The 21 best British TV shows and where to stream them right now

Black Mirror (2011–present)

Charlie Brooker’s magnificent anthology series is one of the only examples of the form that rivals The Twilight Zone for mind-boggling twists and reality-shattering thrills. You could make a case for nearly every episode of Black Mirror being the series’ best, but its structure allows you to hop in wherever you’d like. (The show is oddly rewarding for those who tackle it in non-consecutive order.)

The pilot is always a good place to start, succinctly establishing the show’s subversive tone and worldview, but the much-discussed “San Junipero” (season 3, episode 4) is also a worthy (if less-twisted) launching point into Black Mirror’s bleak universe.

Where to watch Black Mirror: Netflix

Broadchurch (2013–2017)

Olivia Colman and David Tennant star as dower detectives investigating the murder of a young boy in this British series, which is essentially patient zero for every crime-busting Britbox show from the last decade. There are no better leads for Broadchurch than Colman and Tennant, two actors firing on all cylinders here. (For Colman die-hards, this is a pivotal but oddly under-discussed part of her career.)

Set in soggy coastal England, Broadchurch distinguishes itself from many similar series through the titular community’s witty cast of characters. Viewers will be pleased to find three seasons' worth of cases that are properly beguiling and sometimes a bit spooky.

Where to watch Broadchurch: Amazon Prime Video

Catastrophe (2015–2019)

Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney created and starred in this terrific sitcom about a one-night stand that turns into a most unexpected partnership. Catastrophe established Horgan as a stellar comedic voice on par with Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Issa Rae, and Tina Fey — and it made quite a star out of Delaney, as well. 

Their show is an indelible combination of hard jokes and genuine pathos; one minute you’ll be gasping that they just went there, while the next you may get choked up by relatable and authentic developments. It’s a tremendous, high-wire emotional balancing act.

Where to watch Catastrophe: Amazon Prime Video

Cunk on Earth (2022)

Comedian Diane Morgan stars in this miniseries as Philomena Cunk, a hopelessly daft television presenter who travels the world to interview (very real) experts about topics that make human existence so confounding.

One could compare Morgan’s schtick to Borat, but that wouldn’t be giving her proper credit. Where Sacha Baron Cohen uses his characters to expose flaws in others, Morgan crafts an opposite approach that makes herself the butt of the joke. It’s a gentler but no less hysterical spin on the mockumentary format. Our only complaint is that there are too few episodes.

Where to watch Cunk on Earth: Netflix

Derry Girls (2018–2022)

This compulsively rewatchable series follows a handful of defiant Catholic school girls in Derry, Ireland, during the Troubles. Much like Catastrophe, Derry Girls combines irreverent farce with weightier issues that sometimes take you by surprise but never betray the series’ light-hearted metier. It may seem an odd comparison, but Derry Girls is as if the Sarah Jessica Parker classic Girls Just Want to Have Fun had a one-night stand with Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast. 

Where to watch Derry Girls: Netflix

Doctor Who (1963–present)

The seminal time-traveling sci-fi series remains one of Britain’s most beloved entertainment exports. Many actors have assumed the titular role over the years, with recent iterations including David Tennant, Jodie Whittaker, and Peter Capaldi. Now with Ncuti Gatwa playing the Fifteenth Doctor in the latest season, Doctor Who has segued into an exciting new territory.

Ngawa approaches the role with a childlike wonder that’s both charming and quite fun to watch, lending the series an even more overtly playful, popcorn tone. Season 14 also features a compelling side narrative involving the Doctor’s own identity and self-discovery, opening the door for vibrant moments of social satire.

Where to watch Doctor Who: Max

Downton Abbey (2010–2015)

An updated take on Upstairs Downstairs, Downton Abbey follows the residents and staff of the eponymous Yorkshire estate across five seasons (and two movies), from the early 1900s through the First World War and into the late 1920s.

Escapist but never lightweight, Downton Abbey is a high watermark for British costume dramas — which is really saying something. It combines the sweep of classic literature with pulpy soap opera and a bit of a history lesson enacted by some of Britain’s best thespians. Chief among them is the late and especially great Dame Maggie Smith, who gave one of her most powerful and enduring performances as the prim and wise Violet Crawley.

