Yes, we know.Downton Abbey has ended and you're totally bereft. Chin up, Anglophiles. There's a slate of new British shows coming through the pipeline (and across the Atlantic). What a time to be alive. In other words, it's time to put the kettle on and settle in for some telly. Spoiler: Tom Hiddleston is involved.Consider this your primer to what dramas you'll soon be gushing over, what comedies you need to catch up on, and why 2016 will probably be the year you pretty much don't get off the couch. Don't blame us: blame BBC America and the two Bens. (That'd be Cumberbatch and Whishaw, by the way.)
Read on to see what's in store for fans of British shows. Something's got to fill that Crawley-shaped hole, right?
Line of Duty
Season 3 of this gripping police drama just got underway in the U.K. Follow the British equivalent of Internal Affairs as they investigate corrupt coppers. Lennie James, best known as Morgan on The Walking Dead, headlines season 1.
Watch it on Hulu.
Pictured: Martin Compston in Line of Duty.
The Night Manager
Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie headline this BBC adaptation of John le Carré's spy drama. Hiddleston plays a hotel manager who gets caught up in a murder linked to Richard Roper (Laurie, with his British accent intact), a tycoon with a sideline in arms dealing. Hiddleton's shirtless scenes and enigmatic persona have given U.K. audiences a bit of James Bond fever. Let's just say this is quite the 007 audition tape.
Watch it on AMC from April 19.
Pictured: Tom Hiddleston as Jonathan Pine in The Night Manager
Detectorists
It may take a while to adjust to this comedy's slow pace, but it's worth it. Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones star as detectorists determined to unearth treasure in Essex. Unfortunately, it's mostly ring pulls and toy cars, but the banter and confrontations with rivals dubbed "Simon and Garfunkel" will have you chuckling appreciatively.
Watch it on Netflix (season 1) and Acorn (season 2, from April 4).
Pictured: Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones.
Whitechapel
Fans of British history will fall for this crime drama set in London's East End. The first season investigates a Jack the Ripper copycat, season 2 moves on to gangsters taking after Reggie and Ronnie Kray, and so on.
Watch it on Hulu.
Pictured: Phil Davis, Rupert Penry-Jones, and Steve Pemberton.
Vera
Get involved, pet. Imagine your dotty British aunt solving crimes while wearing a mac and floppy hat and you've got Vera. Brenda Blethyn stars as the titular character, an eccentric yet razor-sharp DCI living in fictional Northumbria. Season 6 hits Acorn TV on March 21, so now's the time to catch up.
Watch Series 6 on Acorn TV from March 21.
Pictured: Brenda Blethyn and Kenny Doughty in Vera
Hinterland
This police drama set in Wales was the first BBC show to appear in both Welsh and English (yes, actors filmed their scenes twice). With each episode running 90 minutes long, stories tend to drag, but the culprit's identity is always a surprise.
Watch it on Netflix.
Pictured: Richard Harrington and Mali Harries in Hinterland
Happy Valley
The second season of this award-winning drama just got underway in the U.K., but U.S. fans can sink their teeth into the first season on Netflix in the meantime. Set in West Yorkshire, the series follows a police sergeant investigating her daughter's suicide and the kidnapping of another young woman. Are the cases linked? Find out for yourself.
Watch it on Netflix.
Pictured: Sarah Lancashire in Happy Valley
Prey
Sink your teeth into yet another compelling British crime series. This BAFTA-nominated drama follows a detective sergeant trying to solve two murder cases involving a fellow officer and a prison guard.
Watch it on BBC America from February 25.
Pictured: Rosie Cavaliero in Prey
Luther
Idris Elba's recent SAG win for playing London detective John Luther was yet another reminder of how good this crime drama is. The two-part fourth season, which aired late last year, shows Luther teaming up with a new partner (Rose Leslie of Game of Thrones and Downton Abbey fame) and sinking his teeth into a new mystery. As always, gory, spine-tingling scenes ensue.
Watch it on Netflix and BBC America.
Pictured: Idris Elba in Luther
And Then There Were None
A group of strangers gets picked off one by one in this adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1939 mystery novel. Look out for a star turn by Emily Blunt look-alike Maeve Dermody, prepare to drool over Poldark's Aidan Turner's towel-clad body, and make a note to never, ever accept an invitation to visit a remote island when you don't know the hosts one bit.
