Hey all I did a search for a British Drama type of thread and couldn’t really find anything. I just wanted to show my appreciation and love for British television. So this is a thread for those of you into British drama shows. To get things started here are a could of my favorite British series right now:
Luther: This is easily one of my favorite shows of all time. So well done and Idris Elba is such an amazing actor in this show. Here is the trailor
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Dead Set: This is a horror mini series about zombies and is extremely well done (Sean of The Dead was inspired by this show). Cool setting and great effects. Well worth the watch. Here is the trailer
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Law and Order: UK: Basically the British version of Law and Order. A very good show with a different perspective on crimes. If you watch L&O then you already know what to expect.
The Shadow Line: This is a newer miniseries, that has to do with cops, drugs and everything else that goes into a cop drama.
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Hustle: Not really a drama, but more so along the lines of comedy and semi espionage.
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Those are the shows that I watch regularly (or at least am caught up on the series). But here are some honorable mentions:
Waterloo Road
Spooks
Dr. Who (I like the show, but not a favorite)
But anyone else out there who is into British television? I admit I m still new and am always looking for new things to check out.
I watch British movies. I find British humor a good change of pace from the standard humor over here. (I have noticed that local TV comedies in the last 6 years or so have shifted to more subtle humor and semi-dry humor that British comedies are known for). I tend to just focus on British comedies, gangster movies, and hooligan flicks.
I’ve only watched two British tv series. Luther (which you’ve mentioned) and IT crowd. I came across both of them on Netflix (streaming) while back.
Luther- Only reason I watched Luther, was because Idris Elba was on the cover. lol I think he’s a good actor, with excellent range. He can do everything from British Humor, to emotional drama/tragedy. (I first saw Elba in an HBO original move, “Sometimes in April”. It’s a flim about Rwandan genocide.)
IT Crowd- It’s a British show(comedy) about an IT department in a major corporation. I saw a thread for this show a while back here on SRK. I never clicked on the thread, but I remember seeing the thread title alot. So I decided to check it out when I came across it on Netflix. I love this show. lol (It’s a huge hit over there. NBC tried to bring IT Crowd over to America. They cast Joel Mchale to play the role of Roy. Actor Richard Ayoade*, *who played Moss, was the only person from the original British show to be cast in the American version. They shot a pilot, it was horrible supposedly. It got lost among other NBC priorities) You should check it out. They’ve completed 4 seasons. Each season has 6 episodes.
@ Jive- Thanks man I will check it out for sure. I like the British comedies a lot (The original British Office was on point). Luther I have been watching since it first aired in the UK, and was automatically hooked. As far as the movies I just know of the Guy Ritchie movies and a couple of random horror films that are more European than straight British.
Waterloo Road and Holby City were my guilty pleasures. Some reason I’ve been getting into American shows more and more, mostly because more well known actors and actresses have been going back to do shows rather than movies.
British Office is a classic, anyone that loves comedy needs to see that show.
Need to find time to watch Luther, everyone is raving about it.
Yeah Waterloo Road I stumbled upon by accident, and ended up liking it. I have only seen up to season 3 because I know a lot of the original actors leave the show, which was making me not want to watch it as much. I do suggest that everyone watch Dead Set though. That show is amazingly good, though its only 5 episodes.
I was expecting Brideshead revisited or something, not quite this. Traditional English drama is like the least evolved shit on television. It’s just play acting in front of a camera, literally never embraced the medium but it’s still great sometimes who cares.
Anyway, as far as comedy goes some of the best shit going is: peepshow, the thick of it, brass eye (anything with chris morris in is worth watching) Spaced
I just caught up on White Chapel after seeing it on a BBC America commercial. I enjoyed it. Then again, I’m American and don’t know much about Jack the Ripper, so I wasn’t very critical of the supposed flaws.
Fades was good but not amazing. I would recommend misfits to anyone who hasn’t seen it. Also the first episode of black mirror was good, the second not so much.
Here, the hip thing to do is claim to be obsessed with US shows and download every episode of Breaking Bad/Community/whatever the cool new US show is the second it airs in the States.
I find it amusing that Americans do the same thing for our shows.
Being Human is a great show. It’s 80 percent drama, 20 percent supernatural stuff.
I hear Misfits is really good too, haven’t had a chance to delve into that.
I like a lot of British sketch shows, we don’t really have too many of that nature here in the U.S. Little Britain, That Mitchell and Webb Look are my faves. Come Fly With Me is pretty funny too. Spaced, Father Ted, are a couple of sitcoms that stand out to me as well.
Also, though old as hell, the original Prime Suspect with Helen Mirren was an excellent crime drama.
If you have to catch a british show(s) make sure you guys see:
Luther
Misfits
Being human
it crowd - hallarious!!
Dr who
sherlock
the office
the ricky gervais show
an idiot abroad
lifes too short
spaced - sometime a little too weird for me…
Father ted - “Drink!!”