There’s something about British television that the world has been trying to copy for years. Now that streaming services have finally acculturated North American audiences to the miniseries format, binging the best of British TV has become so much more popular. While there are bespoke British streaming services like BritBox and Acorn, there are a surprising number of great options available on Amazon Prime in the US.
From sitcoms to murder mysteries to high-stakes dramas, there’s an abundance of British options available right now.
'Outlaws'
Marketing itself as a comedy, The Outlaws very quickly reveals itself as much more than a regular Brit-com. By the end of the first episode, audiences will realize that its more accurately described as a crime-thriller-coming-of-age comedy that brings heart and soul to each of its characters.
Created, co-written, and co-directed by Stephen Merchant (who also stars), The Outlaws centers around a group of unlikely petty criminals sentenced to a Community Payback program and how their lives change during their time together. The show is as motley and interesting as the cast of characters within it and definitely worth the six episodes.
'A Very British Scandal'
For fans of mid-century British dramas, Prime is now streaming A Very British Scandal, starring Claire Foy and Paul Bettany. The three-episode drama explores the very public and scandalous divorce of the 11th Duke of Argyll and his wife in 1963, as all the dirty secrets and accusations come spilling out.
Brilliantly written and acted, A Very British Scandal transports audiences to a time in Britain when the political and social climate was very different from today’s, including the attitude towards divorce and women.
'Clarkson’s Farm'
Jeremy Clarkson is a contrarian gear head best known for his role on Top Gear and The Grand Tour, revving engines and reviewing cars. So during the pandemic, when Clarkson turned his hand to farming, Amazon Prime made a show about it appropriately titled Clarkson’s Farm.
Chronicling Clarkson’s failures as much as his victories, the show is generous to those around him as he muddles through a year of farming while dealing with drought, flooding, health issues, bureaucratic red tape, and a healthy dose of unwarranted arrogance. And it’s hilarious.
'Fleabag'
Based on Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s one-woman show first performed in 2013, Fleabag is an award-winning tragicomedy about the life of an independent and angry young woman living in London. With a creative, non-traditional format, it breaks the fourth wall, often offering commentary directly to the audience.
Like a radically updated Bridget Jones' Diary, Fleabag offers an inventive twist on the single urban female story, dealing with darker, more traumatic themes with unflinching resolve. There’s hardly a funnier or more scathing examination of modern urban single life available now.
'Endeavour'
Lovers of British murder mysteries will undoubtedly be familiar with the TV series Morse and its spin-off Lewis. While the trail seems to have run cold in that direction, a whole new world of possibilities has opened up with the retrospective series Endeavour, set in the early days of Morse’s career.
The young Endeavour Morse is played by the incomparable Shaun Evans, who offers an astute portrayal of the youthful, less grumpy Morse during his starting years on the force. The murder detective’s efforts are set in the turbulence of Oxford in the 1960s and deal with social changes like women’s rights, civil rights, and immigration.
'Oh Cook!'
James May, a.k.a. Captain Slow from Top Gear and The Grand Tour, indulges in his love of food and humor in the punnily named Oh Cook! May is assisted by a small camera crew — many of whom get some screen-time in the tiny kitchen — as well as a home economist he keeps in a cupboard until required.
May works his way through several gastronomic genres throughout the seven episodes, including Asian Fusion, Curry, and Breakfast. By May’s blokeish charm, audiences of all types will find it hard not to binge the whole thing at once.
'Good Omens'
Based on the book by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett and created and written by Gaiman himself, Good Omens is a great way to spend some time in front of the telly. It follows the angel Aziraphale (Michael Sheen) and the demon Crowley (David Tennant) as they team up to prevent the imminent approach of Armageddon.
Funny and fanciful with a healthy dose of style, Good Omens has it all, including a magnificent opening title sequence with music that gives its audience something to hum about. Fans can rejoice that the limited series was renewed, with most of the cast returning for Series 2.
'The Durrells in Corfu'
Ironically, there’s something very British about an English family upping sticks and settling somewhere else — anywhere else — and then attempting to carry on like they’re still back home. The Durrells (known as The Durrells in Corfu in North America) offers just such an escapism as it follows the financially unstable Durrell family to the sunny Greek island in the three years before the outbreak of World War 2.
Loosely based on Gerald Durrell’s three autobiographical novels, The Durrells is a satisfying escape from North America, offering the beauty of the Mediterranean mixed in with British drama and comedy.
'Poldark'
It doesn't get better for lovers of British historical dramas than Poldark. After three years of fighting for the British in the American War of Independence, Captain Ross Vennor Poldark (Aiden Turner) comes home to find his father dead, his estate in ruins, and his childhood sweetheart engaged to his cousin.
Thus starts seven series of dramatic highs and lows, following the lives of those around Poldark through marriages, births, deaths, and war. It spans the years 1783 through 1801 and provides enough lush visuals, epic scenery, and stirring romance to sweep audiences off their feet.
The Tunnel
A British-French remake of the phenomenal Danish-Swedish crime series The Bridge, The Tunnel considers a double murder mystery when two severed bodies are found on either side of the international boundary within the Chanel Tunnel. Marvelously cast with Stephen Dillane and Clémence Poésy as the British and French detectives assigned to the case, the show explores the tensions involved in an international murder investigation.
Unlike other remakes, The Tunnel gets it right. It was so well received it earned a total of three series. Audiences will remain glued to the screen with stakes legitimately high in each series until the bitter end.