Top 250 Tv Shows Like National Theatre Live: Small Island

The gripping, decades-spanning inside story of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Prime Ministers who shaped Britain's post-war destiny. The Crown tells the inside story of two of the most famous addresses in the world – Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street – and the intrigues, love lives and machinations behind the great events that shaped the second half of the 20th century. Two houses, two courts, one Crown.

All Creatures Great and Small is a British television series, based on the books of the British veterinary surgeon Alf Wight, who wrote under the pseudonym James Herriot. Ninety episodes were aired over two three-year runs. The first run was based directly on Herriot's books; the second was filmed with original scripts.

The heartwarming and humorous adventures of a young country vet in the Yorkshire Dales in the 1930s. A remake of the 1978 series.

Empire is a major five-part series presented by Jeremy Paxman. It tells the story of the British Empire in a new way, tracing not only the rise and fall of the empire but also the complex effects of the empire on the modern world – political, technological and social – and on Britain.

As WW2 rages around the world, DCS Foyle fights his own war on the home-front as he investigates crimes on the south coast of England. Foyle's War opens in southern England in the year 1940. Later series sees the retired detective working as an MI5 agent operating in the aftermath of the war.

A group of six students about to embark on the most exciting period of their lives so far: university!

Kissyfur is a 1980s animated children's television series which aired on NBC. It was produced by Jean Chalopin & Andy Heyward and created by Phil Mendez for DIC. The series was based on a half-hour NBC prime-time special called Kissyfur: Bear Roots and was followed by three more specials until its Saturday morning debut. The show ran for two seasons. The show follows the adventures of Gus and Kissyfur, a father and son bear duo who had joined the circus. One day on a circus trip, the train they are riding in derails and the bears escape to a new life in the swamps of Paddlecab County. There, they protect the local swamp's inhabitants from the local bumbling alligators Floyd and Jolene. Kissyfur and his father use the skills they have acquired from the human world to create a boat tour business transporting other animals and their products down the river.

The origin story of Bruce Wayne's legendary butler, Alfred Pennyworth, a former British SAS soldier who forms a security company in 1960s London and goes to work with young billionaire Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, before they become Bruce Wayne’s parents.

The story of Queen Victoria, who came to the throne at a time of great economic turbulence and resurgent republicanism – and died 64 years later the head of the largest empire the world had ever seen, having revitalised the throne’s public image and become “grandmother of Europe”.

An emotionally-driven character drama, set in the thrilling and dangerous world of WWII espionage and covert operations. It follows the stories of five highly skilled young recruits - Canadian, American and British - torn from their ordinary lives to train as agents in an ultra-secret facility on the shores of Lake Ontario. These agents parachute behind enemy lines, where they're fair game for torture and execution. From elegant hotels to hellholes in the field, it's one risky operation after another, masterminded by the brains of Camp X.

The comic adventures of a group of misfits who form an extremely bad concert party touring the hot and steamy jungles of Burma entertaining the troops during World War II.

Where the Heart Is is a British television family drama series set in the fictional Yorkshire town of Skelthwaite. It focuses on the professional and personal lives of the district nurses who work in the town.

A documentary series that gives a historical account of the events of World War II, from its roots in the 1920s to the aftermath and the lives it profoundly influenced.

Charles Ryder, an agnostic man, becomes involved with members of the Flytes, a Catholic family of aristocrats, over the course of several years between the two world wars.

The Waltons live their life in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II.

Gary Sparrow is an ordinary bloke in 1990s Britain, married to the ambitious Yvonne and working as a TV repairman. Then his whole world changes when he stumbles upon a portal to WWII-era London and begins a dual life as an accidental time traveler.

The property show that helps prospective buyers find their dream home in the country.

Jamie at Home is a British cookery programme presented by Jamie Oliver. In each episode, Jamie uses a different ingredient which has been grown organically at his home in rural Essex, England.

A powerful, affecting drama that spans the five years following the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Follow the lives of three soldiers and friends as they deal with the war in Iraq and life back home.

