New Shows to Watch

In the late 19th century, Tess Durbeyfield is sent off to visit a rich cousin, Alec D'Urberville, when her parents learn that they are distantly related. Tess takes a disliking to the man and his attempts at seduction are rebuffed. Returning from a village party he forces himself on the innocent girl who eventually makes her way back to her parents' home. Ashamed and pregnant she seems destined to forever being marked a certain kind of woman. After the death of her child, she makes her way to a prosperous farm where, working as a milkmaid, she meets and eventually marries the handsome Angel Clare. On learning of her past however, he abandons her and with little choice and facing a life of extreme hardship, again falls into Alec's clutches and becomes a kept woman.

Set in the 1930s, Britain is in depression and still scarred by the effects of World War I. Young and passionate Sarah Burton (Anna Maxwell Martin) returns to her conservative home county, bursting with modern ideas. As the new headmistress in South Riding, she inspires her girls, including Lydia Holly (Charlie May-Clark), a scholarship student from the slums, to think for themselves. But not everyone sees eye-to-eye with Miss Burton. She finds a few allies, Joe Astell (Douglas Henshall) being one; but the sparks really start to fly when she crosses paths with Robert Carne (David Morrissey), a haughty landlord whom she despises.

The tongues of London high society gossips begin to wag when John Harmon --a young man whose inheritance depends on his marrying a woman he has never met-- is found dead in the River Thames. The fortune passes into the hands of the working-class Boffins, who take into their new home both Bella Wilfer (Harmon's would-be bride) and a mysterious secretary known as Rokesmith. Meanwhile, Lizzie Hexam, the daughter of the boatman suspected of Harmon's murder, is pursued by two suitors: obsessive and self-righteous Bradley Headstone and roguish and lethargic Eugene Wrayburn. An expansive and varied cast of characters create an epic intertwining tale.

An intimate and emotional drama for BBC Two about the revolutionary Bloomsbury group.

Cornwall, early 19th century. A recently orphaned young woman by the name of Mary arrives to live with her aunt and uncle after the death of her widowed mother. It isn't long before Mary learns that her aunt's husband, Joss, leads a band of criminals who cause shipwrecks for profit. Coming closer to the truth of everything will cause Mary to fear for her life.

Executive Producer and Writer Gwyneth Hughes' adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's literary classic is set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, and follows Becky Sharp (Olivia Cooke) as she attempts to claw her way out of poverty and scale the heights of English Society. Her story of "villainy, crime, merriment, lovemaking, jilting, laughing, cheating, fighting, and dancing", takes her all the way to the court of King George IV, via the Battle of Waterloo, breaking hearts and losing fortunes as she goes.

Sisters Marian (

The residents of an affluent street in London are busy getting on with their lives, when suddenly something very strange happens. Every house in the street has an identical, mysterious postcard pushed through their letterboxes that simply states "WE WANT WHAT YOU HAVE". At first, the residents of Pepys Road dismiss the notes as some sort of marketing campaign but gradually as events begin to escalate it becomes clear that there is something more to this strange occurrence than something as mundane as that.

Therapist Joy is trying to find a way to keep her spark with her husband, following a cycling accident which has put their sex life on hold. Suddenly Joy and Alan find themselves drawn to new people, and both are tempted to make the ultimate indiscretion.

An epic tale of love, betrayal, deception, and revenge set in the Irish countryside in 1885.

When Parish Councilman Barry Fairbrother (Rory Kinnear) unexpectedly dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock. An English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, Pagford is not what it first seems. What lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war - rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, and teachers at war with their pupils. And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest battle the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity, and unexpected revelations?

Follows Ian and Emma, a married couple who deals with the ups and downs of their long 30-year marriage.

At the center of the story is Augustus Melmotte, a European-born city financier, whose origins are as mysterious as his business dealings. Trollope describes him as 'something in the city', but the "something" part is not always clear. Within weeks of arriving in London, he announces a new company and promises instant fortune to those who join him in this scheme. Melmotte is surrounded by a circle of decadent aristos, scheming widows and nouveau riche businessmen, all trying to get a piece of the financial pie. His disobedient daughter, Marie, is played by Shirley Henderson, while Cheryl Campbell, Matthew Macfadyen and Paloma Baeza bring to life the aristocratic but impoverished Carbury family.

Father Michael is a Catholic priest presiding over a Northern urban parish in England. Although modern, maverick, and reassuringly flawed, he must be confidante, counsellor and confessor to a congregation struggling to reconcile its beliefs with the challenges of daily life.

Set during the final days of slavery in 19th century Jamaica, the story follows the strong-willed, young slave July on a plantation owned by her odious mistress Caroline Mortimer. When a charming new arrival to the island, Robert Goodwin, becomes the new overseer, July and Caroline are both intrigued by his seemingly revolutionary determination to improve the plantation for the slaves and mistress alike.

Set in the 1930s, a black Jazz band rises in fame and popularity while becoming entangled in an intricate web of intrigue, mystery & suspense with the elite of London society.

Set in post-war Britain, Lewis Aldridge is grief-stricken as he finds it hard to deal with the death of his beloved mother. He is put in the care of his emotionally distant father Gilbert, whom he barely knows and who quickly remarries forcing Lewis to bury his feelings. Lewis becomes dependent on his friendship with the neighboring Carmichael girls, Tamsin and Kit who are controlled by their domineering father Dicky.

Period drama set in London about the rise of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.