10 Best British Mysteries, Comedies, and Classics to Stream Right Now on BritBox
10 Best British Mysteries, Comedies, and Classics to Stream Right Now on BritBox
The United States produces some of the best movies and television series in the world, but sometimes, you just want something a little less American. When those specific ex-pat moments hit, it’s nice to know that there is a streaming service dedicated specifically to providing you with the gloomy but comforting content coming from the United Kingdom. BritBox was founded BBC Studios and ITV and thus has an incredible library of originals and classics.
For decades, the United Kingdom has been home to some of the most gripping and stirring mystery series on television and BritBox has some of the best. If you loved Idris Elba in Apple TV+’s “Hijack,” you need to check out his star turn in “Luther.” Or if you became a fan of Gillian Anderson in “The X-Files,” You should watch her in “The Fall.” When you mix in classics like “Vera” and “Poirot,” the service is a must-have for mystery fans.
However, while some of the best series to come out of the British Isles have been crime dramas, BritBox also has a whole host of hilarious comedies, including the original Britsh version of “The Office,” the iconic “Mr. Bean,” and James Corden’s “Gavin and Stacey.” When you throw in the original run of “Doctor Who,” the iconic “Pride and Prejudice” miniseries, and the whole of “Downton Abbey,” andy TV lover — Anglophile or not — needs to have a subscription to BritBox.
BritBox
BritBox is a hub for hundreds of TV shows and films produced in the UK. Enjoy your favorite classics like Doctor Who (1963) and Mr. Bean (1990), new original series like Sticks and Stones (2019) and There She Goes (2018), and watch special live events, tune into premieres, and keep up to date with current affairs and soap operas streaming direct from the UK. Oftentimes programming that premieres in the UK can be viewed internationally at the same time via the service.
What Are the 10 Best Mysteries on BritBox?
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Luther
May 4, 2010A dark psychological crime drama starring Idris Elba as Luther, a man struggling with his own terrible demons, who might be as dangerous as the depraved murderers he hunts.
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The Fall
May 12, 2013When the Police Service of Northern Ireland are unable to close a case after 28 days, Detective Superintendent Stella Gibson of the Metropolitan Police Service is called in to review the case. Under her new leadership, the local detectives must track down and stop a serial killer who is terrorising the city of Belfast.
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Line of Duty
June 26, 2012A drama about the investigations of AC-12, a controversial police anticorruption unit.
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Agatha Christie's Poirot
January 8, 1989From England to Egypt, accompanied by his elegant and trustworthy sidekicks, the intelligent yet eccentrically-refined Belgian detective Hercule Poirot pits his wits against a collection of first class deceptions.
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Shetland
March 10, 2013Created from the novels by award winning crime writer Ann Cleeves, Shetland follows DI Jimmy Perez and his team as they investigate crime within the close knit island community. In this isolated and sometimes inhospitable environment, the team have to rely on a uniquely resourceful style of policing.
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Father Brown
January 14, 2013Father Brown is based on G. K. Chesterton’s detective stories about a Catholic priest who doubles as an amateur detective in order to try and solve mysteries.
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Death in Paradise
October 25, 2011A brilliant but idiosyncratic British detective and his resourceful local team solve baffling murder mysteries on the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie.
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Life on Mars
January 9, 2006A detective chief inspector from 2006 is investigating a serial killer when he is knocked over by a speeding car. Waking up, he finds himself mysteriously transported back in time to 1973. Initially struggling to come to terms with his situation, he has to come to terms with the old-fashioned technology and attitude of the day, while figuring out how he came to be trapped in the past.
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Vera
May 1, 2011A sharp detective with a messy life, DCI Vera Stanhope patrols her “patch” of northeast England, pursuing the truth in cases of murder, kidnapping, and blackmail. Vera is obsessive about her work and faces the world with caustic wit, guile and courage.
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Murder, They Hope
May 8, 2021After their trip to Middlesbrough turned a little more explosive than they thought, Gemma and Terry finally decide to pack up the smouldering remains of their coach tour business and set out on a new adventure as fully-fledged private detectives.
What Are the 10 Best Comedies on BritBox?
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The Office
July 9, 2001Nightmare boss. Tedious colleagues. Pointless tasks. Welcome to Wernham Hogg.
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Mr. Bean
January 1, 1990Mr Bean turns simple everyday tasks into chaotic situations and will leave you in stitches as he creates havoc wherever he goes.