Where to watch Downton Abbey: Amazon Prime Video

Fleabag (2016–2019)

Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s signature series, based on her equally compelling one-woman show of the same name, sees her play the titular wayward thirtysomething, a sexually liberated woman running a guinea pig cafe. Our awkward heroine copes with grief through humor while navigating relationships with her type-A sister (Sian Clifford), her nasty stepmother (Olivia Colman), and in season 2, a hot priest (Andrew Scott).

Fleabag’s greatest achievement is how well it evolves its characters and their personal tragedies in just two short seasons with sub-30-minute episodes. The series is a straight-faced coming-of-age yarn, but Waller-Bridge also deconstructs the rom-com mythos of the kooky, free-spirited single woman through well-executed fourth-wall breaks and wry, heartbreaking writing. 

Where to watch Fleabag: Amazon Prime Video

Gavin and Stacey (2007–present)

This British series sees big-city businessman Gavin Shipman (Mathew Horne) fall in love with small-town Welsh girl Nessa Jenkins (Ruth Jones) through clandestine late-night phone calls. When they finally meet in person and fall deeply in love, their courtship rankles their respective close friends (James Corden and Joanna Page).

Eminently rewatchable, Gavin and Stacey is one of the merriest of BBC sitcoms. It evokes the small details of long-lasting friendships and family relationships, and the show’s respect for its characters is always evident even as the jokes become increasingly broad.

Where to watch Gavin and Stacey: Britbox

Ghosts (2019–2023)

This wry and supremely well-crafted sitcom follows Alison (Charlotte Ritchie), a young woman who inherits a decaying manse from a departed family member only to discover that it’s chock-a-block with ghosts from vastly different eras.

Ghosts fits within the innuendo-laden vein of Are You Being Served?, but is also a grounded and somewhat poignant examination of separate generations learning to co-exist as one. It’s an interesting, lightweight spin on the domestic sitcom with enough horror flourishes to delight the average genre fan.

Where to watch Ghosts: Paramount+

Heartstopper (2022–present)

Netflix’s adaptation of Alice Oseman’s graphic novels is a respectful yet passionate paean to first love. Nick (Kit Connor) and Charlie (Joe Locke) are two high school outcasts whose friendship slowly blossoms into something more as they navigate the societal expectations of their peers and parents.

Heartstopper is one of the few teen-centric romance/drama series that stands alongside older-skewing shows in terms of writing and production quality. There is an emphatic truthfulness to the story and the performances that anchor it, which is both refreshing and innovative.

Where to watch Heartstopper: Netflix

Killing Eve (2018–2022)

Another hit British series produced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Killing Eve has no shortage of cultural impact. MI5 security officer Eve (Sandra Oh) becomes infatuated with master criminal Villanelle (Jodie Comer), who represents a glamor that eludes Eve in her pencil-pushing day job.

What begins as a fairly straightforward (though riotously paced) spy procedural slowly morphs into something much more subversive and, dare we say, erotic (in a thoughtful sort of way). All the while, Oh and Comer’s slow dance of antagonism crossed with infatuation is some of the most thrilling acting in recent television memory.

Where to watch Killing Eve: Netflix

Luther (2010–2019)

Idris Elba stars as the titular detective investigating brutal murder cases in this increasingly depraved psychological thriller, which is a spiritual cross between Dexter and The Wire. Elba’s Luther is a terrific, haunted anti-hero who has more in common with the killers he hunts than he’d likely care to admit. This is on the harder-edged side of British procedurals, with Elba displaying a fascinating duality in a series that isn’t afraid to probe the darker recesses of its characters’ psyches.

Where to watch Luther: Britbox

Misfits (2009–2015)

This terrific teen superhero show preempted a great deal of the Marvel/DC Universe output, and for our money, it’s more consistent than better-known fare. The British series concerns a group of juvenile delinquents (chavs, really) who are accidentally imbued with incredible powers after getting caught in an electrical storm.

