British TV News: Brenda Blethyn, a New Austen Adaptation

A Taste of Murder is set to premiere on BritBox on April 7th. Warren Brown (Luther) stars as DCI Joe Mottram, a man grieving the loss of his wife and reconnecting with his teen daughter on the island of Capri. And of course, murder follows him everywhere.

The Other Bennet Sister will premiere on May 6th on BritBox. Over 10 episodes, we get the story of the often overlooked sister - Mary Bennet.

A Woman of Substance doesn’t have an official premiere date on BritBox just yet, but it’s coming this summer, and the remake stars Brenda Blethyn (Vera).

Watching: Public Eye - This classic British TV series stars Alfred Burke as a PI called Frank Marker. There are no strictly legal places to stream it (only pirated episodes on sites like YouTube), but DVDs can be purchased secondhand on Amazon or eBay. Marker is a thoroughly decent man with no special talents other than a desire to do his job well and solve people’s problems. It moves slowly, and many of the early episodes were wiped from the archives so you have to start in the middle of things…and yet somehow, it’s compulsively watchable once you get into it.

Reading: Three Dahlias by Katy Watson - I spotted this on sale yesterday, and I always love trying out modern books that reach back to Golden Age settings and storytelling approaches. Though this one lacks the precision of a Christie novel, it’s definitely still a fun read. The mystery follows three rival actresses teaming up to solve a murder at the stately home of an author who made them famous.

Click HERE to view it in our shop (now on sale, includes free vinyl sticker)

Click HERE to check it out over on Amazon (slightly faster, but more expensive)

On BritBox, season 5 of Hope Street premiered on March 5th (new episodes weekly for 8 weeks in total). On March 6th, they added the 1999 adaptation of Mansfield Park, and on the 12th they added Mudtown, a Welsh drama about a woman whose life gets difficult when her daughter’s friend gets in trouble and a crime boss from her past re-enters the picture. On the 13th, season 8 of This Farming Life premiered, and the 18th brings The Lady, a drama about Fergie’s royal dresser.

On Acorn TV, new episodes of The Family Next Door continue on Mondays through the 30th. On the 2nd, Murdoch Mysteries returned with the premiere of season 19, with new episodes continuing weekly. Seasons 7-8 of Agatha Christie’s Poirot were also added that day, along with season 3 of the Australian political drama Total Control. On the 8th, they added the 1982 TV movie A Voyage Round My Father, and on the 16th they’ll add the 2024 series Nautilus.

On PBS Masterpiece, The Count of Monte Cristo is now available. The Forsytes will premiere on March 22nd.

On Netflix, Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere premiered on March 11th. On March 20th, they’ll add Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man (a follow-up film that sees Tommy Shelby driven out of his self-imposed exile).

On Amazon Prime, Young Sherlock premiered on March 4th. On the 19th, look for season 2 of Last One Laughing UK.

On Hulu, the US remake of Doc Martin, Best Medicine, continues weekly on Tuesdays. It’s also available with a FOX One subscription via Amazon. The medical thriller anthology Malpractice premiered with seasons 1 and 2 on March 13th.

On AMC+, March 6th brought the premiere of This City Is Ours, a crime drama starring Sean Bean as a retiring gang boss.

On Starz, season 8 of Outlander premiered on March 6th.