Best movies & TV Shows like James May's Big Ideas

Access Hollywood is a weekday television entertainment news program covering events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was created by former Entertainment Tonight executive producer Jim Van Messel, and is currently directed by Robert Silverstein. In previous years, Doug Dougherty and later Christopher A. Berry directed the program. Access Hollywood primarily focuses on news in the music, television, and film industries. The United States version began broadcasting on September 9, 1996, and is nationally syndicated in the United States. In 2003, a British version of the show began production and in an Irish version began in 2006 airing on the now defunct Channel 6, now known as 3e. In Canada, CTV Two has aired the program since September 5, 2011.

The Ashlee Simpson Show was a television reality show about the life of Ashlee Simpson. The first season, taped from 2003 to mid-2004, focused on the beginnings of her career as a singer and the recording of her debut album, Autobiography. A second season, taped from late 2004 to early 2005, focused on her career after the album's release. Consisting of eight half-hour episodes, the first season ran on MTV in the U.S. in the summer of 2004. The show proved quite successful and helped to establish widespread recognition for Simpson, whose album was released on July 20, 2004, a month after the show began airing, and debuted at number one in sales. Jordan Schur, the president of Simpson's record label, Geffen, said that "There's no question that it really helped expose her and her music. She's got a tremendous personality; people gravitate toward that. They want to watch her and listen to her music." The second season, consisting of ten episodes, aired in early 2005.

Cyberchase is an American/Canadian television series for children ages 7-13. The series takes place in Cyberspace, a virtual world, and chronicles the adventures of three children, Jackie, Inez, and Matt, as they use math and problem solving skills to save Cyberspace and its leader, Motherboard, from The Hacker, the villain. Cyberchase has received generally positive reviews and won numerous awards. Thirteen/WNET New York and Nelvana produced the first five seasons, while Thirteen, in association with Title Entertainment, Inc. and WNET.ORG, produced seasons six through eight. The show airs on Public Broadcasting Service and PBS Kids GO! in the United States. All episodes have been released free on the Cyberchase Website. Since July 2010, Cyberchase has been put on hiatus, but was announced that starting in November, Cyberchase will be revived and start airing new episodes with its 9th season.

Designed to Sell is an HGTV American reality television show produced by Pie Town Productions in Los Angeles and Chicago and Edelman Productions in Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. Each 30-minute episode focuses on fixing up a home that is about to go on the market or that has been on the market but has not attracted buyers. The show began airing in 2004 and was canceled in 2011. The show provides expert real estate and design advice and general contractors, who are given a $2,000 budget for materials to get a maximum offer for the house. To add excitement to the show, the renovations generally take place over a period of three to seven days, before the home's open house, generally spread out over the course of three or four weeks. The show pays the contractor's fees and the salaries of the carpenters, landscapers, painters, plumbers, and other workers. Most changes are cosmetic, but some require drastic demolition and reconstruction.

Di-Gata Defenders is a Canadian action/adventure, science fiction, fantasy animated television series created by Greg Collinson with Nerd Studios and Nelvana Entertainment. This show is rated C8 according to the Canadian TV Classification System. The series currently has 52 episodes and is airing the Ethos Saga as of Fall 2007. In North America, this show is aired on Teletoon in Canada and on Fox network's 4Kids TV block as of July 28, 2007. Internationally, the series airs on the Cartoon Network for Australia, Maori Television for New Zealand, the series also airs on the Astro Ceria for Malaysia, Hero TV for the Philippines starting November 3, 2006 and Jetix for the UK starting August 25, 2007 and Kix! for the UK starting September 29, 2008. It airs on Disney XD in The Netherlands. The series follows the travels and adventures of six teenage children, part of an organization called the Di-Gata Defenders. Their mission as heroes is to defend RaDos against evil factions.

Dinner: Impossible is an American television program broadcast by the Food Network. The first episode aired on January 24, 2007 and the last episode aired in 2010. Food Network began airing the eighth season on March 3, 2010. Each episode, the host is given a challenge that must be completed within a given time. Challenges have included preparing a large dinner aboard a luxury train, an "authentic" 18th-century American colonial dinner, and a luxury meal on a small, isolated, New England island.

Ice Loves Coco is an American reality documentary television series that debut on E! in the United States and Canada on June 12, 2011. The series chronicles the daily lives of rapper and actor Ice-T and wife Coco Austin. In September 2011, it was announced by Coco that a second season had been commissioned, and filming began in October 2011, with the second season premiering on February 19, 2012. The third season of the series premiered on October 28, 2012.

