April 5, 2024
Recommended shows to watch on BBC iPlayer. You can access via the internet or an app on your mobile or smart TV.
Unlike other streamers, such as Apple TV and Disney who release episodes on a weekly basis, BBC make the whole series available on the iPlayer. Even better, it’s all free although I suspect there will eventually be a subscription fee.
Sherwood
Series 1 was a powerful drama showing how the collective trauma of the past can overwhelm the present day. Two shocking and unexpected murders shatter an already fractured community, leading to one of the largest manhunts in British history while threatening to inflame historic divisions sparked during the Miners’ Strike three decades before.
David Morrisey and Lesley Manville were the stars of Series 1 and they return for Series 2. As with the first series, multiple strands populated with a top-tier cast all contain their own dramas, which unite to form a bigger picture.
Single acts don’t stand in isolation. The shooting of Nicky (Sam Buchanan) triggers a slide into violence.
Daddy Issues
If you watch Sherwood then you’ll appreciate the versality of David Morrisey who stars in this delightful comedy.
He plays the father of Gemma, pregnant after having sex with a stranger in a loo.
As her flatmate has moved out — Gemma will be homeless when the baby arrives. Although she auditions potential new flatmates, there’s an alternative, but with drawbacks: cohabiting with her dad, Malcolm is a man-child who’s been living in a grotty bedsit since his wife went off on a midlife globetrotting adventure.
This is intelligent comedy in which the cast are given lines and scenes that match their talent.
Corridors of Power: Should America police the world
This is what the BBC does particularly well and why we should be grateful for the licence fee.
It’s no coincidence that we feature four other documentary series from the BBC and Corridors of Power is an impressive addition.
Narrated by Meryl Streep, it opens with second world war Nazi death camps (a genocide ignored at the time) and the vow of “Never again”, then, episode by soul-crushing episode, produces proof that “again” is exactly what’s allowed to happen.
Whether its Iraq, Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur, Syria, genocide does happen again.
While the point is made that sometimes you have to choose peace over justice, at every turn there’s high-level wrangling over whether to define the atrocities as genocide. The legacy is that those responsible are emboldened knowing that the US will procrastinate just as they are doing today with Ukraine.
Apples Never Fall
This type of programme is becoming increasingly popular and similar. A glamorous location, in this case Palm Beach, Florida, well cast, here it’s Annette Bening (Joy) and Sam Neil (Stan), and a whiff of foul play.
Joy and Stan are struggling with recent retirement from their tennis academy and their four children have their own issues.
On the surface they appear to be a happy family but then a stranger appears on Joy and Stan’s doorstep and family frictions are soon revealed.
Then Joy disappears and Stan becomes the principal suspect, a view endorsed by the eldest child, Troy.
These shows have a familiarity – nothing is what it appears to be, but the seven episodes carry you along and just about become worthy of a binge.
Man In the Arena – Tom Brady
Tom Brady shares a first-hand account of his Super Bowl appearances and deconstructs the milestones of his legendary NFL career.
Each episode explores the pivotal moments in Tom Brady’s life on and off the field culminating in his final Super Bowl win at the age of 43.
To survive as long as Brady did in a tough physical sport in which as a Quarter Back you are getting sacked by +20 stone opponents shows how dedicated he was to his profession which enabled him to rise above the views of those constantly predicting his retirement.
Each episode features two interviewees be it teammates, opponents or members of his family. This rivals the other great sports documentary series of the past decade – The Last Dance with Michael Jordan. These two sportsmen are the GOATs of their sport and it’s fascinating to see how they achieve that status.
The Turkish Detective
Based on Barbara Nadel’s series of Inspector Ikmen novels, it follows Detective Mehmet Suleyman (Ethan Kai) as he leaves London for a post in the city of his birth, Istanbul.
Under the guidance of Cetin Ikmen (Haluk Bilginer), an eccentric inspector. Then a student with ties to a famous entrepreneur is murdered. What unfolds is excitingly conspiratorial, with Mehmet’s own reasons for heading to Turkey — blighted love, difficult family ties — thickening the plot.
There’s nothing too complex about it and every new case last two episodes.
Rebus
Richard Rankin (no relation to author Ian), best known to TV audiences for his role in Outlander, stars as the younger detective sergeant who is drawn into a criminal conflict.
With Gregory Burke (the playwright who wrote the National Theatre of Scotland’s global hit Black Watch) on script duty, Rebus re-imagined becomes a detective constable and his petty criminal brother Michael an ex-soldier struggling to support his family.