Reilly, Ace of Spies is a 1983 television miniseries dramatizing the life of Sidney Reilly, a Russian Jew who became one of the greatest spies ever to work for the British. Among his exploits, in the early 20th century, were the infiltration of the German General Staff in 1917 and a near-overthrow of the Bolsheviks in 1918. His reputation with women was as legendary as his genius for espionage.

Enemy At The Door is a British television drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV. The series was shown between 1978 and 1980 and dealt with the German occupation of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, during the Second World War. The programme generated a certain amount of criticism in Guernsey, particularly for being obviously filmed on Jersey despite being ostensibly set on Guernsey. The series also marked the TV debut of Anthony Head as a member of the island resistance. The theme music was by Wilfred Josephs.

The lives of three families are woven together across three decades in multi-cultural Britain.

The British correspondent in Lebanon, "Robert Fisk", tries to find the roots of misunderstanding between the Muslims and the Western World, and why some Muslims do not trust the West. He travels from Lebanon to Palestine,then to Egypt, and finally concludes his journey in the terrorized Balkan. He also makes a short trip to Poland, showing an eloquent description of the Holocaust.

The lives, loves and highs and lows of four members of the Women's Land Army working at the Hoxley Estate during World War II.

Sitcom about a former rural parish vicar trying to cope with the varied demands of running an inner-city church.

From Nobel Laureate William Golding's (Lord of the Flies) epic sea-voyage trilogy comes the story of an ambitious British aristocrat, humbled by the lives of his fellow passengers, as he embarks on an ocean voyage for Australia where he is to be an official in the colonial government.

The lives and loves of a 1930s Yorkshire town explored in a passionate tale of politics in small places. South Riding charts the story of Sarah Burton's homecoming to Yorkshire in 1934 after twenty years teaching in London and the Empire. After a fiery interview with a conservative interview panel, outspoken Sarah takes up her first headmistress-ship at Kiplington High School for Girls, determined to demonstrate to her new pupils that the future is theirs for the taking.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a 1996 British television serial adaptation of Anne Brontë's novel of the same name, produced by BBC and directed by Mike Barker. The serial stars Tara FitzGerald as Helen Graham, Rupert Graves as her abusive husband Arthur Huntington and Toby Stephens as Gilbert Markham.

A physician sues a novelist for publishing statements implicating the doctor in Nazi war crimes.

The life of an orphan is changed by the providential intervention of a mysterious benefactor.

Follow three intricately connected stories of Jamaicans and Londoners involved in World War Two. Hortense yearns for a new life away from rural Jamaica, Gilbert dreams of becoming a lawyer, and Queenie longs to escape her Lincolnshire roots. Hope and humanity meet stubborn reality as we trace the tangled history of Jamaica and the UK.

A half-caste beauty emigrates from India to Great Britain, pursues fame and fortune at the cost of personal happiness, and becomes a Hollywood movie star while suppressing the truth of her heritage.

The Village tells the story of life in a Derbyshire village through the eyes of a central character, Bert Middleton.

Joe leaves working-class, industrial Dufton behind him and takes a job as senior audit clerk at the town hall in affluent Warley. He takes lodgings at the poshest part of the town and starts to make his mark on local society.

The story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate affair is ignited that tears Claire's heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

The Bletchley Circle follows the journey of four ordinary women with extraordinary skills that helped to end World War II. Set in 1952, Susan, Millie, Lucy and Jean have returned to their normal lives, modestly setting aside the part they played in producing crucial intelligence, which helped the Allies to victory and shortened the war. When Susan discovers a hidden code behind an unsolved murder she is met by skepticism from the police. She quickly realises she can only begin to crack the murders and bring the culprit to justice with her former friends. The Bletchley Circle paints a vivid portrait of post-war Britain in this fictional tale of unsung heroes.

Set in 1996 in Lincolnshire, the show tells the tragic and humorous story of a very troubled young girl Rae, who has just left a psychiatric hospital, where she has spent four months after attempting suicide, begins to reconnect with her best friend Chloe and her group, who are unaware of Rae's mental health and body image problems, believing she was in France for the past four months.

