Out of all the streaming services, BritBox is the most upfront about what you’re getting right out of the gate. (It’s right there in the title!) A go-to for lovers of British television of all stripes, its expansive library boasts classics of all varieties, from the early days of Doctor Who to cult comedy favorites. And its roster of original series has never been better, full of some of the best British period dramas and mysteries anywhere—and more are on the way.
The streamer is set to launch Tommy And Tuppence this September, the first contemporary-set adaptation of Agatha Christie’s married pair of detectives who banter their way through solving crimes in four novels and a short story collection and, unlike many of her other famous sleuths, age in time with the real world. But this charming update isn’t the only BritBox original worth your time. Here are 10 shows to help you dive into the best of what the streamer has to offer.
Ludwig
Stars: David Mitchell, Anna Maxwell Martin, Gerran Howell, Dipo Ola, Ralph Ineson, Sophie Willan
Number of seasons: One
Peep Show’s David Mitchell stars as John, a socially awkward bachelor, recluse, and acclaimed puzzle setter who is forced out of his comfort zone when his detective twin brother goes missing and he must assume his identity to help track him down. Thankfully, John’s puzzle-attuned mind and love of logic turn out to be uniquely suited to solving crime, and he shares banter-heavy chemistry with his sister-in-law Philomena (a delightful Anna Maxwell Martin). Season two will premiere on BritBox in October, with a Christmas special to follow this holiday season. It’s also already been renewed for a third outing.
Inspired by Mary Lowell’s book, The Sisters: The Saga Of The Mitford Family, this drama follows the lives of the six Mitford sisters, often popularly referred to as Nancy The Novelist, Diana The Fascist, Jessica The Communist, Unity The Hitler-lover, Deborah The Duchess, and Pamela The Poultry Connoisseur. The Mitfords were the talk of the town in 1930s English society for their polarizing politics, dramatic fashion sense, and seemingly never-ending scandals, which involved everything from Nancy’s books and Diana’s divorce to Unity’s bizarre friendship with Adolf Hitler.
(Photo: Courtesy of BritBox)
Staged
Stars: David Tennant, Michael Sheen, Georgia Tennant, Anna Lundberg, Lucy Eaton
Number of seasons: Three
Is there a better time than watching David Tennant and Michael Sheen—who are real-life friends—engage in hilarious banter onscreen? Filmed initially during the pandemic lockdown in 2020, Staged features the performers playing fictionalized versions of themselves, with several notable actors making cameos, including Samuel L. Jackson, Judi Dench, Simon Pegg, Jim Parsons, Olivia Colman, Ken Jeong, and Ewan McGregor.
(Photo: Courtesy of BritBox(
The Other Bennet Sister
Cast: Ella Bruccoleri, Dónal Finn, Laurie Davidson, Tanya Reynolds, Richard E. Grant, Ruth Jones, Poppy Gilbert, Indira Varma, Richard Coyle, Varada Sethu
Number of seasons: One
A thoroughly delightful adaptation of Janice Hadlow’s novel of the same name, The Other Bennet Sister reimagines Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice from the perspective of the most frequently overlooked Bennet sister: Bookish Mary, who finds joy in more intellectual pursuits than her siblings. Bruccoleri’s fantastic performance leans into some of Mary’s most awkward moments without ever turning her into a caricature, and though she meets two extremely dreamy potential romantic interests (Finn and Davidson), this is ultimately a story about learning to fall in love with yourself. A three-part holiday special will air this Christmas.
(Photo: Courtesy of BritBox)
Death Valley
Cast: Gwyneth Keyworth, Timothy Spall, Steffan Rhodri, Alexandra Riley
Number of seasons: One
Don’t let the seemingly dark title fool you; this isn’t your typical grisly crime procedural. Death Valley may be a crime drama, but it’s surprisingly warm and funny, full of obvious affection for its characters and the genre in which their story takes place (though it’s willing to poke some gentle fun at both). While investigating the death by suicide of a local property developer, go-getter DS Janie Mallowan (Keyworth) discovers her favorite actor, John Chapel (Spall), happens to live next door to the victim. Famous for starring in a long-running detective series and now a recluse who hates most of his neighbors, Chapel still manages to put the sleuthing skills he used onscreen to good use, convincing Mallowan the death was a murder and helping to solve the case. Can you be a real detective if you only played one on TV? In Death Valley, you can. Season two will premiere in November.
