Perhaps it's the sometimes grey, sun-deprived, shiveringly hostile weather that inspires British screenwriters, directors and producers to craft such compelling, diverse small screen entertainment. Perhaps it's the melting pot of cultures and class that co-exist, sometimes harmoniously and sometimes not, that also inspires fearless examinations of political and social unrest. Whether it's the formation of a new wave band in 1980s Britain in This Town, or the thrilling urgency of a doomed submarine in Vigil, SBS On Demand offers some of the best British drama, crime, thriller and comedy series. Here's our guide to the shows we're bloody chuffed about.
This Town
This Town
This Town premieres Wednesday 22 May 9.25pm on SBS. Episodes air weekly and will also be streaming at SBS On Demand the same day as broadcast.
Broadchurch
For Broadchurch fanatics who have rewatched all three series multiple times, there's deep envy over those who are discovering it anew. David Tennant may be Dr Who to many, but he was exceptional as Detective Alec Hardy in Broadchurch. Gruff and rumpled, Hardy is the outsider brought in to solve the murder of an 11-year-old-boy in a beachside Dorset town. He has inadvertently sidelined former Detective Sergeant Ellie Miller, played by the inimitable Olivia Colman. The cases across series 1-3 drive the plotline, but it is the complicated power dynamics between Hardy and Miller, the suspects and victims, and the community that really makes all three series so iconic.
Broadchurch is streaming now at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Broadchurch
series • Crime drama
M
series • Crime drama
M
Bad Education
Should you badly need a laugh after three series of Broadchurch, this popular series is the perfect prescription. If you survived high school, then Bad Education is therapeutic because if you don't laugh about how awkward, awful and dreadfully long that whole period was, you'd have to cry. Alfie Wickers (Jack Whitehall) is barely more mature than his students, and it is an ongoing mystery as to how he keeps his teaching job at Abbey Grove in Hertfordshire. When Wickers isn't plotting his seduction of fellow teacher Rosie Gulliver (Sarah Solemani), he's dodging the unhinged behaviour of headmaster Shaquille Fraser. Alfie's students may never get beyond a couple of pages of a textbook, but they inevitably learn a thing or two on how to fail personally and professionally in eccentric, deplorably embarrassing style. When the series returned for seasons four and five after a long hiatus, some of those students returned too, bringing more classroom laughs.
Bad Education is streaming now at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Bad Education
series • sitcom
MA15+
series • sitcom
MA15+
The Responder
Former policeman Tony Schumacher created this sometimes harrowing, darkly humorous homage to the personal traumas faced by one police officer as he struggles to hold together his job and his mental stability. The highlight of the series is acclaimed actor Martin Freeman as Chris Carson, who – despite his crumbling mental fortitude – still treats the victims and crims he meets on night shift with compassion and patience. Moments of tragedy are leavened by small kindnesses, forgiveness and understanding. Series one was fantastic, and series two picks up on Chris in a better state of mind, still working alongside favourites from season one plus a new cast of colleagues and community to discover.
The Responder season 2 premieres on SBS with a double episode launch Thursday 30 May at 9:30PM. Episodes will then air weekly and are available to stream the same day as broadcast on SBS On Demand. Catch-up on season 1 now.
Stream free On Demand
The Responder
series • Crime drama
MA15+
series • Crime drama
MA15+
Vigil
When Police Scotland's Chief Inspector Amy Silva (Suranne Jones) is assigned to investigate a death aboard nuclear-powered submarine HMS Vigil, it is apparently just another job. But, isolated from the crew – wary of an outsider on board – she ends up tangled in a power battle between herself and her police colleagues, the Royal Navy and MI5. And Amy is trapped, far from shore, in a small vessel with the suspects and the killer. Parallel to the thrilling murder procedural is the plotline focusing on Amy's lover DS Kirsten Longacre (Rose Leslie), who is doing all she can to investigate from the mainland, while fearing for Amy's life.
Vigil is streaming now at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Vigil
series • drama
MA15+
series • drama
MA15+
Ralph & Katie
Amidst the addictively glum, grim crime dramas that the Brits do so exceptionally well this gorgeous romantic drama might have gone unnoticed. Ralph & Katie is a relationship comedy, the spin-off series from popular family drama The A Word. The A word is "autism", and both Ralph (Leon Harrop) and Katie (Sarah Gordy) have Down's Syndrome. The duo's extended family are endlessly entertaining, including - most delightfully - Ralph's adoring mother Louise (Pooky Quesnel). This is a series that doesn't shy away from the assumptions and prejudices that stymie children and adults with Down's Syndrome. Ralph and Katie's support worker, Danny (Dylan Brady), had witnessed Ralph being bullied throughout his school year and had never stood up for him. To a degree, Dylan views his supporter job as a way to amend that wrong. But it is the frisson and the relationship highs and lows between Ralph and Katie that are the emotional and narrative heart of this drama. Ralph and Katie must confront their own internalised conceptions, and misconceptions, of who they are, what they are capable of, and their worth in broader society. This could be heavy material if handled less deftly, but there are LOL moments in this series, also chock-a-block with typically eccentric British neighbours (Brian) and well-meaning, cringeworthy family. Most importantly, this series was written by, and directed by, a team of people with lived experience of neurodivergence and disability.
Ralph & Katie is streaming now at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Ralph & Katie
series • drama
M
series • drama
M
Looking for more? There’s a plenitude of British drama, thriller, comedy and political intrigue in the at SBS On Demand.