Happy Valley is a dark, funny, multi-layered thriller revolving around the personal and professional life of Catherine, a dedicated, experienced, hard-working copper. She is also a bereaved mother who looks after her orphaned grandchild.

Set in 1820 against the forbidding backdrop of windswept Cornish moors, the story follows the journey of young and spirited Mary who is forced to live with her Aunt Patience after the death of her mother. Mary arrives at the isolated Jamaica Inn to discover her Aunt is a shell of the carefree woman she remembers from her childhood, and instead finds a drudge who is firmly under the spell of her domineering husband Joss. The Inn has no guests - the rooms are locked and kept for storage - but it soon becomes clear that it’s a cover, as Joss is the leader of a smuggling ring, and Jamaica Inn the hub of his ‘free’ trade.

The story of George, who being frustrated by memories of fighting in the great war and living with his extended family, wants to bring more beauty into the world. When he comes across a camel and monkey that are about to be abandoned, he embarks on a plan to set up a zoo.

In 1953 at the hamlet of Grantchester, Sidney Chambers—a charismatic, charming clergyman—turns investigative vicar when one of his parishioners dies in suspicious circumstances.

Jam & Jerusalem is a British sit-com that aired on BBC One from 2006 to 2009. Written by Jennifer Saunders and Abigail Wilson, it starred Sue Johnston, Jennifer Saunders, Pauline McLynn, Dawn French, Maggie Steed, David Mitchell, and Sally Phillips. Earlier episodes also starred Joanna Lumley and Doreen Mantle. On BBC America the first series was aired as Clatterford. The show centres on a Women's Guild in a fictional small West Country town called Clatterford St. Mary. It first aired on 24 November 2006. The second series began airing on 1 January 2008 with a 40-minute special and finished on 1 February 2008. The third series was filmed from April 2009. It consists of three one-hour specials, and began its broadcast on BBC One on 9 August 2009. In November 2009, on her blog, Pauline McLynn announced that Jam & Jerusalem would not be returning for a fourth series. She later stated that it was the decision of the BBC and not Jennifer Saunders.

The Germanic, Britannic and other barbarian tribal wars with Rome ultimately led to the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. This series is centered on the campaigns and battles with the barbarian tribes and extensive examinations of the reigns of little known Roman emperors and generals.

Documentary narrated by Kenneth Branagh consisting of colourised footage from World War I.

This exhaustive collection encompasses all the events that occurred during World War II. Covering an astonishing amount of ground, events in France, London, Munich, Stalingrad, the Pacific, and many others are all covered in intimate detail. Some of the stories offered by veterans create a startling portrait of the events as they unfolded, as well as adding a personal touch to this amazing program. In short, this is an insightful way to gather a welter of information on this important chapter in world history.

Clare Balding embarks on a pedal-powered odyssey across Britain to rediscover the magical world of 1950s cycling

At the time of Queen Victoria’s birth in 1819, England was an agrarian society. Within a few short decades, this small island nation would be transformed into an industrial superpower, with an empire spanning the globe.

A century ago, 1.5 million British people worked as servants – astonishingly, more than worked in factories or farms. But while servants are often portrayed as characters in period dramas, the real stories of Britain’s servants have largely been forgotten. Presented by social historian Dr Pamela Cox – herself the great-granddaughter of servants – this three-part series uncovers the reality of servants’ lives from the Victorian era through to the Second World War.

A young woman finds out that her mother worked as a spy for the British Secret Service during World War II and has been on the run ever since.

It was the world's last Islamic empire - a super-power of a million square miles. From its capital in Istanbul it matched the glories of Ancient Rome. And after six centuries in power it collapsed less than a hundred years ago. Rageh Omaar, who has reported from across this former empire, sets out to discover why the Ottomans have vanished from our understanding of the history of Europe. Why so few realise the importance of Ottoman history in today's Middle East. And why you have to know the Ottoman story to understand the roots of many of today's trouble spots from Palestine, Iraq and Israel to Libya, Syria, Egypt, Bosnia and Kosovo.

