2021 was a very
We had the
The good news is 2022 is already shaping up to be just as good. We’ve combed through the year ahead and dug out the most promising new shows, along with some favourites that will be back for new (and in some cases final) instalments — from the might of The Crown to the finale of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Killing Eve. Here’s 20 British TV series we’re looking forward to this year.
Suspicion
Credit: Apple TV+
The title says it all with this one, when five seemingly random Brits are arrested in New York under suspicion of kidnapping the son of a wealthy media mogul (played with a no-nonsense iciness by Uma Thurman). All claim they’re innocent victims, but judging by the
How to watch:
Chloe
Credit: BBC / Mam Tor Productions / David King
Created by
How to watch: Chloe will stream on BBC iPlayer in the UK from Feb. 6, and Prime Video in the U.S.
This is Going to Hurt
Credit: Sister/Anika Molnar
Based on Adam Kay’s incredibly popular book chronicling his years training to be a doctor in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), This is Going to Hurt adapts his diary entries into a comedy drama starring Ben Wishaw and Ambika Mod. The show follows Adam (Wishaw) as he struggles to balance his own life with the demands of working close to 100 hours a week on a chaotic obstetrics and gynaecology ward. The series has been shot by
How to watch: This is Going to Hurt will stream on BBC iPlayer in the UK in February and AMC+ in the U.S.
The Midwich Cuckoos
John Wyndham’s legendary sci-fi novel The Midwich Cuckoos, a story about a small village in England that falls pray to a parasitic alien race, has already had two film adaptions (remember Village of the Damned?) and a bunch of radio productions. But this is the first time it’s been reimagined for TV. Starring Keeley Hawes (of
How to watch: The Midwich Cuckoos will be available on Sky/NOW TV in the UK this spring.
Peaky Blinders (Season 6)
Credit: BBC/Caryn Mandabach Productions Ltd./Robert Viglasky
Steven Knight’s vicious post-WWI gangster tale set in Birmingham, UK and starring Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy is finally coming to an end this year with its sixth and final season. “It feels blasphemous to call Peaky Blinders a gangster show or a crime drama, because none of those storylines, while they may provide visceral fight scenes set to rock music, come anywhere near the gripping heartbeat of Tommy and the Shelby family,” wrote Mashable’s Proma Khosla when we included it in our list of the
How to watch: Peaky Blinders will stream on BBC iPlayer in spring 2022.
Life After Life
Credit: BBC
The combination of a very strong cast, a hit novel as the source material, and an intriguing premise make this one a must for us. The story — from bestselling author Kate Atkinson — revolves around Ursula Todd (Thomasin McKenzie), who dies as a baby in 1910 only to keep being reborn into different iterations of the same life. The potential is huge, the supporting cast (which includes Fleabag‘s Sian Clifford and Brave New World‘s Jessica Brown Findlay) is strong, and the fact the novel’s been adapted by Boardwalk Empire writer Bash Doran certainly doesn’t hurt. — S.H.
How to watch: Life After Life will be streaming soon on BBC iPlayer in the UK (date TBC).
The Ipcress File
Credit: ITV
A 1960s Cold War spy thriller based on the novel by Len Deighton, The Ipcress File follows British army sergeant-turned-spy Harry Palmer (Joe Cole) as he’s forced into an undercover mission to avoid a stint in prison. Cue a continent-spanning adventure involving kidnapped scientists, treason, and a solid supporting cast including Lucy Boynton, Shireen Farkhoy, and Tom Hollander. This one will likely have Tinker Taylor vibes, and it also has previous form on the screen — the novel’s 1965 movie adaptation, starring Michael Caine as Harry Palmer, has
How to watch: The Ipcress file will stream on ITV Hub “in the coming months” (date TBC).
Bridgerton (Season 2)
Credit: LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX
Yes, we know this is a Shonda Rhimes production, so essentially an American/British show, but we’re including Bridgerton. It’s been a little over a year now since the Netflix series twirled its way onto our screens, brimming with scandal,
How to watch:
The Crown (Season 5)
Credit: Alex Bailey/Netflix
What do we even need to say? The Crown has been one of Netflix’s shiniest jewels ever since it first marched onto our screens back in 2016, and it’s stayed there through two (soon to be three) different casts and over half a century of dramatised royal history. The fifth (and
How to watch:
Heartstopper
Credit: Netflix
In 2016, artist/writer Alice Oseman created a
How to watch: Heartstopper will stream on Netflix (date TBC).