Misfits is a great example of a show for a teenage audience that respects its demographic rather than talking down to them. It does a masterful job of interweaving sci-fi/action plotting with thoughtful, well-placed beats about adolescent confusion — which is often far more vexing than any acquired supernatural ability.

Where to watch Misfits: Peacock

The Office (2001–2003)

Ricky Gervais’ seminal mockumentary about a desperate middle manager (Gervais) of a London-based paper company set the tone for many cringe comedy sitcoms (and movies) that followed in the early 2000s. And of course, it birthed the better-known NBC remake of the same name.

No one does this sort of thing better than Gervais, though. He has a distinct ability to tease out empathy from awkwardness in scenarios that could otherwise seem mean-spirited or ill-conceived. Each of the two seasons is wonderfully structured. If Gervais never matches the excellence of this work, it’s only because The Office set such a high bar.

Where to watch The Office: Hulu

Peaky Blinders (2013–2022)

Just when you thought the gangster drama had said all there was to say, Peaky Blinders came blazing onto the scene, reinventing the genre with a combination of skillful writing, galvanizing performances, and a modern (but never anachronistic) flair.

War veteran Thomas Shelby (Cillian Murphy) rules the titular crime family with an iron fist and a sharp blade. When given an opportunity to segue into a more legitimate business, Tommy risks hide and hair, going up against British and Irish brutes to make himself a fortune.

Where to watch Peaky Blinders: Netflix

The Responder (2022–present)

Martin Freeman stars in this police drama as Chris Carson, a has-been urgent response officer tasked with working endless night shifts in gritty London opposite his less experienced but still game partner (Adelayo Adedayo).

The Responder is a compelling variation on the procedural format, sharing more in common with American series like The Wire and True Detective than it does Broadchurch or Shetland. Freeman, so adept as a likable guy and a bit of a ne’er-do-well, displays an altogether tougher (and dare we say steely) demeanor, which has us hankering to see him in more morally dubious action roles.

Where to watch The Responder: Britbox

Sherlock (2010–2017)

Benedict Cumberbatch stars as the titular Baker Street sleuth while Martin Freeman plays his doting companion, Watson. Sherlock is an effortless update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s seminal detective novels, one that’s brilliantly modernized while retaining all of the source material’s classical charms. The series is witty, thrilling, and touching — usually all at once — and features a few of the most stunningly realized twists in recent television.

Where to watch Sherlock: Hulu

Shetland (2013–present)

Along with Broadchurch, Shetland is the prototypical drizzly British procedural. DI Jimmy Perez (Douglas Henshall) patrols the eponymous rainy isle, where many people go missing and even more have a propensity for turning up dead.

More serious than Broadchurch (though not by much), Shetland has similarly witty characters while going a bit deeper into the emotional chaos of it all. Henshall is a hoot as the tortured inspector, though the series has recently taken on a new dimension with the addition of Ashley Jensen (so brilliant in Ricky Gervais’ Hollywood satire Extras) as the formidable DI Ruth Calder.

Where to watch Shetland: Britbox

Skins (2007–2013)

It’s safe to say that without Skins there would be no Euphoria. Taking inspiration from Degrassi, Skins follows a group of teens in dead-end Bristol who spice up their dull middle school existences with drinking, drugging, and saucy instant messaging (remember that?). For those who perhaps find Euphoria a touch too harrowing (or exaggerated) to watch, Skins provides a perfect middle-ground with more authentic adolescent experiences that still flirt with darkness. That said, it’s probably best not to watch this one with your parents…

Where to watch Skins: Hulu

Slow Horses (2022–present)

Gary Oldman stars as the brilliantly repugnant Jackson Lamb, a crude government agent tasked with overseeing the MI5’s division of “slough horses” — those who have screwed up in the line of duty and now have nowhere to go but down.

Slow Horses, based on the book series by Mick Herron, is raucous, often anxiety-producing, and a bit grosser than you’ve come to expect from British shows. It’s also one of the most exciting programs currently on television. If you’ve not caught up with the first three seasons, now is the perfect time to do so as season 4 is currently in progress.

Where to watch Slow Horses: Apple TV+