McMillan & Wife is a lighthearted American police procedural that aired on NBC from September 17, 1971 to April 24, 1977. Starring Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James in the title roles, the series premiered in 90-minute episodes as part of the wheel series NBC Mystery Movie, in rotation with Columbo and McCloud. Initially airing on Wednesday night, the original line-up was shifted to Sundays in the second season, where it aired for the rest of its run. This was the first element to be created specially for the Mystery Movie strand.

Planet Earth is a seven episode PBS television documentary series, focusing on our planet, narrated by Richard Kiley. This vivid 7-part chronicle of discovery, documents some astonishing developments in geoscience, as it guides us to a better understanding of our planet's past, present and future. Voyage from the ocean's depths to the distant boundaries of the solar system. Planet Earth explores the geological forces that have shaped and continue to influence life on our planet, whether they come from deep within the earth's crust or the reaches of the solar system. A journey of breathtaking imagery and compelling ideas. Witness the power of the savage forces that created our world.

Spliced is a Canadian animated television series produced by Teletoon and Nelvana. The series made its world premiere on Jetix in Latin America on April 20, 2009. The series currently airs in Canada on Teletoon, in the United States on qubo, in Australia on ABC3, in the United Kingdom on Nicktoons, in Latin America on Disney XD, and in Sweden on Nickelodeon. The series began airing in the United States on qubo on September 19, 2009 until the network dropped it from its lineup on October 24, 2009 but returned on September 28, 2010 as part of its "Night Owl" block.

Storm Hawks is an animated television series created by Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment in conjunction and collaboration with Cartoon Network and YTV. It premiered on Cartoon Network on May 25, 2007. It started to air on YTV in September 2007. It started to air on Cartoon Network in the UK on August 6, 2007. In Poland, it started to air on Cartoon Network on November 10, 2007. Internationally, it first aired on ABC1 in Australia on February 26, 2008 and on Hero in the Philippines on March 12, 2008. The show also started airing in Singapore on okto, Bulgaria, Turkey, Portugal and Romania in 2008. Disney XD began airing the series on February 28, 2011.

Sym-Bionic Titan is an American animated action science fiction television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky, Paul Rudish, and Bryan Andrews for Cartoon Network. The series focuses on a trio made up of the alien princess Ilana, the rebellious soldier Lance, and the robot Octus; the three are able to combine to create the titular Sym-Bionic Titan. A preview of the series was first shown at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con International, and further details were revealed at Cartoon Network's 2010 Upfront. The series premiered on September 17, 2010, and ended on April 9, 2011. The series is rated TV-PG-V. Cartoon Network initially ordered 20 episodes; Tartakovsky had hoped to expand on that, but the series was not renewed for another season, as the show "did not have any toys connected to it." Although Sym-Bionic Titan has never been released on DVD, All 20 episodes are available on iTunes. On October 7, 2012, reruns of Sym-Bionic Titan began airing on Adult Swim's Toonami block.

Team Galaxy, le Collège de l'Espace or Galaxie Académie is a French and Canadian animated series made by Marathon Production. It blends anime-inspired 2D animation with CG elements, and is set at "Galaxy High", where a trio of young students try to balance their regular teenage lives and their training to become Space Marshals. The concept and animation style is similar to that of both Totally Spies! and Martin Mystery, other series created by the same production company. Team Galaxy is co-produced by a number of international broadcasters, such as France 3 which was the first to begin airing the full series from 28 August 2006. In the United States, Cartoon Network paid Marathon about $16–$17 Million for 52 episodes, for a premiere in Fall 2006. It also appears on Canada's YTV and CBBC/Disney XD in the UK.

Threshold was a science fiction drama television series that first aired on CBS in September 2005. Produced by Brannon Braga, David S. Goyer and David Heyman, the series focuses on a secret government project investigating the first contact with an extraterrestrial species.

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? is an English reality television talent show that documented the search for an undiscovered musical theatre performer to play the role of Maria von Trapp in the 2006 Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Ian stage production of The Sound of Music. The series was devised by executive producer Gigi Eligoloff, and was announced by the BBC in April 2006. BBC One broadcast the programme, which was hosted by Graham Norton, on Saturday evenings from 29 July through 16 September 2006. The title derives from the refrain of "Maria", a song from the first act of The Sound of Music.

Doctor Who Confidential is a documentary series created by the British Broadcasting Corporation to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Each episode was broadcast on BBC Three on Saturdays, immediately after the broadcast of the weekly television episode on BBC One. The running time of the first two series was 30 minutes, being extended to 45 minutes in the third. BBC Three also broadcast a cut-down edition of the programme, lasting 15 minutes, shown after the repeats on Sundays and Fridays and after the weekday evening repeats of earlier seasons. Described as focusing on the human element of the series, Confidential features behind-the-scenes footage on the making of Doctor Who through clips and interviews with the cast, production crew and other people, including those who have participated in the television series over the years of its existence. Each episode deals with a different topic, and in most cases refers to the Doctor Who episode that preceded it. There have also been two episodes of Doctor Who Confidential broadcast apart from the showing of Doctor Who episodes: in November 2006 an edition subtitled "Music and Monsters" was produced going behind the scenes of a televised concert of soundtrack music produced as part of that year's Children in Need appeal, and on 3 January 2009, a special edition was broadcast to announce the actor chosen to play the Eleventh Doctor.