Sherwood
Cast: David Morrissey, Lesley Manville, Robert Glenister, Kevin Doyle, Claire Rushbrook, Lorraine Ashbourne, Philip Jackson, Terence Maynard, Andrea Lowe, Lindsay Duncan, Monica Dolan, Stephen Dillane
Number of seasons: Two
The first season of this well-plotted crime drama not only features a compelling murder case about a killer who slays his victims with a bow and arrow, but a thoughtful exploration of the lingering tension and community divisions left over from the 1984 miners’ strike. Its second shifts gears to a quasi-anthology format, introducing two new central families to tell a story of gang violence and a controversial new coal mining proposal. Familiar characters like Detective Ian St. Clair (Morrissey), Julie Jackson (Manville), and Daphne Sparrow (Ashbourne) appear across both installments, as new faces are introduced. The series has been renewed for a third season, which will introduce a new central family and cold case for St. Clair to solve.
(Photo: Courtesy of BritBox)
Code Of Silence
Cast: Rose Ayling Ellis, Charlotte Ritchie, Andrew Buchan, Kieron Moore
The story of a deaf police canteen worker drawn into a dangerous gang investigation when her lip-reading skills become of use to the police, Code Of Silence is not just a remarkably well-done crime drama. It’s also an authentic, unsentimental representation of the Deaf community in ways we rarely see on television. As Alison (Ellis) becomes further entangled in the case, she also draws closer to a suspect named Liam (Moore), forcing her into a series of high-stakes personal and professional decisions that could have deadly consequences. The series has been renewed for a second season.
(Photo: BritBox)
The Confessions Of Frannie Langton
Cast: Karla-Simone Spence, Sophie Cookson, Stephen Campbell Moore, Patrick Martins
Number of seasons: One
One part historical drama, one part murder mystery, and one part queer romance, this sumptuous Gothic-style series is unlike anything else you’ll find on this streamer or, for the most part, in this genre space. Set in 1826, during a particularly difficult period of British history when the slave trade was outlawed but enslaving people was not, the story follows the titular Frannie Langton (Spence), a London servant accused of killing her mistress, Marguerite (Cookson), and her husband. Things are further complicated by the fact that Marguerite was also her lover, and that Frannie cannot remember the events of the night of their deaths. Exquisitely acted—Spence in particular is marvelous—the series looks at race, gender, class, and identity in a time of shifting political and social beliefs.
Ostensibly about a group of fifty- and sixtysomething women who form a punk rock band in West Yorkshire—which, let’s be real, is awesome enough on its face—this six-part series is also a fascinating, heartfelt story about female friendship and the struggles of middle age. Wrestling with everything from sexual violence and mental trauma to broken families and unrepentant misogyny, this is a much more complex tale than is immediately apparent from the show’s marketing. But that’s part of the reason it’s so satisfying.
(Photo: Courtesy of BritBox)
Three Little Birds
Cast: Rochelle Neil, Saffron Coomber, Yazmin Belo, Javone Prince, Arthur Darvill, Lenny Henry, Bobby Gordon, Amy Beth Hayes, Michelle Fox
Number of seasons: One
Written by Sir Lenny Henry in collaboration with Doctor Who’s Russell T. Davies, this warm and thoughtfully put together series is a love letter to the Windrush Generation, the mass migration movement that saw citizens from across the former British Empire move to the U.K. under the British Nationality Act to help counteract post-World War II labor shortages. Set in 1950s England, it follows the story of three women who travel from Jamaica in search of better lives. What they find is not precisely the land of opportunity they were promised, but in the face of harassment, professional inequalities, and racism, they build rich community bonds that help them not just survive, but thrive.
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