Lionsgate / Latoya Okuneye
Candice Carty-Williams’ extremely widespread and critically lauded novel Queenie got here to TV this 12 months, produced by Channel 4 and launched on Hulu within the U.S. with Disney’s Onyx Collective. Dionne Brown is classy because the titular protagonist Queenie Jenkins, a 25-year-old Jamaican British lady who’s placing one foot in entrance of the opposite after a significant breakup. Set in London, the sequence sees Queenie trying to maneuver on along with her life by way of informal hookups whereas processing unresolved trauma and discovering her solution to self-love.
As Liv Facey wrote for Mashable, “Queenie is a realistic representation of a young woman just trying to figure things out. She makes viewers question how different from her we really are. Yes, she is a mess and can be annoying, but she’s also smart, funny, and all the things in between, and isn’t that something we can all be?
“Queenie stresses the significance of portraying Black ladies of their full complexity, together with their messy sides. The sequence reminds us that we want extra characters like her, whom we’re pressured to take a look at with nuance and join on a deeper stage — even when that comes with discomfort.” — S.C.
Mashable High Tales
The way to watch: Queenie is now streaming on All4 within the UK and Hulu within the U.S.
9. The Responder, Season 2
Martin Freeman and Adelayo Adedayo are distinctive in “The Responder.”
Credit score: BBC / Dancing Ledge
Considered one of the very best exhibits of 2022, Tony Schumacher’s tense, gritty police drama The Responder lastly returned for a second season, bringing with it two of the very best performances on TV this 12 months. Martin Freeman continues his distinctive run as corner-cutting Liverpool cop Chris Carson, alongside excellent Supacell star Adelayo Adedayo as his response group associate Rachel Hargreaves. As within the first season, Season 2 is a marathon of gray-area decisions, with proper and unsuitable thrown within the bin because the characters merely attempt to preserve their heads above water. If you wish to watch actors on the high of their recreation inside a compelling drama that rattles the police procedural, that is it. — S.C.
The way to watch: The Responder is streaming on BBC iPlayer within the UK. Season 1 is streaming on Prime Video within the U.S., with Season 2 coming quickly.
8. Bridgerton, Season 3
Luke Newton and Nicola Coughlan in “Bridgerton.”
Credit score: Liam Daniel / Netflix
First there was Daphne and the Duke. Then got here Kate and Anthony and Queen Charlotte and George III. Now, with Season 3, Shondaland’s beloved adaptation of Julia Quinn’s romance novels brings us Penelope and Colin’s love story, the slowest-burn romance but — she’s been burning for him since Season 1! It took touring world wide for Colin Bridgerton to get a glow-up and understand what an ideal woman he had again house. Fortunately by the tip of half one, he confirmed her his deep, probing affection in a carriage scene that left followers scorching and bothered.
Half two throws these lovers into one another’s arms and contemporary drama. And we’re right here for each second, as a result of Nicola Coughlan is our queen. Certain, there’s different plotlines this season, some spicy, some bewildering, and one involving a vegetarian who deserves higher! Nevertheless it’s Coughlan and her grace, her comedic timing, and her swoon-inducing charms that has made Bridgerton Season 3 amongst Netflix’s perfect in 2024.* — Kristy Puchko, Movie Editor
The way to watch: Bridgerton Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.
7. Mary and George
Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzine in “Mary & George.”
Credit score: Starz
Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzine scheme and seduce their solution to the highest in Mary and George, a interval drama all concerning the heady pursuit of energy.
Moore performs Mary Villiers, a countess in Jacobean England who pushes her son George (Galitzine) to be King James VI and I’s (Tony Curran) new lover. Rival suitors and political opponents have it out for the Villiers household, and whereas George claims his emotions for James are actual, there is no doubt he and his mom are utilizing the delicate king for their very own acquire. As Mary and George’s affect continues to develop, the sequence weaves an intoxicating internet of intercourse, politics, and scandal — one which threatens to break down across the Villiers as they sacrifice something and anybody to get forward.* — B.E.
The way to watch: Mary and George is now streaming on Sky and NOW TV within the UK and on Starz within the U.S.
6. Supacell
Rapman’s Netflix sequence is lastly right here.
Credit score: Netflix
Showrunner, creator, and director Rapman’s Netflix sequence is lastly right here, and it is a dynamite new strategy to the superhero style. Supacell sees 5 Black strangers in South London — Michael (Tosin Cole), Sabrina (Nadine Mills), Andre (Eric Kofi Abrefa), Rodney (Calvin Demba), and Tazer (Josh Tedeku) — who develop totally different superpowers, all whereas navigating the realism of on a regular basis life. Some use their energy to guard these they love (together with a superb Adelayo Adedayo as Michael’s girlfriend Dionne) or just to place meals on the desk, whereas others crave energy and respect. When Michael’s capacity to journey by way of time provides him a glimpse at a horrible future, he wants to search out and unite the 5 as sinister forces start to circle. With deeply compelling performances, a tightly woven story, and a few spectacular visible results deployed throughout London, Supacell shakes up the superpowers format. — S.C.
The way to watch: Supacell begins streaming on Netflix June 27.
5. 3 Physique Drawback
Gang’s all right here. For now.
