21 years ago today (31 August 2003), ITV aired the first episode of the delightful British mystery Rosemary & Thyme. Originally created by Brian Eastman (Poirot) to entertain his garden-loving wife, it stars Felicity Kendal (The Good Life) and Pam Ferris (Where the Heart Is) as two women who create a gardening business and run into murders on nearly every job site. For three seasons, it combined gorgeous scenery, female friendship, and strangely plant-related murders - and it's a must-watch...
7 days ago • 4 min read
Most book-loving adults will have read 1984 at some time in their lives. What a lot of people don't know, though, is how a remote Scottish island (which these days feels like an antidote to everything 1984-ish in the world) helped inspire the masterpiece. In 1947, George Orwell was on the Isle of Jura, seeking solitude and nature to help his health and make it easier to focus on writing. It was here, surrounded by the island's natural beauty and harsh conditions, that he found both the peace...
8 days ago • 3 min read
For a little change of pace, today's newsletter will focus on weirdly specific British TV recommendations (with a more traditional newsletter with all the week's premieres coming later this weekend). If none of shows below work for you (or if you've seen them all), one of these lists may have more ideas to keep you busy... 14 Underrated & Overlooked British TV Shows 10 of the Best Dark & Gritty British Crime Dramas 11 British Netflix Original Films Produced in 2023 17 of the Best British...
8 days ago • 2 min read
In this edition of the BritishTV.com newsletter... Acorn TV has announced their September schedule New & Upcoming: A look at shows that have premiered in the last few days, or which are coming up in the next week or so Returning & Upcoming Show Updates (and a Ted Lasso update) What we're... Watching: The Sketch Artist (aka Portrait-Robot) - This French-language series is set in Montreal, and it follows the work of Éve, a talented forensic identikit artist who also struggles with bipolar...
12 days ago • 4 min read
In this edition of the BritishTV.com newsletter... BritBox has announced their September schedule New & Upcoming: A look at shows that have premiered in the last few days, or which are coming up in the next week or so A selection of British TV shows newly available to stream for free A note on Sherwood - the much-anticipated second season of this drama will premiere on November 14th, with two episodes weekly through November 28th. What we're... Watching: Affairs of the Heart - Running a...
20 days ago • 4 min read
If you've ever visited Edinburgh, you'll almost certainly have seen Deacon Brodie's Tavern. Situated along the Royal Mile just across from St. Giles' Cathedral, it's hard to miss. What a lot of people don't realise in passing, though, is that it's named after a Scottish cabinet maker who lived a double life in the 1700s. By day, he was a respectable cabinet maker. By night, a burglar. Eventually, he was caught, he tried to run, and he was ultimately hanged. Robert Louis Stevenson's father...
22 days ago • 3 min read
First off - thanks for the many hundreds of emails about long list of British TV status updates. Based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback, we'll continue to send out a refreshed version roughly once a month (in addition to the individual updates we include in our regular newsletters). We appreciate those who've emailed to let us know about shows we missed, too - that's very helpful as we expand the list to make it more comprehensive in future! Second - some of you will know that I'm kind...
23 days ago • 4 min read
One of the weird and charming things about Germany (yes, Germany - stay with me for a moment) is that Germans have kind of a strange tendency to latch on to something and really go crazy for it. Like David Hasselhoff. Or for one only the older generations are likely to know, Roger Whittaker (boy could he whistle!) More relevant to this newsletter, however, is the German love for Cornish author Rosamunde Pilcher (The Shell Seekers, Winter Solstice). If you ever watched some of the TV...
25 days ago • 3 min read
We get a lot of emails from people who want to know more about what's happening with their favourite shows - and while we often provide little updates here and there as news comes out, we thought it might be useful to send out a semi-regular email that offers a more comprehensive set of updates about the status of the most popular current British TV shows. So - that's what this is. If it's popular, we'll continue to expand it until it includes pretty much every British show currently or...
26 days ago • 5 min read