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Absolutely Fabulous
November 12, 1992Set in the world of fashion and PR, immature fun-loving mother Edina Monsoon and her best friend Patsy drive Eddie’s sensible daughter, Saffron, up the wall with their constant drug abuse and outrageous selfishness. Numerous in-jokes and heavy doses of cruel humour have made this series a cult hit in the UK and abroad.
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Staged
June 10, 2020David Tennant and Michael Sheen (playing themselves) were due to star in a production of ‘Six Characters in Search of an Author’ in the West End. The pandemic has put an end to that, but their director (Simon Evans) is determined not to let the opportunity pass them by.
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Gavin & Stacey
May 13, 2007Essex and Wales collide when Gavin and Stacey fall in love - bringing their friends, family and baggage with them.
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The IT Crowd
February 3, 2006The comedic misadventures of Roy, Moss, and their grifting supervisor Jen, a ‘motley crew’ of IT support workers at a large corporation headed by a hotheaded yuppie.
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Are You Being Served?
September 8, 1972This comedy series, which follows the exploits of employees at London’s fictional “Grace Brothers” department store, is full of sexual innuendo, slapstick, visual gags, and double entendres. Much of the show’s humor parodies Britain’s class system, and many of the show’s characters are based on stereotypes of the period, including the effeminate Mr. Humphries and the rich, but stingy, store owner.
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Extras
July 21, 2005Andy Millman gave up his day job five years ago in the hope of achieving the big time, but he’s yet to land a speaking part, let alone saunter down the red carpet to pick up an Oscar. He remains optimistic however, as rubbing shoulders with the A-list on-set only serves to reinforce his belief that the big time is just a job or two away.
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Keeping Up Appearances
October 29, 1990A snobbish housewife is determined to climb the social ladder, in spite of her family’s working class connections and the constant chagrin of her long suffering husband.
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Eddie Izzard: Glorious
November 17, 1997Eddie Izzard’s routine has a loose trajectory from the beginning of the Old Testament and the creation of the world in seven days to Revelations. Along the way, we learn of the search for a career, bad giraffes, Prince Philip’s gaffes, toilets in French campsites, the mysteries of hopscotch, becoming one’s Dad and tranny bashing.
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What Are the 10 Best Classics on BritBox?
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Pride and Prejudice
September 24, 1995Set in England in the early 19th century, Pride and Prejudice tells the story of Mr and Mrs Bennet’s five unmarried daughters after the rich and eligible Mr Bingley and his status-conscious friend, Mr Darcy, have moved into their neighbourhood. While Bingley takes an immediate liking to the eldest Bennet daughter, Jane, Darcy has difficulty adapting to local society and repeatedly clashes with the second-eldest Bennet daughter, Elizabeth.
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Downton Abbey
September 26, 2010A chronicle of the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the post-Edwardian era—with great events in history having an effect on their lives and on the British social hierarchy.
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Doctor Who
November 23, 1963The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Along with a succession of companions, The Doctor faces a variety of foes while working to save civilizations, help ordinary people, and right many wrongs.
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Sherlock Holmes
April 24, 1984Sherlock Holmes uses his abilities to take on cases by private clients and those that the Scotland Yard are unable to solve, along with his friend Dr. Watson.
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Elizabeth R
February 17, 1971This historical mini-series documents the reign of Elizabeth I with each episode focusing on one dramatic period in the lengthy reign of the Virgin Queen, including her ascension to the throne, her various marital intrigues, her problems with her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, and the threatened invasion of the Spanish Armada.
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Upstairs, Downstairs
October 10, 1971Upstairs: the wealthy, aristocratic Bellamys. Downstairs: their loyal and lively servants. For nearly 30 years, they share a fashionable townhouse at 165 Eaton Place in London’s posh Belgravia neighborhood, surviving social change, political upheaval, scandals, and the horrors of the First World War.
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Goodbye, Mr. Chips
July 28, 1939Throughout the late 19th-century and early 20th-century, Mr Arthur Chipping rises from a shy, nervous teacher to the beloved, revered headmaster of Brookfield School, with his life and career shaped by his love for his wife and his unwavering dedication to his students.
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All Creatures Great and Small
January 8, 1978The trials and misadventures of the staff at a country veterinary office in Yorkshire. James Herriot, a young animal surgeon, moves to a small Yorkshire town to begin his first job.
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Jane Eyre
September 24, 2006Charlotte Bronte’s classic about an orphan girl who grows up to become a governess in a gloomy manor in Yorkshire, where she falls in love with the mysterious Edward Rochester.