Credit score: Ed Miller / Netflix
Typically you desire a mild comedy; different occasions, you need to lean into doubtlessly world-ending existential terror. The latter is firmly on provide in 3 Physique Drawback, a sci-fi epic based mostly on Cixin Liu’s trilogy and dropped at the display by Sport of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and The Terror‘s Alexander Woo. The sequence tells the story of an alien race known as the San-Ti, who’ve been pressured to go away their house planet and are a number of hundred years away from touchdown on their new house: Earth. 3 Physique Drawback is spectacular as a result of it asks some fairly large questions of the universe whereas additionally creating a really human story about how individuals may react when confronted with doable future extinction. Oh, and there are some sequences that can by no means go away your head — howdy, episode 5. * — Sam Haysom, Deputy UK Editor
The way to watch: 3 Physique Drawback is now streaming on Netflix.
4. We Are Girl Components, Season 2
Religion Omole, Sarah Kameela Impey, Juliette Motamed, Anjana Vasan, and Malala Yousafzai in “We Are Lady Parts.”
Credit score: Saima Khalid / Peacock / NBC Worldwide / C4
After three lengthy years on hiatus, We Are Girl Components is again with a second season that was effectively definitely worth the wait.
Created by Nida Manzoor, this sensational comedy sequence facilities on Girl Components, a punk band made up of Muslim ladies who’re determining life, love, friendship, and religion in up to date London. Between the setting and a few acquainted themes, Season 2 has echoes of Bridgerton, however with an irreverent humorousness that’s not solely completely fashionable but in addition completely hilarious. Whether or not following wallflower guitarist Amina (Anjana Vasan), hard-headed frontwoman Saira (Sarah Kameela Impey), warm-hearted bassist Bisma (Religion Omole), mercurial drummer Ayesha (Juliette Motamed), or their ever-strategic supervisor Momtaz (Lucie Shorthouse), We Are Girl Components rocks, peppered with playful punchlines, rapturous fantasy sequences, rousing musical numbers, and a cameo from the one-and-only Malala Yousafzai. Whether or not you are new to this sequence or not, Season 2 is simply too good to be missed.* — Okay.P.
The way to watch: We Are Girl Components is now streaming on Channel 4 within the UK and Peacock within the U.S.
3. One Day
Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod in “One Day.”
Credit score: Matt Towers / Netflix
In February, we did an entire lot of TV-induced crying, as Netflix’s One Day broke our rattling hearts. An bold, romantic, and contemporary adaptation of David Nicholls’ novel, this impeccable, sluggish burn sequence gave the story extra room to breathe than Lone Scherfig’s 2011 movie. Following college students Emma and Dex (magnetic, lived-in performances by Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall) throughout a long time of their advanced friendship, One Day makes a cinematic epic of long-game love whereas unpacking the politics of privilege in relationships. Even listening to the title of the sequence will induce starry-eyed appears into the horizon and a palm to the center.* — S.C.
The way to watch: One Day is now streaming on Netflix.
2. Physician Who, Season 14
The Physician (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson).
Credit score: James Pardon / Unhealthy Wolf / BBC Studios
Showrunner Russell T Davies returned to Physician Who this season, bringing with him loads of panache. Not solely did he reward audiences the splendor of Ncuti Gatwa because the ever-charming Fifteenth Physician and Millie Gibson because the irrepressible Ruby Sunday, he additionally provided thrilling visitor stars, like Broadway’s Jonathan Groff because the dashing Rogue, Susan Twist because the season’s largest thriller, and RuPaul’s Drag Race two-time champion Jinkx Monsoon because the melodic and maleficent baddie known as Maestro.
Week after week, Davies and his firm launched compelling new creatures to the Whoniverse, like Bridgerton-obsessed bodysnatchers, whereas tapping into traditional lore for contemporary reveals. And with every new journey, Davies offered a unique taste for followers established and model new. So, “House Infants” gave us a creepy but foolish monster-of-the-week fairy story, whereas “Satan’s Chord” acquired boldly theatrical. Need a warfare story? A people horror story? A Black Mirror episode? A interval romance? It doesn’t matter what sort of Who you starvation for, Davies saved the youngsters fed in “the queerest season” the sequence has ever seen. And it has been marvelous. —Okay.P.
The way to watch: Physician Who is now streaming on BBC iPlayer within the UK and on Disney+ the place out there.
1. Child Reindeer
Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning in “Baby Reindeer.”
Credit score: Ed Miller / Netflix
For higher or worse, Child Reindeer is a present that sticks with you: It is amusing in elements, tense in others, and emotionally shattering general. Based mostly on creator Richard Gadd’s personal expertise of being stalked, the sequence follows the budding comic (who performs a model of himself) as he balances profession disappointment together with his job in a London pub — till a lady named Martha (a superb and terrifying Jessica Gunning) is available in someday and develops an obsession with him. “This isn’t the type of show with a clear resolution,” I wrote in my assessment for Mashable. “It’s messy, thought-provoking, and — like a dream that’s difficult to shake — you’ll find your mind going back to it long after the credits have rolled.”* — S.H.
The way to watch: Child Reindeer is now streaming on Netflix.