In some respects DC Rebus is just another off-the-shelf proto-alcoholic loner cop, but this is stylishly done.
A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder
Set in a pretty English village, our young Miss Marple is Pippa “Pip” Fitz-Amobi (Emma Myers), who unearths the case of the murdered schoolgirl Andie Bell.
She was supposedly murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh who subsequently committed suicide. Pip has her doubts and thinks the killer is on the loose, so joins forces with Sal’s brother Ravi (Zain Iqbal). The young cast deliver decent performances, the acting roster bolstered by an impressive list of more seasoned thesps including Anna Maxwell Martin and Mathew Baynton.
It’s an easy watch and rattles along.
The Outlaws
Now in it’s third series, The Outlaws is based on seven individuals doing community service in Bristol and trying to stay clean.
As this is a comedy thriller of course this is nigh on impossible. Starring co-creator Stephen Merchant there’s a central plot to each series and which is elevated by the presence of Hollywood A lister Christopher Walken.
First series is very good and the third has rather too many farcical moments involving a dead body.
The Mayfair Set
Four stories about the rise of business and fall of political power pre and post Thatcher years.
The so-called market movers were all members of the Clermont Club in Mayfair, London. What at first seemed to be an audacious and unrealistic strategy to take control of the market economy turned into something almost unstoppable, destructive, cruel and completely bereft of feeling or scruple.
Those featured are Colonel David Stirling, Jim Slater, James Goldsmith and Tiny Rowland. What works particularly well in these stories is the use of interviews that were done at the time. Adam Curtis outlines several key points and analyses at great length various events and personalities.
This Town
Crafted by Steven Knight, the mastermind behind Peaky Blinders, this gripping six-part series delves into the lives of Midlands residents in a turbulent 1981.
Amid family strife and escalating violence against a backdrop of civil unrest, concrete streets, and local pubs, we meet Dante (Levi Brown), a poetic student with lyrics popping into his head alongside his soldier brother Gregory (Jordan Bolger) stationed in Belfast and cousin Bardon (Ben Rose) pressured to join the IRA.
Music becomes a lifeline for these characters, with original songs by Kae Tempest, Dan Carey, and Eska offering moments of escape. Supported by a stellar cast including Geraldine James, Nicholas Pinnock, and Michelle Dockery, the drama navigates themes of divided loyalties and personal identity against the backdrop of a city in turmoil.
It’s tempting to abandon this series as it takes its time to establish characters but stick with it and your perseverance will be well rewarded.
Blue Lights
Set in Northern Ireland, Blue Lights is a Belfast based drama that follows new police recruits Grace, Annie, and Tommy, as they learn the ropes in a high-pressure environment.
Rated by The Guardian as one the best TV shows, it avoids the case-by-week formula and paints a realistic picture of the communities as they are today with ever increasing drama and conflict over the six part episodes. As the drama unfolds, it is the female characters from both sides of the fence who become ever more prominent.
The second series is as well constructed as the first and what both series do so well is dramatising the tension between authority and civilians.
Happy Valley
The third and final series of an acclaimed drama led by Sarah Lancashire and James Norton. If you’ve been with it from the 1st series, you’ll know it is not always an easy watch but the characterisation of the leading characters elevates this series above many police procedural shows.
There was a seven-year gap between Series 2 and 3 and that was because writer Sally Wainwright wanted the boy at the centre of much of the drama to age naturally rather than recast. A multiple award winning series with a finale that didn’t disappoint as so many shows can.
Kin
The first series of this Dublin-based gangster drama had a committed following so it’s no surprise that a second season has quickly followed.
The Kinsella family’s main antagonist, Eamon Cunningham (Ciarán Hinds) departed at the end of season one but with Uncle Brendan’s impending release from prison, played by Francis Magee, tensions are set to rise once again.
Magee, known for his compelling portrayal of Liam Tyler in EastEnders, brings a formidable presence to the screen, infusing his character with a threat of violence that looms large. As Brendan seeks to assert control over the family business, questions arise about his methods and their compatibility with new partners from Turkey.
There is a familiarity to the programme but with just enough twists to make it original.
The Gold
The Gold is a British television drama series which covers the 1983 Brink’s-Mat robbery in which £26 million worth of gold bullion, diamonds, and cash was stolen from a warehouse near Heathrow Airport, at the time it was the biggest robbery in history, and led to a number of international criminal investigations.
