25 of the Best British Shows To Binge This Long Weekend
From gritty new dramas to feel-good favourites, these UK shows will keep you hooked.
Everyone loves a glitzy Hollywood TV show every now and then, or a buzzy binge-watch from another far-flung shore. A K-drama, French mystery, or Scandi thriller, perhaps?
But sometimes, all you want to do is curl up with a cup of tea and enjoy the dry wit and cosy setting of a British programme. Whether it’s hard-hitting dramas or wry comedies, the UK is known for its excellent premium television.
The long weekend is the perfect excuse to finally jump into that series you’ve been meaning to watch, or discover a hidden gem you missed the first time around. So if you're stuck in a content rut, you're sure to find a British binge here that tickles your fancy.
Drama and Mystery
1. Adolescence
Where Can I Watch It? On Netflix.
Unless you've been living under a rock this year, chances are you've either already binged Adolescence or it's on your to-watch list. If you're in the latter category, this is your sign to queue it up this weekend. Tense, intimate, and brilliantly acted, this four-part thriller unfolds in real time – and will leave you thinking about it long after the credits roll. It deals with some very heavy themes, so consider following it up with one of the comedies on this list.
2. Top Boy
Where Can I Watch It? Netflix.
An unflinching look at gang life in East London, Top Boy blends social realism with gripping storytelling and complex character arcs. Originally airing on Channel 4 before being revived by Netflix with the backing of rapper Drake, the series follows drug kingpins Dushane and Sully as they navigate power, loyalty, betrayal, and survival in a world shaped by poverty and systemic inequality. The final season, which aired in 2023, brought the story to a powerful close and cemented Top Boy as one of the most important British dramas of the decade.
3. Industry
Where can I watch? HBO Max
If you haven’t yet dipped your toe into Industry’s cutthroat world of investment banking, perhaps this weekend is the time to do it. With the fourth season Mickey Down and Konrad Kay’s finance drama’s available to binge, Harper (Myha’la) and Yasmin (Marisa Abela) are navigating higher stakes, murkier alliances and the uneasy reality of what success actually costs. With Kit Harington, Ken Leung and newcomers including Max Minghella and Kiernan Shipka joining the fray, ambition and self-preservation collide in sometimes devastating and unthinkable ways.
4. Happy Valley
Where Can I Watch It? BBC iPlayer.
Set in the rugged hills of West Yorkshire, Happy Valley is a crime drama for the ages, anchored by Sarah Lancashire’s phenomenal performance as police sergeant Catherine Cawood. What starts as a missing person case quickly spirals into a tangled web of drugs, violence, and grief. Creator Sally Wainwright expertly tackles bleak themes with empathy, exploring addiction, family, and the failures of the justice system. The final season, which aired in 2023 after a six-year break, brought the trilogy to a jaw-dropping close and confirmed the show’s status as one of British TV’s finest.
5. Lord of the Flies
Where can I watch? BBC iPlayer
A new adaptation of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies revisits the enduring question at the heart of the 1954 novel: what happens when civilisation falls away? Adapted by Adolescence creator Jack Thorne, the BBC’s series follows a group of schoolboys stranded on a remote island as order gives way to rivalry, fear, suspicion and shifting power structures. The talented young cast that includes Winston Sawyers as Ralph, this retelling explores themes of masculinity and the uneasy boundary between structure and chaos.
6. Sherwood
Where Can I Watch It? BBC iPlayer.
Inspired by real events, Sherwood is a taut, politically charged crime drama set in a former mining village in Nottinghamshire. When a local man is murdered with a crossbow, it reopens old wounds from the miners’ strikes of the 1980s and exposes long-held divisions in a fractured community. With a stellar ensemble cast including David Morrissey, Lesley Manville, and Adeel Akhtar, the series expertly weaves together personal grief, police investigation, and political history. Not your average whodunit, Sherwood is a poignant exploration of class and the lingering impact of collective trauma.
7. Somewhere Boy
Where Can I Watch It? All 4.
A tender, haunting drama with a uniquely British voice, Somewhere Boy follows 18-year-old Danny, who’s spent his entire life locked away by his grieving father, convinced the outside world is too dangerous to survive. When tragedy forces him into the real world for the first time, Danny must navigate grief, connection, and everything he’s been shielded from. Lewis Gribben gives a devastating performance in this beautifully shot, emotion series. Understated – and under-appreciated in our opinion – Somewhere Boy is a hidden gem that you'll be glad you found.
8. Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials
Where can I watch? Netflix
Heart set on a cosy crime drama? Step back in time with Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials – a three-part retelling of the murder mystery maestro’s 1929 novel of the same name. Starring Mia McKenna-Bruce, Helen Bonham-Carter and Martin Freeman, the premise revolves around a practical joke gone wrong. When a gaggle of socialites gathers at Chimneys (a grand country estate), they decide to play prank their notoriously heavy-sleeping friend. But when the friend winds up dead, the tone takes on a more sinister mood. Expect hijinks and twists colliding with sharp-tongued British upper-class archetypes for a truly immersive whodunit.
9. Young Sherlock
Where can I watch? Amazon Prime Video
Perhaps a more raucous take on the classic detective is more your speed? Young Sherlock reimagines Arthur Conan Doyle’s famed sleuth as an impulsive Oxford student with a talent for trouble (did we mention it’s directed by Guy Ritchie?). Starring Hero Fiennes Tiffin alongside the Colin Firth, and Dónal Finn as a scene-stealing Moriarty, the eight-part series leans into Ritchie’s signature fast-talking, fast-punching style. Expect conspiracies, cryptic manuscripts and plenty of period drama swagger, as Holmes’ earliest case unfolds amid secret societies and a menagerie of very committed moustaches.
10. Slow Horses
Where can I watch? Apple TV+
Espionage, sans the polish. Slow Horses follows a team of disgraced MI5 agents relegated to Slough House – a bureaucratic purgatory for those who’ve made career-ending mistakes. Led by the frankly gross but sharp Jackson Lamb (a perfect and almost unrecognisable Gary Oldman), the rag-tag group repeatedly find themselves pulled into high-stakes conspiracies despite being written off as failures. Equal parts dry humour and tightly wound thriller, the series offers a grittier, more human take on the spy genre, where competence is extremely uneven, but the danger is very, very real. You’re constantly left wondering how they manage to actually pull it off.
Comedy
11. This Way Up
Where Can I Watch It? All 4
Created by and starring Aisling Bea, This Way Up is a sharp, tender comedy-drama about a woman putting her life back together after a “teeny little nervous breakdown.” Set in London, the series follows Áine, a witty and quietly vulnerable English-language teacher, as she navigates recovery, complicated family dynamics, and the awkwardness of modern dating. With standout performances from Bea and Sharon Horgan (who also executive produced), the show balances laugh-out-loud moments with genuine emotional depth.
12. The Outlaws
Where Can I Watch It? BBC iPlayer.
From creator Stephen Merchant, The Outlaws is a clever comedy-drama about a mismatched group of strangers brought together through community service in Bristol. As they clean up a derelict building, they become entangled in a criminal conspiracy that’s far more than they bargained for. With an ensemble cast including Merchant himself, Rhianne Barreto, and a scene-stealing turn from Christopher Walken, the show is part crime caper and part character study, The Outlaws is a witty, compassionate series that finds pathos in the most unlikely places.
13. Big Boys
Where Can I Watch It? All 4.
Created by comedian Jack Rooke, Big Boys is a sweet coming-of-age comedy that follows Jack, a grieving fresher at a British uni, as he navigates mental health, masculinity, and identity. Paired unexpectedly with Danny, his laddish roommate with struggles of his own, the two form an unlikely friendship that’s hilarious and moving. Set in the early 2010s and packed with nostalgic bangers, the show is one of the most endearing comedies on British TV.
14. Chewing Gum
Where Can I Watch It? All Four.
Before I May Destroy You, there was Chewing Gum. Created by and starring the incredible Michaela Coel, this wildly original, fourth-wall-breaking comedy follows a 24-year-old shop assistant desperate to shed her religious upbringing. Set on a London council estate, the show is explicit and fiercely funny – a surreal coming-of-age story that tackles sex and shame with boundless energy and zero filter. This is a cult favourite for good reason.
15. Pure
Where Can I Watch It? Amazon Prime Video.
Based on the memoir by Rose Cartwright, Pure is a bold and darkly funny series about Marnie, a 24-year-old woman who moves to London after being plagued by intrusive sexual thoughts – a symptom of a lesser-known form of OCD. What could’ve been played for shock is instead handled with empathy and wit. It's awkward and unexpectedly uplifting, offering a refreshingly honest take on mental health and the messy process of growing into yourself.
Sci-Fi and Fantasy
16. Bodies
Where Can I Watch It? Netflix
A gripping sci-fi crime thriller with a time-bending twist, Bodies begins with one murder – the same body, found in the exact same spot – across four different time periods: 1890, 1941, 2023, and 2053. As four detectives investigate the mystery in their respective eras, their timelines slowly begin to intersect, revealing a conspiracy that spans over a century. This high-concept series is stylish and ambitious with a captivating ensemble cast and a tightly woven narrative.