Centurions is a syndicated 30 minute American science fiction animated television series produced by Ruby-Spears and animated in Japan by Sunrise. Comic book legends Jack Kirby and Gil Kane contributed to the design and concepts of the show.

The Screen Savers is an American TV show that aired on TechTV. The show launched concurrently with the channel ZDTV on May 11, 1998. The Screen Savers originally centered around computers, new technologies, and their adaptations in the world. However, after it was taken over by G4, the show became more general-interest oriented and focused somewhat less on technology. The final episode of The Screen Savers aired on March 18, 2005. Repeat episodes continued to air until March 25, 2005 when its replacement program, Attack of the Show! began 3 days later on March 28, 2005. Two spiritual successors to the Screen Savers are in the form of This Week in Tech on the TWiT Network with Leo Laporte and Tekzilla on Revision3 with Patrick Norton.

Globe Trekker is an adventure tourism television series produced by Pilot Productions. The British series was inspired by the Lonely Planet travelbooks and began airing in 1994. Globe Trekker is broadcast in over 40 countries across six continents. Each episode features a host, called a traveller, who travels with a camera crew to a country—often, a relatively exotic locale—and experiences the sights, sounds, and culture that the location has to offer. Special episodes feature in-depth city, beach, dive, shopping, history, festival, and food guides. The show often goes far beyond popular tourist destinations in order to give viewers a more authentic look at local culture. Presenters usually participate in different aspects of regional life, such as attending a traditional wedding or visiting a mining community. They address the viewer directly, acting as tourists-turned-tour guides, but are also filmed interacting with locals and discovering interesting locations in unrehearsed sequences. Globe Trekker also sometimes includes brief interviews with backpackers who share tips on independent travel in that particular country.

Harry & Paul is a BAFTA Award-winning British sketch comedy show starring Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 13 April 2007. Prior to broadcast it was trailed as The Harry Enfield Show. The show reunites the pair, who had success with Harry Enfield's Television Programme in the 1990s. The second series of the programme began on BBC One on 5 September 2008. This was the last series from the comedy producer Geoffrey Perkins who died shortly before the programme's second series began. A third series was commissioned and began 28 September 2010 this time on BBC Two to where the show has been moved, because of falling ratings. The fourth series began broadcasting in October 2012.

The Naked Archaeologist is a television show produced for VisionTV in Canada and History International in the US that is hosted and prepared by the Emmy Award–winning journalist Simcha Jacobovici together with Avri Gilad. The show ultimately reviews Biblical stories, then tries to find proof for them by exploring the Holy Land looking for archaeological evidence, personal inferences, deductions, and interviews with scholars and experts. Subsequent to its original run on VisionTV, it was picked up in the U.S. by The History Channel and its sister network, History International. The third season began airing on Vision TV on March 22, 2010 and on History International on November 8, 2010.

Rex the Runt is an animated claymation television show produced by Aardman Animations for BBC Bristol in association with EVA Entertainment and Egmont Imagination. Its main characters are four plasticine dogs: Rex, Wendy, Bad Bob and Vince. The series began with a short, Ident, in 1989 directed by Richard Goleszowski. After a long gestation period this developed into two unaired shorts and then thirteen ten-minute episodes that first aired over two weeks on BBC2 from December 1998. A second thirteen episode series aired from September 2001 on the same channel. As well as the core cast guest voices included Paul Merton, Morwenna Banks, Judith Chalmers, Antoine de Caunes, Bob Holness, Bob Monkhouse, Jonathan Ross, Graham Norton, Arthur Smith, June Whitfield, Kathy Burke, Pam Ayres and Eddie Izzard.

Presented by Neil Oliver, A History of Scotland is a television series first broadcast in November 2008 on BBC One Scotland and later shown UK-wide on BBC Two during January 2009. The second series began on BBC One Scotland in early November 2009, with transmission at a later point on network BBC Two. Along with the series, BBC Scotland planned a range of radio programmes, a new website, an interactive game, and concerts. The Open University, in collaboration with the BBC, also created a series of audio walks around historic locations in Scotland, with narration from Oliver. In Australia, series one aired on SBS One Sundays at 7:30pm from 6 December 2009 to 3 January 2010. Series two commenced on 24 October 2010 running until 21 November in the same Sunday night Lost Worlds strand. It has since been repeated.