Watch it on Lifetime this March.
Pictured: Sam Neill and Aidan Turner are featured in And Then There Were None's stellar cast.
War and Peace
Paul Dano, Lily James, Gillian Anderson, Stephen Rea, and the U.K.'s new crush James Norton star in this dramatization of Leo Tolstoy's classic novel. The magnificent, snowy sets, stunning costumes, and steamy plots (oh, that cunning Helene) are bound to kickstart a new passion for Russian literature.
Watch it now on Lifetime, History Channel, and A&E.
Pictured: Paul Dano and James Norton in War and Peace
You, Me and the Apocalypse
This sci-fi dramedy may have a familiar American cast (Rob Lowe, Jenna Fischer, Megan Mullally, etc.), but its dark sense of humor is British to the core. The quirky show, which follows people around the world as they deal with the fact that a comet is about to wipe out Earth, premiered in the U.K. last September. Now it's ready to make its U.S. debut.
Watch it on NBC from January 28.
Pictured: Jenna Fischer in You, Me and the Apocalypse
Midwinter of the Spirit
Though it can be a bit campy at times, this thriller sees a country vicar and exorcist-in-training dive into the world of solving murders. You'll recognize costar David Threlfall from his work in the original Shameless and Hot Fuzz.
Watch it on Acorn TV from January 11.
Pictured: Anna Maxwell Martin and David Threlfall in Midwinter of the Spirit
London Spy
Consider this one of the sexiest spy thrillers of all time. Ben Whishaw stars as Danny, the boyfriend of the mysterious Alex, played by your future crush Edward Holcroft. Part love story, part whodunit, this drama is ideal for anyone who fancies an agonizing cliffhanger and a steamy sex scene.
Watch it on BBC America from January 21.
Pictured: Ben Whishaw and Edward Holcroft in London Spy
Fresh Meat
Consider this sitcom the uni-bound lovechild of The Inbetweeners, Peep Show, and Undressed. It’s what happens when six strangers are forced to live in a house (because their dorm assignments didn’t work out), and things start to get real. Or rather, a funnier, more sharply timed version of “real” written by some of the best comedy writers BBC’s Channel 4 has on staff.
Watch it on Hulu.
Pictured: Joe Thomas and Kimberley Nixon in Fresh Meat
The Fall
Gillian Anderson was supposed to be The Fall’s star attraction, but it’s Jamie Dornan’s show from the moment the camera first zooms in uncomfortably close on his impassive, inscrutable face. When Dornan took over for Charlie Hunnam in the Fifty Shades of Grey movie, our inner goddesses couldn’t help but rejoice. Why? As Lena Dunham put it on Twitter, “I'm a monstrous @JamieDornan1 fan. Wasn't allowed to be attracted to him on The Fall bc he played a sexmurderer. 50 Shades is my big chance!”
Not that Christian Grey is free of flaws and depravity… He’s just not a straight-up serial killer terrorizing Belfast.
Watch it on Netflix Instant.
Pictured: Gillian Anderson in The Fall
Misfits
A group of juvenile delinquents with ASBOs (or anti-social behaviour order — who says TV never teaches you anything?) acquire superpowers from a freak hailstorm while doing court-mandated community service. This isn’t The Avengers, though. Think more along the raging hormone-fueled lines of Skins (the U.K. version, obviously) with the additional perks that always come with superhuman abilities. Game of Thrones fans will recognize Theon Greyjoy’s torturer Iwan Rheon as Simon (except here, he’s an unlikely hero), and if you caught The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, you’ll recognize Robert Sheehan, who played Clary’s friend Simon, as the cheeky Nathan.
Watch it on Hulu.
Pictured: the cast of Misfits
Sherlock
You’ve probably heard about this one in the form of someone saying, “No, you don’t understand… you HAVE to watch it.” For the uninitiated, you’ve most likely deduced this Sherlock is a modern adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s shrewd sleuth (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) and his right-hand man, John Watson (Martin Freeman), and their case-cracking exploits. And, to that, we say, “Elementary, my dear reader.”
Watch it on Netflix Instant.