17. The Lazarus Project
Where Can I Watch It? Sky Max
A gripping combo of sci-fi and action-thriller, The Lazarus Project follows George, a seemingly ordinary man who wakes up to discover he’s been recruited into a secret organisation with the ability to turn back time. Their mission is to prevent global catastrophes – by any means necessary. But when George breaks protocol to try and save someone he loves, he sets off a high-stakes battle between fate and free will. Fans of Dark, Utopia, or Edge of Tomorrow will find plenty to love.
18. Supacell
Where Can I Watch It? Netflix
Created by rapper-turned-filmmaker Rapman, Supacell is a high-octane, sci-fi series set in South London, where five seemingly ordinary Black individuals suddenly develop superpowers. As they struggle to understand their abilities, a deeper mystery unfolds – one that could change their lives and their communities forever. Real-life struggles are highlighted by genre thrills in Supacell, which is as much about systemic injustice and survival as it is about supernatural power.
19. Misfits
Where Can I watch It? All 4.
What happens when a group of young offenders doing community service suddenly gain superpowers after a freak electrical storm? Misfits takes that premise and runs with it – into wild, boundary-pushing and surprisingly emotional territory. Set on a London estate, the show flips the superhero genre on its head. With dark humour and teen angst, Misfits is messy and bizarrely profound – a cult classic that still holds up.
20. Being Human
Where Can I Watch It? BBC iPlayer
A ghost, a vampire, and a werewolf try to live a quiet life in a Bristol share house – it sounds like the setup for a joke, but Being Human turns that premise into one of the most heartfelt and inventive British genre series of the last few decades. Supernatural thrills meet real emotional depth as the show explores what it means to be human (and inhuman) with humour, tragedy, and warmth.
Romance
21. Trigonometry
Where Can I Watch It? BBC iPlayer.
Trigonometry examines love beyond traditional boundaries through the story of a London couple who take in a lodger for financial reasons, only to find themselves developing feelings for her. Set in cramped apartments where emotions have nowhere to hide, the series treats its polyamorous relationship with remarkable honesty and zero sensationalism. The intimate cinematography captures those small, charged moments of connection, while the performances feel achingly real – creating a portrait of three people discovering that their hearts might work differently than they've been taught.
22. Everything I Know About Love
Where Can I Watch It? BBC One.
Adapted from Dolly Alderton’s bestselling memoir, Everything I Know About Love is a warm and joyful portrait of female friendship in your twenties. Set in early-2010s London, it follows four housemates navigating love, work, flatshares, and hangovers – with all the cringe and charm that comes with it. At its core is the evolving bond between childhood best friends Maggie and Birdy, as romantic relationships start to reshape their closeness. This is the kind of show that makes you want to text your best friend immediately.
23. Normal People
Where Can I Watch It? BBC iPlayer.
This one is slipping in on a technicality because although it's very Irish, culturally and creatively, it was co-produced with the BBC. Plus, how can there be a list of romance shows without Normal People featuring? This raw, captivating series became a genuine phenomenon when it arrived in 2020. Following Marianne and Connell from awkward school romance to complicated adult relationship, Normal People explores how two Irish teenagers from opposite sides of the social hierarchy keep finding their way back to each other despite miscommunications and personal struggles. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal deliver career-making performances, and the show's simmering intensity will have you hooked all the way through.
24. Sanditon
Where Can I Watch It? ITVX.
Based on Jane Austen’s unfinished final novel, Sanditon reimagines the Regency romance with a fresh, seaside setting and a heroine who’s anything but passive. When spirited Charlotte Heywood arrives in the up-and-coming resort town of Sanditon, she finds herself swept up in intrigue, ambition, and more than a few smouldering glances. The show blends Austen’s signature wit and social commentary with bolder storylines and modern energy – especially in later seasons. Sanditon is a period drama that doesn’t play it safe – and that’s exactly why fans love it.
25. Poldark
Where Can I Watch It? BBC iPlayer.
Set against Cornwall's dramatic cliffs, Poldark follows a war hero's return to find his family estate in ruins and his former love pledged to another. As Ross Poldark rebuilds his life and fortune, his unexpected marriage to servant girl Demelza evolves into something far deeper than convenience. The series balances personal drama with sharp commentary on class injustice and industrial change in 18th-century England, all while delivering the gorgeous costumes and romantic tension that period drama fans crave. With Aidan Turner's brooding performance (and that famous scything scene) leading a talented cast, Poldark offers the perfect escape into a world where honour, passion, and ambition collide on England's stormy coast.
Watching TV in Bed? (We Don’t Mind)
Enjoyed This?
Discover more TV recommendations.