Svenska Hollywoodfruar is a Swedish reality television program on TV3. The concept of the series revolves around the pursuit of the lives of some Swedish women living a glamorous Hollywood lifestyle with their rich American husbands. The 2009 season of the series, which aired on TV3, consisted of five parts. The first episode aired on 14 September 2009 and was watched by approximately 600,000 viewers.

Selling New York is an American television series airing on HGTV. It features real estate brokers from three Manhattan real estate companies selling real estate to New York's elite. Season I was filmed between September 2009 and February 2010. It premiered in March 2010 and concluded in June of the same year. The series was renewed for a second season for 39 new episodes. It premiered on January 6, 2011. The show is now in its fourth season. It is produced by Canadian production company, JV Productions Inc. The series has inspired Los Angeles and European spin-offs titled Selling LA which premiered October 13, 2011 on HGTV and Selling London.

The Great Outdoors was a British television sitcom. The show follows the friendships of a misfit rambling club in Southern England in which patronising group-leader Bob becomes embroiled in a battle of wills against new arrival and deputy group-leader Christine, who is determined that things should be done her way. She previously lived and rambled in Barnstaple and appears to perhaps be autistic and have an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. The show comprised three episodes, first airing on Wednesdays between 28 July and 12 August 2010 on BBC Four.

Richard Hammond's Crash Course is an original series made for BBC America, presented by Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond. The show's first season premiered on April 16, 2012. The show follows Hammond, as in each episode, he is given three days to learn how to operate various pieces of heavy equipment across the United States. A trailer for the series was posted on BBC America's official website on March 19, 2012. The series' first season began airing on BBC2 in the United Kingdom on September 2, 2012.

Project Accessory, an American reality television series, was a spin off of the series Project Runway. It began airing on Lifetime on October 28, 2011. On the show, contestants were given challenges in which they must create various fashion accessories with restrictions for materials, subject matter, and time. One or more contestants were eliminated each episode after appearing before a judging panel.

The Sarah Millican Television Programme is a British comedic television show about television. It is shown on BBC Two and is hosted by comedian Sarah Millican. It began on 8 March 2012 and is scheduled to run for six episodes. A second series was broadcast from Christmas Day 2012 and throughout January, and a third series has been commissioned. An unbroadcast pilot episode was filmed on 25 May 2011. A series was then commissioned and filmed at the MediaCityUK complex in Salford in late-2011. The series is a co-production by So Television and Millican's own company, Chopsy Productions.

American Digger is an American reality television series airing on Spike. The show follows former professional wrestler Frank Huguelet and his company American Savage as they search the United States for buried historical artifacts. The second season of the show was retitled Savage Family Diggers as Savage's wife Rita and son Nick join the crew. On August 7, 2012, Spike TV announced that American Digger had been renewed for a second thirteen episode season. Filming of the new season began Fall 2012 and will air in Spring 2013.

AwesomenessTV is an American sketch-comedy reality series that airs on Nickelodeon Monday Nights at 8pm, and that began airing episodes on July 1, 2013 and is created by Brian Robbins.

Small Town Security is an American reality television series produced by Ken Druckerman and Banks Tarver from Left/Right Productions for the AMC network. The unscripted show focuses on a small, family-owned, private security company called JJK Security, located in the rural city of Ringgold, Georgia. The show, green-lit along with Comic Book Men, was picked up for a season of eight half-hour episodes and premiered after the season 5 premiere of Breaking Bad on July 15, 2012. On September 28, 2012 the series was renewed for a second season, which aired from May 9 until June 27, 2013.

The series heads to the very frontiers of space and science to produce the definitive television history of science fiction, told through its impact on cinema, television and literature, with the help of filmmakers, writers, actors, and graphic artists. Each episode will explore one of the enduring themes of science fiction: time travel; the exploration of space; robots and artificial intelligence; and aliens.

In each episode of this globe-trotting series, four talented chefs compete across three rounds of culinary gameplay as they are transported to the greatest food destinations around the world via immersive LED screen backdrops that have the chefs traveling the globe without ever having to leave the arena.

Monty Halls' Great Escape is a British television programme broadcast on BBC Two from 1 March 2009. Marine biologist Monty Halls escapes from the city to be a crofter in Applecross in the west of Scotland. In five episodes, Halls converts a down-trodden cattle shed - "beachcomber cottage" - into a small self-supporting farm, whilst documenting the local wildlife and society. A second series, Monty Halls' Great Hebridean Escape began airing on 21 April 2010. In Australia, it aired as Monty Halls' Island Escape starting on 28 December 2012. "Monty Halls' Great Irish Escape" was first aired on 11 August 2011.