BritBox has long been the go-to streaming service for TV Anglophiles, and now HBO Max subscribers can get a taste of the sort of shows subscribers of that service have long enjoyed.
After two of the best streaming services inked a deal earlier this year to bring BritBox content to HBO Max, a curated ‘Best of British TV; collection launched on the WBD streamer at the start of August. But if you’re a subscriber to the newly re-re-named service and not sure where to start with the new content shipped all the way from Blighty, then let us guide you through what can now be called five of the best HBO Max shows.
There’s crime dramas, of both the gritty and cosy variety, as well as one of the all time great British sitcoms, so stick with us to find out which British shows should be top of your HBO Max watchlist.
Luther
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RT Score: 88%
Seasons available on HBO Max: 1 (season 2 coming September)
Main cast: Idris Elba, Ruth Wilson, Steven Mackintosh, Indira Varma, Paul McGann
Starring Idris Elba, most episodes of Luther play out like a horror movie told from the cops’ point of view.
Created by Neil Cross, the show follows Elba’s troubled detective (aren’t they all?) John Luther as he investigates the most heinous of criminals, all while navigating his complex relationship with Ruth Jones’ Alice Morgan, The Joker to John’s Batman.
Currently, only the first season is available on HBO Max (season 2 will follow in September), but you’re still getting six dark and gripping episodes as Luther goes up against a sniper with police officers in his sights, an occult ritualist kidnapping mothers, a trophy taking serial killer and a diamond stealing plot that bleeds in to the detective’s personal life.
Thrilling and chilling in equal measure, with Elba perfectly portraying the emotionally vulnerable blunt object, Luther should be very high on your watchlist.
The Office
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RT Score: 97%
Seasons available on HBO Max: All
Main cast: Ricky Gervais, Martin Freeman, Mackenzie Crook, Lucy Davis
Long before Gervais was a megastar and every country had their own version, The Office revolutionized TV comedy.
Not the first mockumentary, perhaps, but The Office certainly changed the game in a world of big gags and canned laughter with its low-key, character-based mundane hilarity. Co-created by the equally talented Stephen Merchant, the show follows the daily lives of the office workers of a paper merchant in Slough, specifically Gervais’ hapless branch manager David Brent.
Also launching the careers of Martin Freeman (Tim), Mackenzie Crook (Gareth), Lucy Davis (Dawn) and Ralph Ineson (Finchy), the show is a masterclass in being both relatable and very funny, with a swelling emotional heart that Gervais handles with much more subtlety than some of his later work. While some prefer the equally brilliant US iteration, well, different shows for different… needs.
Both seasons and the Christmas special finale can be streamed on HBO Max.
Time
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RT Score: 96%
Seasons available on HBO Max: 1 (season 2 coming in September)
Main cast: Sean Bean, Stephen Graham, Jodie Whittaker, Tamara Lawrance, Bella Ramsey, Siobhan Finneran
Jimmy McGovern’s anthology series follows the lives of inmates and staff in various prisons across the UK.
At time of writing, only the first season is available on HBO Max, but it’s well worth your, erm, time. Starring British acting heavyweights Sean Bean and Stephen Graham, this installment follows Bean’s Mark Cobden, newly imprisoned for causing death by dangerous driving. Consumed with guilt, the former teacher finds himself massively out of his depth in prison life, with his only ally being prison officer Eric McNally (Graham).
Season 2 of the show, which arrives on HBO Max in September, sees the focus shift to a women’s prison, with a trio of leads in Orla (former-Doctor Who Jodie Whittaker), Abi (Tamara Lawrance) and Kelsey (The Last Of Us’ Bella Ramsey). The show has been praised for its powerful performances and nuanced portrayal of life in UK prisons.
Each season is a tough watch, but at just three episodes each, they’re a perfect binge for those looking for an example of the UK’s more hard-hitting drama.
Blue Lights
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RT Score: 92%
Seasons available on HBO Max: All
Main cast: Siân Brooke, Katherine Devlin, Nathan Braniff, Richard Dormer
A darkly comedic look at modern policing in Northern Ireland, Blue Lights was a breakout hit back in Blighty.
Initially following a trio of probationary police officers, series 2 saw them promoted to fully qualified cops a year later. Taking somewhat of a procedural approach while having storylines threaded throughout the series, the show sees the rookies come up against MI5 agents, local gangsters, arms dealers and their own loyalties as violence continues to escalate across Belfast.
The show’s down-to-earth nature feels like a breath of fresh air after the high-stakes, cliffhanger heavy writing of the likes of Line of Duty and Happy Valley, however it’s equally as gripping, proving as addictive as any cop show out there. Where the series soars, however, is its characters, with the recruits deftly portrayed not as near super-heroic saviours but as normal folks, optimistic, ambitious, nervous and fallible.
For a gripping watch infused with a distinctly British dark humour, Blue Lights is a must.
Father Brown
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RT Score: NA
Seasons available on HBO Max: 1-2
Main cast: Mark Williams, Sorcha Cusack, Hugo Speer, Kasia Koleczek, Tom Chambers
Cosy crime at its absolute cosiest, Father Brown is a mainstay of British daytime TV.
Starring Mark Williams – known to most as Harry Potter’s Arthur Weasley – as the eponymous murder-solving minister, the show is set in the Cotswolds village of Kembleford in the early 1950s, which is about as quintessentially British as afternoon tea with Paddington Bear. That’s not to say the show is all fluff, with weighty topics such as the aftermath of World War Two and the resultant rationing, the as-then un-abolished death penalty and the 1950s status of homosexuality and abortion being illegal all being touched on throughout the series’ twelve season run.
Unfortunately for HBO Max subscribers, only the first two seasons are available on the platform, however, that’s still twenty episodes with some of the show’s very best cases. Whats more, the first two seasons of spin-off show Sister Boniface Mysteries have also made their way to HBO Max.
For fans looking for some classic British crime solving that’ll instantly transport you to one of the country’s most picturesque places, Father Brown is the show to stream. Preferably with a cup of tea and a box of fudge.
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