Funny, moving and at times painful - Truckers tells stories of real life, ordinary people pushed to extremes. In each episode, one character undertakes a journey and we are along for the ride. In an age when technology would make us seem ever more connected, the series uses the truck driver, alone in his cab, as a way to explore how isolated we can become within modern society and the importance of real human connection. These are powerful, moving stories, but the tone is always joyous and each story is one of redemption.

Ray Winstone leads a gang of smugglers in our brand new family drama, Moonfleet. Written by Ashley Pharoah (Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes), this two-part adaptation of the much-loved John Meade Falkner novel is set in the small Dorset village of Moonfleet. In the story, young John Trenchard (Aneurin Barnard - The Truth About Emanuel, The White Queen) is desperate to join the local band of smugglers led by Elzevir Block (Winstone - The Departed, Hugo, Snow White And The Huntsman). Together they embark on an adventure full of action, friendship, and humour, and hunt for a fabled lost diamond. Their journey takes them from 18th Century Dorset, to the jewellery quarter of The Hague, and on to a gripping, final sea voyage. Newcomer Sophie Cookson joins the cast as John's first love, Grace, who is also the daughter of Moonfleet's anti-smuggling magistrate, Mohune, played by Ben Chaplin

Set at the outbreak of WWII – mischievous playboy Ian Fleming is untroubled by the specter of impending war – chasing women, collecting rare books and living off his family fortune. Forever in the shadow of his brother Peter, and an eternal disappointment to his formidable mother Eve, Fleming dreams of becoming the ‘ultimate’ man – a hero, a lover, a brute and the one who always gets the girl. He is finally given some direction in his life when he’s recruited by the Director of Naval Intelligence to help in the effort against the Nazis. Suddenly, Fleming finds his chance to shine and prove his worth.

Britain is in the grip of a chilling recession... falling wages, rising prices, civil unrest - only the bankers are smiling. It's 1783 and Ross Poldark returns from the American War of Independence to his beloved Cornwall to find his world in ruins: his father dead, the family mine long since closed, his house wrecked and his sweetheart pledged to marry his cousin. But Ross finds that hope and love can be found when you are least expecting it in the wild but beautiful Cornish landscape.

British historian David Olusoga, along with other historians, narrates the story of millions of Indian, African and Asian troops who fought and died alongside French and British troops to help win the war against Germany, Austro-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire.

In a land controlled by feudal barons, a great warrior and a young boy embark on a journey across a dangerous land to find enlightenment. A genre-bending martial arts series very loosely based on the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West.

Epic drama set in the summer of 1932 where India dreams of independence, but the British are clinging to power. Set against the sweeping grandeur of the Himalayas and tea plantations of Northern India, the drama tells the rich and explosive story of the decline of the British Empire and the birth of modern India, from both sides of the experience. At the heart of the story lie the implications and ramifications of the tangled web of passions, rivalries and clashes that define the lives of those brought together in this summer which will change everything.

At its heart, Banished is a story of survival. Though it is set in the stark historical reality of the founding of the penal colony in Australia in 1788 after the arrival of the First Fleet, it is not the story of Australia and how it came to be. Rather, it is a tale of love, faith, justice and morality played out on an epic scale in a confined community where the stakes are literally life and death.

Trevor McDonald embarks on an eye-opening journey inside the secretive world of the American Mafia, gaining unprecedented access to people who have experienced first-hand, the money, glamour and violence of the United States’ most famous organised crime network. In this two-part documentary series, Trevor delves into the lives of people with a fascinating story to tell, some of whom have never appeared on television before.

The story of a group of inspirational women in a rural Cheshire community with the shadow of World War II casting a dark cloud over their lives. As the conflict takes hold and separates the women from their husbands, fathers, sons and brothers, the characters find themselves under increasing and extraordinary pressures in a rapidly fragmenting world. By banding together as the Great Paxford Women’s Institute, they help maintain the nation’s fabric in its darkest hour, and discover inner resources that will change their lives forever.

Inspired by the original novella by Robert Louis Stevenson, Jekyll and Hyde is set in 1930s London and follows Robert Jekyll, the grandson of Henry Jekyll, on his quest to discover his real identity, his true family history and the nature of his ‘curse’ – which his foster father, Dr Vishal Najaran, is controlling with medication. His journey takes him into a dark and unforgiving place, as his alter ego seems capable of anything. At the same time there are shadowy forces trying to find Jekyll and the source of his powers.

