Netflix has been a useful streaming service for British TV series to be seen around the world, reaching as many viewers as possible. With such a mix of shows at the click of a button, audiences are spoiled for choice, with an abundance of projects to fill every genre.
British creatives have explored a vast range of topics, some hard-hitting and others that are light-hearted and easy to watch. The only downside of having so many shows on Netflix is that it can be hard to choose which series to pick. However, there are some that deserve a little more praise and acknowledgment, standing out as the best British Netflix shows.
Despite their lives drifting apart after high school, Dex and Emma reunite one day every year as their lives run parallel. Love, heartbreak, and the experience of growing apart together lie at the center of this decade-spanning love story.
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IMDB |
Rotten Tomatoes |
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7/10 |
36% |
One Day quickly became a TV sensation, amassing over 15 million views within 11 days of its release. The show is based on a fictional book of the same name by David Nicholls and consists of 14 episodes.
Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall convincingly play the two lead characters, Emma and Dexter, with Jonny Weldon and Eleanor Tomlinson taking supporting roles that had an impact on audiences. The story is both moving and beautifully told, delving into a relationship over a 20-year span, revisiting Emma and Dexter on the same day each year for most of the episodes. As an honest, but difficult portrayal of love, One Day has continued to attract the attention of many a viewer.
A chilling portrayal of psychological entanglement, the story follows a bartender who becomes the target of an unsettling fixation by a frequent patron. As her behavior escalates from affectionate to menacing, the film delves into the impacts of such an invasion on his personal and professional life.
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IMDB |
Rotten Tomatoes |
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8.1/10 |
100% |
Netflix has released more tha na handful of movies of many genres. But what are some of the best examples of ones that broke viewer’s hearts?
A plotline so dark it can leave audiences astounded or regularly checking that it’s a true story, Baby Reindeer is the real-life account of a man who had a stalker. While there are plenty of non-fictional shows to watch, Baby Reindeer is truly brave and commendable for how brutally honest Donny’s experience was.
Donny is played by Richard Gadd, who wrote the story based on his real-life experiences. As he tried to make his way as a comedian, he went through the hardships most artists find with the nature of the job, but with a whole heap of unthinkable, life-changing trouble that is shocking to watch. The structure of the show is inventive, as it doesn’t always explain events chronologically but uses an artistic flair to precisely deliver how the main character was feeling at any given time.
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IMDB |
Rotten Tomatoes |
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8.1/10 |
74% |
Guy Ritchie’s finest film work is instantly identifiable as his own, stamped with characters and narratives that all represent his art. The Gentlemen continued the trend and came after a film of the same name was made in 2019. The series was cast with high-rated actors, including Theo James and Kaya Scodelario, as well as a Ritchie film regular, Vinnie Jones.
Though sharing the same title, the series is simply based in the same world as the film rather than being a sequel. Eddie Halstead inherits his father’s estate, not realizing that a world of criminality would come with it. The cast fit their roles effortlessly, painting the picture of no-nonsense characters who sometimes get caught out.
A teenage boy with a sex therapist mother teams up with a high school classmate to set up an underground sex therapy clinic at school.
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IMDB |
Rotten Tomatoes |
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8.3/10 |
94% |
While Sex Education is a funny watch, it delivered teen issues from an angle that wasn’t regularly seen on TV. The show wasn’t degrading, nor did it sneer at the awkward teenage years that a lot of people go through. Instead, the story of a boy attempting to set up a sex therapy clinic at his school was a great throughline for the genre.
The emotional and controversial love triangles, the humor, and the school-day drama are all played out over four seasons by a wonderful cast that includes Asa Butterfield (Otis Milburn), Emma Mackey (Maeve Wiley), Ncuti Gatwa (Eric Effiong), and Gillian Anderson (Jean Milburn).
Based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth, Call the Midwife is a period drama that centers around a group of midwives working in London in the 50s and 60s.
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IMDB |
Rotten Tomatoes |
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8.6/10 |
N/A |
Jennifer Worth wrote the memoirs that inspired Call the Midwife, which was set in the 1950s and 1960s in Poplar, a district of England’s East London. The episodes are filled with the ins and outs of midwifery, as well as various other medical staff and the local people of Poplar.
