Shows to Watch

The extended Forsyte family live a more than pleasant upper middle class life in Victorian and later Edwardian England. The two central characters are Soames Forsyte and his cousin Jolyon Forsyte. Soames is a solicitor, all proper and straight-laced. His love for the beautiful Irene is his only weakness as is his beautiful daughter Fleur. Jolyon is the opposite, a free-thinking artist who abandons his wife to live with his children's nanny. Their lives and their children's lives will intersect over 30 years bringing happiness to some and tragedy to others.

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.

Four of William Shakespeare's plays are given a completely modern makeover. There's biting remarks and a chance at love at a TV studio (Much Ado About Nothing); murder and madness at a Glaswegian restaurant (Macbeth); insults and passion between an aristocrat and a rising politician (The Taming of the Shrew); and mayhem and love potions mix at an unusual theme-resort (A Midsummer Night's Dream).

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

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.

In 1930s Britain, three young aristocratic women find love as the world around them slowly descends into war.

The social and class divisions in early 20th century England through the intersection of three families - the wealthy Wilcoxes, the gentle and idealistic Schlegels and the lower-middle class Basts.

It is across the roulette table that Gwendolen Harleth first locks eyes with the enigmatic Daniel Deronda. Gwendolen is beautiful, vivacious, and a gambler, but desperate for financial security; something that possessive Henleigh Grandcourt would be able to provide for her. Daniel is the adopted son of an aristocratic, but doubtful of his own identity. He pours his energy into selflessly helping his friends, including poor Jewish singer Mirah Lapidoth. As Gwendolen's situation becomes dire, and Daniel seeks to uncover the mystery surrounding his own birth, their lives become intertwined...

Set in 1870s London, a young prostitute finds potential power and status after becoming the mistress of a powerful patriarch.

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.

In the 1840s, Cranford is ruled by the ladies. They adore good gossip, and romance and change is in the air, as the unwelcome grasp of the Industrial Revolution rapidly approaches their beloved rural market-town.

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.

Mini-series adapted from a series of novels that's set at the estate of a large privileged Sussex family and follows their life in London between the years 1937 and 1947.

In 1936, Sir Hallam Holland (Ed Stoppard) and his pretty young wife Lady Agnes (Keeley Hawes) return from a diplomatic posting abroad and take up residence at 165 Eaton Place, formerly the home of the Bellamy family but vacant for several years. By chance, they ask Rose Buck (Jean Marsh), a long-time servant in the Bellamy household, to find them a suitable staff. In the end, Rose joins them as the housekeeper. The 1930s are a difficult time in England. The Depression has taken its toll with high levels of unemployment. Fascism, which has become popular on the continent in Italy and Germany, is also finding followers in the U.K. with Oswald Mosely's British Union of Fascists. As the new staff begin their daily work, the downstairs family begins to take shape.

Story is set against the backdrop of WWI and follows Christopher Tietjens, a top civil servant from a background of wealth and privilege, whose marriage flounders almost as soon as it begins. He falls in love with another woman, but he remains honorable for some considerable time to Sylvia who has several affairs. On top of this, Chris is dealing with shell shock and partial memory loss that he endures during the war.

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

A novelist's life ricochets from 1920s Paris to '50s New York and '80s London. Along the way he meets Ernest Hemingway, Ian Fleming and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor - the exiled British king and his mistress Wallis Simpson.