Pictured: Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman in Sherlock
Black Mirror
If George Orwell were alive today and making TV shows, this sci-fi anthology series is what he’d produce. Created by satirist Charlie Brooker, Black Mirror has been compared to The Twilight Zone— if Rod Sterling’s freaky allegories were grounded in possible realities. Robert Downey, Jr. has already snapped up the movie rights to the third episode, “The Entire History of You.” So, yeah, you want to get in there. Now.
Watch it on demand on the Audience Network.
Pictured: Bryony Neylan-Francis in Black Mirror
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
This was the music panel-show U.S. networks have never quite managed to pull off. The show sadly ended last year, but it's still worth a watch online. If you want to get the good stuff, search YouTube for the Simon Amstell years (series 19 to 22) or go vintage with host Mark Lamarr (series 1 to 17).
Watch it on YouTube
Pictured: Phil Jupitus and Noel Fielding get dolled up with their fellow panelists.
Broadchurch
If the constant cancellation and resurrection of still-kinda-blah The Killing has left you wanting more from a whodunnit drama, watch Broadchurch. Just like The Killing, the show begins with the mysterious death of a child — this time it’s a young boy named Danny Latimer. We’re soon introduced to detectives Alec Hardy (David Tennant) and Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) — who are not just tasked with finding the murderer and motive, but are victims of the crime as well — along with the rest of the town’s quintessentially English eccentrics. After a very, very talked-about first series, season two will air in Britain next year. FOX adapted the show for American airwaves as Gracepoint, starring Tennant and Breaking Bad’s Anna Gunn.
Watch it on BBC America On Demand.
Pictured: Olivia Colman and David Tennant in Broadchurch
Moone Boy
Really, the fact that the adorable cop from Bridesmaids (Chris O’Dowd) is the star of this series should be enough to send you to Hulu ASAP. But, if not, allow us to heap on some more appealing details. O’Dowd created and co-wrote the series, which is adapted from a comedy short he penned about the adventures he had growing up in a small Irish town with an imaginary friend. Also, there are animated doodles involved — because really, what show about a boyhood imaginary friend would be complete without some illustrated flourishes?
Watch it on Hulu.
Pictured: Chris O'Dowd and David Rowle in Moone Boy
Top of the Lake
This one is also known as the other show for which Elisabeth Moss was nominated for an Emmy this year. Set in New Zealand and somewhat similar to Broadchurch in terms of structure (a central mystery is introduced in the first episode, and then twisted additional storylines snake outward from there), it has Moss playing a detective who returns to her hometown to care for her sick mother. She then gets tasked with helping track down a pregnant 12-year-old who’s gone missing after trying to commit suicide at the beginning of the series.
Watch it on Netflix Instant.
Gadget Man
If Top Gear, Bill Nye: The Science Guy, and Wired magazine had a baby, it would grow up to be Gadget Man. Host Richard Ayoade, who was Daily Show correspondent John Oliver’s writing partner at Cambridge, has the most acerbically droll delivery of classically understated British wit you’ll find. For example, he starts every episode with a bit of introduction, then says “So, before ado is in any way furthered, let’s tool up and get down to business.” Splitting up classic phrases in posh ways while talking about ridiculous gadgets is apparently the way into our hearts.
Watch it on Acorn TV.
Pictured: Richard Ayoade
The Graham Norton ShowandThe Jonathan Ross Show
You know those interview clips you’re always seeing on entertainment sites where, say, Benedict Cumberbatch does a Chewbacca impression for an amazed Harrison Ford, Will Smith raps the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song and then is joined by Alfonso Ribeiro and son Jaden to do the “Apache (Jump On It)” dance, or Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock recreate the iconic piano-dancing scene from Big? Those all come from these two geniuses.
Watch Graham Norton on BBC America, and Jonathan Ross on YouTube.
Pictured: Graham Norton
Doctor Who
The best part of Doctor Who is that there’s no need to go back and watch every season if you want to dive in...now. Every few years, the Doctor “regenerates,” meaning a new actor takes over the role. The 12th doc is currently played by Peter Capaldi, though who's to say how long this Time Lord will last?
Watch it on Netflix Instant.
Pictured: Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
Sick Of TV? These Shows Will Get You Addicted All Over Again
There’s A New Rachel On Friends
This Making A Murderer Attorney Is Coming Back To TV