The gold had to smelted to remove all markings and then sold into the market. It involved two of Britain’s most notorious criminals, Kenneth Noye and John Palmer.
Once Upon A Time in Iraq
There are many really good historical mini-series, and this is one of the best as the conflict is told from the perspective of personal accounts from both sides.
Not only do they relive the experience but also the aftermath and how lives were changed. The same team are responsible for Once Upon A Time in Northern Ireland which follows the same principle of a conflict told from a very personal perspective.
Once Upon A Time in Northern Ireland
Once Upon A Time is a gripping format for a documentary that retells conflict.
The format is so effective because it’s based on intimate, unheard of testimonies from ordinary people representing both sides. Rather than hearing from decision makers, this tells you exactly what it was like at the time and provides a greater understanding of how and why it happened.
By the end there’s hope in the form of resolution with mutual acknowledgement amongst those who had once been bitter enemies. Highly recommended.
Gone Fishing
This follows a familiar path, two comics following a pursuit, in this case, it’s fishing. Paul Whitehouse is the experienced angler and Bob Mortimer the apprentice.
It’s filmed in glorious situations and captures their friendship and delight whenever they land a catch which is promptly returned to the river. It’s a friendship based on making each laugh, often at the expense of the other, and chatting about anything that takes their fancy.
There is a fad on TV currently of throwing two celebrities together and seeing what develops in different situations or places. It’s our view that Gone Fishing is the best of the genre as Whitehouse is the experienced angler and Mortimer the apprentice and that creates a genuine bond. This is a delight.
Peaky Blinders
One of the most celebrated BBC dramas of the past decade
Steven Knight’s excellent story of the titular crime gang in the inter-war period stands out for its compelling storylines, excellent individual performances and sublime soundtrack.
Starring Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby at the head of a gangster family, this gripping show goes on a long and winding road to a very satisfactory conclusion and also benefits from an ensemble cast including Paul Anderson, Sophie Rundle, Tom Hardy and the late Helen McCrory.
Downfall Of The Crypto King
Follows the meteoric rise of Sam Bankman – Fried and his crypto currency exchange FTX. Investing in Bitcoin inspired that fear of missing out amongst investors but like many investments, it was only worth what somebody was prepared to pay.
With the benefit of hindsight, it’s easy to see why a valuation of $40 billion was scarcely believable and it all came to dust in a two week period.
This documentary tells the story right up to the time, Sam Bankman-Fried stands trial with a defence of incompetence against multiple charges.
The Sixth Commandment
A true-crime drama excellently portrayed by Timothy Spall as a retired Stowe schoolmaster, Peter, and his neighbour Ann Moore-Martin (Anne Reid) who, one after the other, were befriended by a young churchwarden called Ben Field (Éanna Hardwicke).
Fried makes himself indispensable to their lives and who, after they changed their wills to make him the main beneficiary, murdered Peter and attempted to murder Ann.
Told over four episodes, Spall gives a wonderful, compelling portrait of what can easily be the most boring of subjects: a good man. Peter – a beloved teacher, still guest-lecturing at a university after retiring (which is how he meets Ben) – is clever, funny, kind but tormented by what he sees as his terrible weakness – his homosexuality.
This is as fine a piece of television as you are likely to see.
Colin from Accounts
This was a slow burner that caught fire in 2023 driven by excellent reviews.
Gordon is on his way to work one day when he is distracted by Ashley and is so shocked that he runs over a stray dog. As a result the two end up living together and caring for Colin, the dog.
Well supported by a cast of characters, this Australian comedy is charming and steers clear of sentimentality. If like me, you miss the 30 minute quality sitcom such as classics like Only Fools and Horses or Dads Army, this satisfies that need.
A second season is now available.
Boat Story
When two strangers discover a haul of cocaine on a lone washed-up boat, luck soon turns to misfortune as they become the targets of a vengeful mob boss, his hit man, and the police.
Both strangers have good reason to believe they deserve this newly found fortune but, of course, there are going to be complications not least because the cocaine belongs to a drug trafficker who specialises in dealing with those who have crossed him in a variety of gruesome ways.
This is a funny, dark and morally complex tale which evokes the style of Quentin Tarantino and the Coen Brothers. It goes in directions you’d least expect and at the heart of this six-part series is a stellar performance by Daisy Haggard who as Janet, a factory worker denied her rightful compensation after an industrial accident, just about stays on the right side of the moral compass.
Please do tell us if there are any BBC shows you would recommend or any comments concerning any of our selections.
If you are interested in other streaming services, read our review on streaming
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