The period highlights the complexities and struggles of providing medical care to a working-class area, but also the beauty and happiness the job could bring. Nonnatus House was at the center of the community, as well as being home to the Nuns and nurses who provided their assistance to the surrounding area. Each episode brought new ailments, but no matter the challenge, the staff were always on hand to do their best for anyone who needed it.
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IMDB |
Rotten Tomatoes |
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8.2/10 |
N/A |
Netflix has released a wide variety of original movies. But when it comes to thrillers they have delivered some of the best ever.
Centering around a Jewish family’s Shabbat celebration, Friday Night Dinner is laugh-out-loud funny, with some unusual characters, as well as those who can’t believe the madness. Starring one of the best British sitcom actors, Paul Ritter, alongside Tamsin Greig, Simon Bird, and Tom Rosenthal, it’s no wonder the series reeled in a substantial fan base.
The Goodmans present all the antics of a classic family set-up, with an eccentric neighbor that can often interrupt their dinners with the most bizarre requests. Nonetheless, Jim doesn’t make the show seem unrealistic, as he adds to the comedy and is a part of the show viewers look forward to seeing.
A gangster family epic set in 1900s England, centering on a gang who sew razor blades in the peaks of their caps, and their fierce boss Tommy Shelby.
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IMDB |
Rotten Tomatoes |
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8.8/10 |
93% |
“By order of the Peaky Blinders” is a short sentence with powerful words, enough to quieten the noisiest of rooms. Peaky Blinders is based on the real life gangster family of Birmingham, England, who had made their family name known in 1919.
The show never had a bad season, always finding new ways to add twists to the fast-paced and dangerous life of Tommy Shelby and his relatives. As time rolled on, the Shelbys expanded their empire and control on the city, but the rise in power didn’t come without devastating consequences and a life-long anxiety of constantly looking over their shoulders for fear of who their next enemy would be.
An anthology series exploring a twisted, high-tech multiverse where humanity’s greatest innovations and darkest instincts collide.
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IMDB |
Rotten Tomatoes |
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8.7/10 |
83% |
Netflix has crafted several excellent animated hits for viewers of all ages, including Klaus, The Mitchells vs the Machines, and Nimona.
Black Mirror is an extraordinary show which takes the use of technology and plants it in various settings, leaving audiences to ponder the effects the likes of mobile phones could have one day. Each episode stands alone, with a new take on the central theme.
A lot of the episodes are set in the future, with new ways of living. Others focus on something in today’s world and take it to the extreme, like “Fifteen Million Merits,” which displays a fame-promising talent show. Charlie Brooker’s program is both frightening and thought-provoking and, in some ways, feels like a wake-up call for modern society. Having said that, it doesn’t unnecessarily preach to audiences but just puts forth a different way of looking at technology.
After Tony’s wife dies, his nice-guy persona is altered into an impulsive, devil-may-care attitude that takes his old world by storm.
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IMDB |
Rotten Tomatoes |
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8.4/10 |
71% |
Ricky Gervais’ career has spanned both comedy and drama, found in projects such as The Office, Extras and Derek. While the aforementioned shows are some of the best works on TV, it’s After Life that seemed to pull together every skill Gervais has to produce a show that seamlessly combines comedy, pathos and real life.
After Tony loses his wife, Lisa, to cancer, he can’t see the point in his own life anymore. His friends guide him and give him glimpses of light that make him carry on as he figures out how to manage grief and what it means. The series is both heartbreaking and cathartic, which has been pointed out by many viewers who have praised Gervais and been so thankful for his show.
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IMDB |
Rotten Tomatoes |
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8.4/10 |
100% |
In a completely original spin on police and detective series, Life on Mars takes audiences back to the early 1970s. Detective Sam Tyler was in an accident in 2006 and woke up over 30 years before.
Sam finds that no one is shocked upon his arrival at his new place of work, though it understandably takes him a while to settle in while he also figures out how to get back home. His bolshy boss, Gene Hunt, seemingly has no time for Sam’s strange outbursts that suggest he’s from the future, as he’s more interested in keeping his local area safe. The series was followed by Ashes to Ashes, which answered all the questions the show brought up and tied together the perfect series.