I Hate Suzie (Season 2)
Credit: HBO Max / Sky
Created by Lucy Prebble and Billie Piper, I Hate Suzie is a show with zero reasons to despise — and finally, it’s coming back for a second season. The Sky Atlantic series was
How to watch: I Hate Suzie will be available on Sky/
Starstruck (Season 2)
Credit: BBC / Avalon UK / Mark Johnson
New Zealand comedian Rose Matafeo delivered her own delightful spin on Notting Hill last year, and
How to watch: Starstruck Season 2 will be available to stream on
Conversations with Friends
Credit: BBC/Element Pictures/Hulu/Enda Bowe
Are you still thinking about
How to watch: Conversations with Friends will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer in the UK (date TBC).
Killing Eve (Season 4)
Credit: BBC/Sid Gentle Silms
We’re not sure where the time’s gone, but somehow Killing Eve — Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s tense spy thriller about British intelligence agent Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) and her cat-and-mouse game with assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer) — is already revving up for its fourth and final season. The show was arguably at its best in its first season, but as Mashable’s Proma Khosla wrote in her
How to watch: Killing Eve is available to stream on
Inside Man
Credit: BBC/Hartswood/Paul Stephenson
When you see the names David Tennant, Lydia West, and Stanley Tucci on a cast list, the only justifiable questions are a) When does the show start?, and b) Where can I watch the show? Written by Sherlock and Doctor Who scribe Steven Moffat, Inside Man is a mystery thriller that involves a connection between a U.S. death row inmate and a woman trapped in a basement in the UK. Colour us intrigued. — S.H.
How to watch: Inside Man will stream on BBC iPlayer in the UK and Netflix in the U.S (date TBC).
Everything I Know About Love
Based on Dolly Alderton’s 2018 bestselling memoir of the same name, this seven part series is about friendship, sex, dating, and everything in between during your twenties. Adapted by Alderton and directed by China Moo-Young, the BBC One series tells the story of two childhood best friends, Maggie (Emma Appleton) and Birdy (Bel Powley). Set in 2012 in a London flat-share, the series features flashbacks to adolescence in the early 2000s in English suburbia. As time passes by, the friendship comes under strain. Will this platonic love survive? Guess you’ll just have to wait and see. — R.T.
How to watch: Everything I Know About Love will stream on BBC iPlayer in the UK (date TBC).
Happy Valley (Season 3)
Credit: BBC/Lookout Point/Matt Squire
Like Line of Duty, Happy Valley is one of those British shows that regularly gets the whole country hooked at the same time whenever a new season comes out. Sally Wainright’s dark crime drama, which revolves around no-nonsense police sergeant Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire), isn’t always an easy watch, but it’s a well-written and tense thriller that puts its strong female lead front and centre. Season 2 came out back in 2016, so fans have been waiting awhile for this new (and final) series — hopefully it’ll be worth the build-up. — S.H.
How to watch: Happy Valley will
The Outlaws (Season 2)
Credit: BBC/Big Talk/Four Eyes
Stephen Merchant’s comedy drama about a mismatched group of convicts carrying out community service together in Bristol, returns this year for its second outing. Details are a little thin at this point, but given that the second series was
How to watch: The Outlaws will stream on BBC iPlayer in the UK and Prime Video in the U.S (date TBC).
The Essex Serpent
Credit: Apple TV+
Excellent source material doesn’t always correlate to an excellent TV show, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. Apple TV+’s The Essex Serpent is already off to a good start in this respect, based on Sarah Perry’s 2016 gothic fiction novel that won both the 2016 British Book Awards and the Waterstones Book of the Year. The story revolves around a woman exploring the mystery of a mythological sea serpent in an English village, after she moves there to escape from an abusive relationship. The adaptation stars Clare Danes and Tom Hiddleston, and is shot by The Selfish Giant director Clio Barnard. — S.H.
How to watch: The Essex Serpent will stream on Apple TV+ later this year.
We Are Lady Parts (Season 2)
Credit: Saima Khalid / Peacock
What
No date has been announced yet, but you’ll be able to watch the new season on Channel 4 in the UK and Peacock in the U.S. “I can’t wait to delve back into the world of the band and go deeper into their lives,”
How to watch:
*This blurb has previously appeared in another Mashable list.