Adventurer Bear Grylls heads out on an epic journey of discovery across England, Scotland and Wales to experience the British Isles at their most spectacular.

Sold a small plot of land for a tiny outlay, Cockney widow Chloe Marsh and her two daughters flee the slums of post-war London for a better life in the country. But rural life in 1922 is hard. Chloe and her fellow pioneers have no mains water, no gas, no electricity, and no jobs. Forced to live in tents until they can afford a shack, they carve a community out of the hostile countryside.

Elliot and his best friend Ian set off on a personal journey to explore LGBTQ cultures around the world. From Japan to Brazil, Jamaica to America, they discover the multiplicity of LGBTQ experiences, meeting amazing people and hearing their deeply moving stories of struggle and triumph. Gaycation celebrates the state of LGBTQ identities across the globe.

Zak Bagans is fulfilling a lifelong dream of opening a museum in downtown Las Vegas, full of the haunted, cursed objects he has been collecting through the years. Each episode features haunted, iconic items and their owners. They share stories of how these objects have terrorized them and, in some cases, even killed people. Bagans interviews the owners and works with them to get to the root of their “attachment,” so they can free themselves…or at least escape harm from these “deadly possessions.”

As World War II looms in Europe, an ambitious young English lawyer embarks on his tempestuous career, and even stormier romantic life. Based on the novel series of the same name by C.P. Snow.

Drama series set in 1943 following the Coyne family and their neighbours as they struggle to maintain a normal life after a US Army Air Force base is set up in the middle of their rural parish.

A family give up their modern lives for one summer to experience what life was like for Caribbeans who immigrated to Britain in the postwar period. Beginning in 1948, the year the Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury and discharged its passengers, the Irwin family travel through the 1950s and 60s, guided by presenter Giles Coren and social historian Emma Dabiri who introduce them to their new homes as well as the events of the time. Along the way the Irwins discover the food, work and entertainment of first-generation immigrants making their lives in Brixton.

A three-part drama about serial killer John Christie and the murders at 10 Rillington Place in the 1940s and early 1950s.

The story of a bustling and glamorous five star hotel at the centre of London society and a world at war.

The hunt is on to find the murderer of a wealthy glamorous heiress who is found dead in her London townhouse. Based on the short story by Agatha Christie.

The early 17th Century story of three courageous, dynamic women who leave their dark pasts behind in England, and make the journey of a lifetime across the ocean for a new life in America.

Adapted from Len Deighton’s 1978 alternate history novel. A British detective investigates a murder in German-occupied Britain during World War II.

A love story in two films charts the very different challenges to happiness for Michael and Thomas in the aftermath of World War 2, and to Adam and Steve in the present day.

David Olusoga tells the story of those who lived in one house, from the time it was built until now. Searching through city archives, scouring records, and tracking down their living descendants, presenter David Olusoga tells the untold stories of the people who once lived in the house and gains a unique insight into the making of modern Britain.

In Edwardian England, George and his partner Amy attempt to defy society and start a life together as they face the escalating terror of an alien invasion, fighting for their lives against an enemy beyond their comprehension.

U.S. police chief Bill Hixon lands in the British town of Boston, Lincolnshire, with his 14-year-old daughter Kelsey in tow hoping they can flee their painful recent past. But this unfamiliar, unimpressed community will force Bill to question everything about himself and leave him asking whether it's Boston that needs Bill, or Bill that needs Boston?

After the sudden death of ex-Secret Intelligence Service man Alexander, his wife Alison investigates when mysteries from her husband's past come knocking.

Set during the final days of slavery in 19th century Jamaica, we follow the trials, tribulations and survival of plantation slave July and her odious mistress Caroline.

1945 London. Feef is seduced by a rogue American spy into spying on her own country. Her task? To uncover a Russian agent in the heart of the British Government.

The story of World War II told through the intertwining fates of ordinary people from all sides of this global conflict as they grapple with the effect of the war on their everyday lives.

