August continues to bring the summer heat, so it’s a good thing that there’s no shortage of great TV to watch from the comfort of your own home. On Netflix, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is the new breakout hit for the streamer, while Max’s House of the Dragon is still entrancing viewers who are still hungry for small-screen spectacle.
Crime is still a popular genre, and British crime in particular is a favorite for many. This August, these three under-the-radar shows are worth your time and attention.
Need more recommendations? Check out the best British shows on Netflix and the best British shows on Hulu.
The Responder (2022)
You think your life stinks? It can’t be as bad as Chris Carson’s. He’s just been demoted from being an inspector to a glorified night security guard, he lives in a depressing neighborhood in Liverpool, his mother is wasting away at her dreary nursing home, and he’s in therapy as he tries to deal with traumatic issues from his past. To make matters worse, he’s been assigned a new partner, Rachel, whose idealism just makes everything wrong in Chris’s life seem worse.
But Chris has a chance at improving his life, and maybe overcoming his past sins, when he tries to save an innocent man from a drug deal that has gone terribly wrong. The Responder is more than just your standard British crime procedural; it’s also a fascinating portrait of a man slowly piecing his life back together. As Carson, Martin Freeman gives one of his best performances ever. Those who know him from Love Actually and The Office may be shocked to see him here.
The Responder is streaming on BritBox.
Suspects (2014-2016)
Suspects is exactly what you’d want from a British crime procedural: there are dead bodies to uncover, heinous crimes to solve, and moody establishing shots of London at night. The show follows three very different detectives as they are tasked with solving some of the toughest crimes in the country. Suspects‘ chief pleasure lies in its simplicity as it gives viewers compelling cases to ponder for a bit before they are solved at just under an hour.
Some standout episodes include Calling Card, which follows two detectives, Jack and Charlie, as they investigate a violent assault at a popular nightclub and find more than they bargained for, and Sensitivity, which see the detectives try to solve the mysterious death of a euthanasia advocate. These episodes are available for free on BritBox. If you like what you see, there are two seasons worth of crime to delve into.
Suspects is streaming on BritBox.
Stay Close (2021)
Harlan Coben is taking over Netflix. The veteran crime author has had a number of his novels adapted by the streamer like The Stranger and Fool Me Once. Both were hits, and so was Stay Close, an eight-episode mystery series that involves sex, crime, the paparazzi, and suburbia. You know, all the usual ingredients of a successful crime drama.
A murder brings together three strangers, whose lives will be forever changed when their paths cross. Megan is a content wife and mom in the English suburbs who is trying to hide her past as an exotic dancer from her husband, Dan. Ray used to be a respected photographer; now he takes sleazy photos of D-list celebrities. And Michael is a detective who is still troubled by an unsolved murder case from years ago. Why are these three people brought together? You’ll just have to tune in to find out.
Stay Close is streaming on Netflix.
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