In partnership with
It’s been a sad week for British television, with the loss of two much-loved performers: Sam Neill at 78 and Brenda Fricker at 81.
While many around the world will remember Neill as Dr. Alan Grant from Jurassic Park, many of us also knew him from memorable roles in Peaky Blinders, Reilly, Ace of Spies, Merlin, and To the Ends of the Earth. Fricker, meanwhile, will forever be associated internationally with the Pigeon Lady in Home Alone 2, but amongst British TV fans, she was equally cherished for her years as Megan Roach in Casualty, along with standout performances in series including Holding, The Catch, and Seekers.
Endings are always sad, but it’s lovely that they’ve each left such wonderful legacies.
In happier news, BritBox has announced that they’ll be the US and Canadian streaming home for Cooper & Fry. Adapted from Stephen Booth’s bestselling novels, the series was just renewed for season 2 - so hopefully that means we’ll have plenty to look forward to.
British TV Book Updates
We’ve just received a re-stock shipment of almost everything (aside from the British Mystery Variety Puzzles book, which is still in pre-order status).
British TV Streaming Guide: US Edition, Summer 2026 (~240 pages telling you which British TV shows are available to stream in the US - and where)
Cassocks & Cobblestones: A 1950s Cotswolds Coloring Book (inspired by Father Brown)
British TV Variety Puzzles (a mix of trivia-based puzzles and logic-based puzzles)
Everyone Here Should Be Dead Now: An English Village Adult Coloring Book (inspired by Midsomer Murders)
Dreaming Spires & Dead Dons: A 1960s Oxford Adult Coloring Book (inspired by Endeavour and Inspector Morse)
A Disheveled Detective’s Northumberland: Adult Coloring Book (inspired by Vera)
What we’re…
Watching: Suspects - This one’s a short series - just two episodes - but it sees Brenda Fricker alongside Josette Simon as one of two women who married the same man, then teamed up to look for him after his disappearance.
Reading: Murder at World’s End by Ross Montgomery - I grabbed this one today because (a) it was billed as “Knives Out meets Downton Abbey,” and (b) it was on sale. Set in 1910 Cornwall, the murder victim is a wealthy viscount who felt certain the passing Halley’s Comet would bring the apocalypse. It’s a fresh take on the genre, and so far, it’s an above average bit of fun.
Every headline satisfies an opinion. Except ours.
Remember when the news was about what happened, not how to feel about it? 1440's Daily Digest is bringing that back. Every morning, they sift through 100+ sources to deliver a concise, unbiased briefing — no pundits, no paywalls, no politics. Just the facts, all in five minutes. For free.
THIS WEEK IN BRITISH TV
On BritBox, new episodes of Escape to the Country continue at a rate of four new episodes every Friday through September 25th. On the 14th, season 2 of Return to Paradise premiered, and on the 23rd, they’ll add Gone, a thriller in which Eve Myles plays a detective trying to figure out what happened to a missing music teacher from Bristol.
On Acorn TV, the 20th brings us new episodes of season 19 of Murdoch Mysteries (season finale), season 5 of Harry Wild, Summertide, and season 2 of Inspector Ellis. On the 20th, they’ll add the New Zealand series Dear Murderer, and on the 27th, we can look forward to The Ridge, a psychological thriller set between Scotland and New Zealand.
On PBS Masterpiece and PBS.org, new episodes of the final season of Grantchester (11) continue weekly on Sundays through August 2nd.
On Netflix, July 17th brought Heartstopper Forever, which is adapted from the sixth and final novel in Alice Oxman’s Heartstopper book series. It’s very much a YA series, but Anna Maxwell Martin (Ludwig) and Eddie Marsan (The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe) are both among the cast.
On Apple TV+, new episodes of season 5 of Trying continue to drop weekly until August 26th.
On BBC Select, July 16th brought Tom Read Wilson’s Magnificent Tour of Europe. On the 23rd, they’ll be adding Natural World: Season 10 and Renaissance: The Blood & the Beauty.
On Hulu, look for Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston on the 23rd. It’s also on National Geographic on the 22nd.
Andy: "Who will you talk bollocks at while I'm in Africa?"
Lance: "Probably just keep talking bollocks. Half the time I'm not even bothered if you're listening..."
Andy: "That's good, 'cause half the time I'm not."
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