After years of imprisonment, Morpheus — the King of Dreams — embarks on a journey across worlds to find what was stolen from him and restore his power.

In this four-part documentary series, leading Hollywood actors undertake a fascinating journey into their family's past by re-tracing the footsteps of their grandparents during World War Two. We follow the moving, personal stories of Helena Bonham Carter, Mark Rylance, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Carey Mulligan as they travel to historic locations, from the beaches of Dunkirk to prisoner of war camps in Asia, to learn about the war their grandparents experienced. All of the actors have unanswered questions about the scars war left on their grandparents, and in each episode one of the actors explore how six years changed the lives of their family and the world forever while learning about the life and death decisions that their grandparents faced.

In colonial Singapore during World War Two, this epic drama follows the schemes – both commercial and amorous – of a wealthy British family as they struggle to preserve their prosperous business amid cataclysmic world events.

The fascinating story of the early life of England’s most iconic Queen, Elizabeth Tudor, an orphaned teenager who became embroiled in the political and sexual politics of the English court on her journey to obtain the crown.

Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II wages an epic campaign to take the Byzantine capital of Constantinople and shapes the course of history for centuries.

Dan Snow and Kate Humble present a three-part guide to the critical aerial battle that changed the course of the Second World War, featuring personal stories of pilots, ground crews and members of the public. The first episode tracks the first skirmishes of the three-day battle,as the Luftwaffe began an all-out assault to rid Britain of air power prior to a land invasion. The first skirmishes were being tracked by a 19-year-old WAAF member in a secret London bunker, and her secret diaries provide fresh insight into the strategies behind the aerial combat.

Following Sarah Beeny and her family as they relocate from London to Somerset, renovating a semi-derelict former dairy farm into their dream family home.

Inside the halls of power, Boris Johnson grapples with Covid-19, Brexit, and a controversial personal and political life during his tumultuous first months as Prime Minister.

In six films, Adam Curtis traces the different forces across the world that have led to now. It covers a wide range—including the strange roots of modern conspiracy theories, the history of China, opium and opioids, the history of Artificial Intelligence, melancholy over the loss of empire and, love and power. And explores whether modern culture, despite its radicalism, is really just part of the new system of power.

The dramatised account of how the world’s greatest Special Forces unit, the SAS, was formed under extraordinary circumstances in the darkest days of World War Two.

A blind French girl and a young German soldier's paths collide during WWII.

The true story of a duchess publicly shamed in a high society divorce that gripped the nation.

Based on Sara Collins’ award-winning novel of the same name, which is set against the dazzling opulence of Georgian London, this powerful drama follows the eponymous Frannie’s journey from a Jamaican plantation to the grand Mayfair mansion of celebrated scientist George Benham and his exquisitely beautiful wife, Madame Marguerite Benham.

Windrush is a 4-part series of one hour television documentaries originally broadcast on BBC2 in 1998 to mark the 50th anniversary of the arrival in Britain of the Empire Windrush, the ship which brought the first wave of post-war West Indian immigrants

Follow iconic screen star Pamela Anderson as she leaves her Hollywood life behind, returns to her roots on the coast of Vancouver Island, and embarks on a massive restoration of her grandmother’s legacy property. Joining Pamela’s journey is a talented team of designers, architects and contractors who work with her through the stresses and struggles of this extraordinary renovation.

Significant Other follows two lonely neighbours who embark on a hesitant, obstacle-filled relationship after drastic life events bring them together. As this strange love story unfolds with wryly observed wit and warmth, could these deeply flawed individuals – both at a time in their lives when change is difficult and rarely expected – influence each other for the better?

Rohan Marley, son of legendary musician Bob Marley, reconnects with his roots as he goes on a journey to explore the food and music of his native Jamaica.

A journey into the fearsome Galactic Empire through the eyes of two warriors on divergent paths.

Queenie Jenkins is a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman living in south London, straddling two cultures and slotting neatly into neither. After a messy breakup with her long-term boyfriend, Queenie seeks comfort in all the wrong places and begins to realize she has to face the past head-on before she can rebuild.