10 fascinating British TV series, undeservedly neglected

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The sixth season of "Game of Thrones" is long over, and the new episodes of "Sherlock" are still far away. How to entertain the sultry evenings for a bored TV series fan? We'll show you: British TV series. Those that for some reason did not become super popular, but are definitely worth watching.

Desperate Romantics

• Genre: Drama.
• Released in 2009.
• Duration: Season 1 (6 episodes, 50 minutes each).
• IMDb rating: 7, 6.

Mini-series about the "Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood" - rebels and rock stars of the second half of the 19th century. Aspiring artists Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and journalist Fred Walters are trying to achieve success and fame, solving problems with money, critics and models, and drinking a lot and, obviously, painting.

The well-known facts from the biographies of the artists are dramatically rethought: the touching relationship between John Millet and Effie Ruskin, the tragic fate of the Pre-Raphaelite muse Lizzie Siddal and, of course, the famous story of the creation of Ophelia. If you look at Wikipedia before watching, you will get more pleasure, but in any case it will not be boring.

Wallander

• Genre: thriller, drama, detective.
• Years of release: 2008–2015.
• Duration: 4 seasons (12 episodes, 90 minutes each).
• IMDb rating: 7, 9.

Kurt Wallander is a police commissioner in a small Swedish town called Ystad. For a person whose profession is to face other people's pain, loss and death every day, he has one fatal flaw - all-encompassing compassion. Wallander is simply incapable of getting used to violence and will never stop asking the "Why?" Question. First of all - to yourself.

The Hour

• Genre: Drama.
• Years of release: 2011–2012.
• Duration: 2 seasons (12 episodes, 60 minutes each).
• IMDb rating: 8.0.

The story of how news was made on the BBC in the difficult atmosphere of the 50s, when it was extremely difficult to talk about current political events on the air. The plot is very intense: journalistic investigation turns into spy intrigues, personal dramas are intertwined with historical events, so watching is not only interesting, but also informative. And also in the series are wonderful Ben Whishaw and Romola Garay.

Mad Dogs

• Genre: thriller, drama, crime.
• Years of release: 2011–2013.
• Duration: 4 seasons (14 episodes, 45 minutes each).
• IMDb rating: 7, 6.

The reunion of old friends did not go as planned: a party on the occasion of the retirement of one of them ended with the murder of the hero of the occasion. The heroes are ordinary middle-aged men who are as much in the wrong place and at the wrong time as possible. Now they are dealing with the Serbian mafia, drug trafficking and corrupt police.

Garth Marenghi's Darkplace

• Genre: Comedy.
• Released in 2004.
• Duration: Season 1 (6 episodes, 25 minutes each).
• IMDb rating: 8, 6.

A delightful and eerily funny parody of the horrors of the 80s, with its ridiculous plots, clichéd characters, silly dialogues, sexism and cheap special effects. A small gem, which, for some reason, was not appreciated by the audience in 2004. But just look at this screensaver!

I believe that no life form, be it human, animal or plant, should be harmed in the making of a television series. So I really feel very sorry for the cat we killed.

Garrow's Law

• Genre: Drama.
• Years of release: 2009–2011.
• Duration: 3 seasons (12 episodes, 50 minutes each).
• IMDb rating: 8, 4.

The story of a young lawyer, William Garrow, who first introduced the concept of "innocent until proven otherwise" in the Old Bailey Criminal Court. Smart and courageous, he is not afraid to take on the most difficult cases, because he firmly believes that everyone has the right to protection. In his work, he encounters Luddites and slave traders, false denunciations, false evidence, and simply unhappy people. Almost all the stories are taken from real court cases of the 18th century.

Dirk Gently

• Genre: detective, comedy, fantasy.
• Years of release: 2010–2012.
• Duration: Season 1 (4 episodes of 60 minutes).
• IMDb rating: 7, 8.

Dirk Gently is a private investigator who uses the holistic method in his work. Dirk is convinced that everything around is a network of closely interconnected events: to find a missing cat, you need to reveal the secret of the sudden disappearance of a billionaire, and the case of the murder of a brilliant programmer turns out to be entwined with the exposure of an unfaithful husband. The series is based on the work of Douglas Adams - the author of the famous series of books "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" - and is filled with absurd situations, unexpected twists and, of course, great British humor - sometimes quite black.

Typically, people who think they are lost check the map. I have a different method, I called it Zen Navigation. I find someone who clearly knows where he is going and follow him. With this method, you rarely get to where you originally planned, but at the same time you always end up where you should be.

The Thick of It

• Genre: political satire.
• Years of release: 2005–2012.
• Duration: 4 seasons (24 episodes, 30 minutes each).
• IMDb rating: 8, 8.

If you have always been interested in the political behind the scenes, then you will love this series, which tells about the difficult and very nervous everyday life of British government officials. Everything was filmed in the style of a pseudo-documentary film. The heroes are intriguing, trying to cope with the next crisis, eating lunch from plastic boxes in between, and are not at all shy in expressions, so that you can take note of a lot of sophisticated English curses.

Lark Rise to Candleford

• Genre: Drama.
• Years of release: 2008–2011.
• Duration: 4 seasons (40 episodes, 50 minutes each).
• IMDb rating: 8, 1.

Historical drama about a country girl who got a job at the Candleford Post Office. Family tragedies and secrets of the past, relationships with friends and rivals, social prejudices and the romance of Victorian England - if you are interested in the lives of people of that era, it is worth watching. The series is very kind and light.

Being Human

• Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror.
• Years of release: 2008–2013.
• Duration: 5 seasons (36 episodes, 60 minutes each).
• IMDb rating: 7, 8.

The vampire Mitchell, the werewolf George and the ghost of a girl named Annie live in the same house in Bristol and try to lead a normal life. But besides the problems of normal people, like finding a job and unfriendly neighbors, they have many others. How to deal with your bloodlust when you've been a ruthless killer for 80 years? How to make monthly wolf transformations as safe as possible for yourself and those around you? How to get revenge on the ex-boyfriend who, in fact, killed you? But first of all, this is a series about friendship - friendship that helps to cope with the monsters inside and which even death is not terrible.

- So you're a ghost ?! So you can move things … and move from one room to another?

- Well, actually, everyone can do it.