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Blimey! 135 phenomenal hours of streaming British television to keep you rightentertained

The conventional wisdom used to be that Americans wouldn’t watch British television. The jokes weren’t relatable, the drama was too stiff and formal and none of the actors looked like runway models. Then, The Office premiered in 2001 and America awarded the UK with one of our highest cultural honors — the remake.

In the years since, our friends across the pond have been enjoying a golden era of television, with shows like Misfits and Downton Abbey drawing international acclaim and fan bases. So in this midseason television drought, I bring to you an oasis of phenomenal storytelling: seven British television shows currently streaming on Netflix that will keep you glued to the couch for days.

1. Doctor Who: 53 hours

This series follows the exploits of The Doctor, a 900-year-old Time Lord who flies through time and space in a blue police box, saving creatures across the Universe from monsters and tyrants.

If you look past the occasionally cheesy special effects and the constant use of Deus ex Machina, you’ll find a show that draws you in with its fascinating storylines and courageous characters.

And don’t worry about going back to the original series’ 1963 debut to catch up — the 2005 reboot is a perfect place to start your life as a “Whovian.”

2. Downton Abbey: 5.5 hours

Who could have guessed that the breakout BBC hit of 2011 would be a period drama about an English household before the First World War? Downton Abbey manages to establish and develop a large cast of distinct and interesting characters without sacrificing the flow or quality of the story, keeping you invested in so many different relationships.

The first time someone tried to screen it for me I pretended to be asleep, so they’d get the hint that Masterpiece Theatre was too stale and boring for my time — within 20 minutes, I was yelling at the screen and mooning over the costumes and set design. Season Two is airing on PBS; I’ve seen it and it is breathtaking.

3. Black Books: 7 hours

A few weeks ago, I trapped three friends in my apartment for hours simply by starting the pilot to Black Books. They had plans for the day, errands to run, places to be, but all that evaporated once they got an eyeful of Dylan Moran’s hilarious misanthrope, Bernard Black.

Moran is a brilliant stand-up comic aided by two great supporting characters; you find yourself watching some episodes over and over again, laughing at the same jokes and catching new ones. If you like this clip of Dylan Moran’s stand-up, you’ll adore Black Books.

4. Shameless: 39 hours

Frank Gallagher is an unemployed lush raising six children on government assistance, and it would be charitable to say he does his best.

The Gallaghers don’t have a lot of money or resources and, left to their own devices, they get up to some hijinx that might shock and scandalize certain viewers. But when they are working together to get one of their own out of a jam (or throwing a fake wedding for their neighbors) it truly is heartwarming, and makes you see how little they have to be ashamed of.

5. The IT Crowd: 9 hours

Moss and Roy are two computer geeks who find themselves with a new boss, Jen, who doesn’t know anything about computers. As they teach her about technology, she teaches them how to interact with the world. The high point of the series is definitely Richard Ayoade’s deadpan delivery and stoic demeanor:

In the second episode, a small fire starts in the office; after the fire extinguisher catches on fire, he sets it down, saying: “I’ll just put this over here with the rest of the fire,” and sits down to write an email to the fire department. You can watch the scene online and find out how quickly nine hours can fly by.

6. Sherlock: 4.5 hours

Just returned from service in Afghanistan, Doctor John Watson agrees to room with Sherlock Holmes of 221-B Baker Street. It isn’t an easy partnership: Sherlock keeps body parts in the fridge to test decomposition rates, shoots at the wall when he’s bored, and alienates everyone around him with his arrogance and cruelty.

There is no shortage of shows on these days about eccentric, anti-social geniuses who solve mysteries and don’t bother being polite about it, but this is best of them all. The only drawback? Each episode is an hour and a half, there are only three episodes per season, and the new season isn’t airing in America yet.

7. Peep Show: 17 hours

Each episode of Peep Show is a long, slow train wreck brought about because the main characters, Mark and Jeremy, make terrible decisions and have very little self awareness.

Fans of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia will love their reprehensible behavior and their non-existent crisis management skills, with the added bonus of being able to hear the characters' internal monologues. Watch Peep Show with a friend or a group of friends; mortified embarrassment and uncontrollable laughter is best shared with those you love.

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HOWDY, DOCTORS

Grey's Anatomy spins off new medical drama led by Houston-born showrunner

Photo via Meg Marinis/Instagram

Showrunner Meg Marinis poses with actor Kevin McKidd, who recently exited Grey's Anatomy after more than a decade playing Dr. Owen Hunt.

ABC is bringing the Grey's Anatomy universe to Texas with a new one-hour rural medical drama co-created by longtime showrunner Meg Marinis. Marinis was born in Houston and is an alum of both the Kinkaid School and the University of Texas at Austin.

According to an exclusive report from Deadline, which production company Shondaland shared on social media, the untitled series has received a straight-to-series order from ABC and will follow a team at a rural West Texas medical center described as “the last chance for care before miles of nowhere.”

The series marks the first Grey’s Anatomy franchise show set outside the West Coast, and it's the first that's not centered around an existing main character from the original series.

The new drama will be co-created by Shonda Rhimes and Marinis, who has spent nearly two decades working on Grey’s Anatomy. She joined the series during its third season as a production assistant before rising through the ranks to become a researcher, writer, executive producer, and now showrunner.

"This opportunity will bring new characters and stories to life that will embody the same heart, emotion, and connection audiences have loved from Grey’s for more than two decades, all set in my home state of Texas,” Marinis said in a statement announcing the series. "I am so grateful to Shonda Rhimes for creating this dynamic world and feel so fortunate that I get to be a part of it.”

Marinis’ path to running one of television’s biggest franchises started in Austin. In an interview with Shondaland last year, she recounted moving to Los Angeles during her final semester at UT through the university’s UTLA entertainment program, which allows students to complete coursework while interning in the industry. While finishing school, she interned at Universal before landing a production assistant role on Grey’s Anatomy in 2006.

Marinis has also woven Texas experiences into the flagship series itself in recent years. According to Deadline, she personally knew families affected by the Camp Mystic tragedy and rewrote part of a recent Grey’s Anatomy episode after becoming emotional while working on the script.

The West Texas setting is particularly timely, as rural healthcare access remains a growing issue across the state. According to the Texas Hospital Association, more than 20 rural Texas hospitals have closed since 2010, while roughly a quarter of the state’s remaining rural hospitals are considered at risk of closure.

By centering the new series on what ABC describes as “the last chance for care before miles of nowhere,” the franchise could bring national attention to healthcare access challenges facing communities across West Texas and other rural parts of the state.

The new series joins a long lineage of Texas-set television dramas, though not all were actually filmed in the state. Grey’s Anatomy itself is famously set in Seattle while primarily filmed in the Los Angeles area. Friday Night Lights became closely associated with Austin through extensive local filming, while series like Dallas often recreated Texas from California sound stages, with exteriors of Southfork Ranch serving as the Ewings' fictitious home. Walker, Texas Ranger, meanwhile, became one of the best-known examples of a network drama heavily filmed across Texas itself.

Even after more than 20 years on the air, Grey’s Anatomy remains one of television’s most durable franchises. According to ABC, the drama is now the longest-running primetime medical drama in television history and continues to rank among the network’s strongest scripted performers.

Ellen Pompeo, who stars as Dr. Meredith Grey in the original series, is attached as an executive producer, and the new drama is expected to premiere in 2027.

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