The Best British TV Shows on HBO Max
HBO Max is one of the newest entries into the streaming TV marketplace, with countless shows from the vast WarnerMedia vault. One of the more exciting, overlooked aspects of HBO Max is the wealth of television shows from the United Kingdom, some of which have never seen an American release before. Series starring big names like James Corden, Steve Coogan, and Ricky Gervais are all available - but which of them are the most worth your time? We combed through the HBO Max content library to pick out the British TV shows on HBO Max: the best British detective shows, the best British comedies, and the best British documentaries.
- Photo:
Initial Release: 2017-Present
Seasons: 4
Genre: Detective crime drama
Starring: Tom Burke, Holliday Grainger
Based on the Cormoran Strike detective novels written by J. K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, C.B. Strike first premiered on Cinemax (in 2018) in the states but with the latest season, Lethal White, the series moves to HBO Max, with its previous seasons as well. Following the titular war-veteran-turned-private-detective Cormoran Strike (Tom Burke) and his assistant, who of course subsequently becomes his business partner, Robin Ellacott (Holliday Grainger), each season follows one of the novels, with the latest tying blackmail and murder into an intricate twist.
- Actors: Tom Burke, Holliday Grainger, Kerr Logan, Jonas Armstrong, Linda Bassett
- Premiered: August 27, 2017
Worth a watch?- Photo:
Initial Release: 2010-2016
Seasons: 5
Genre: Crime Drama
Starring: Stephen Tompkinson, Andrea Lowe, Caroline Catz
If you are looking for a straightforward British detective series on HBO Max, DCI Banks provides just that. Based on a series of novels by Peter Robinson, the series features the titular detective chief inspector (Stephen Tompkinson) solving grisly mysteries with his sidekick, Detective Sergeant Annie Cabot. When DCI Banks first aired in the United States, on public television in 2013, the two-part episodes were condensed into single, 90-minute films, but HBO Max distributes the series as it was in the UK.
- Actors: Stephen Tompkinson, Andrea Lowe, Caroline Catz, Jack Deam, Lorraine Burroughs
- Premiered: September 30, 2011
Worth a watch?- Photo:
Initial Release: 2011-2016
Seasons: 5
Genre: Crime Drama
Starring: Lesley Sharp, Suranne Jones
Manchester cops Janet Scott and Rachel Bailey solve mysteries and navigate their complicated personal lives. The gritty series was created by Diane Taylor and Sally Wainwright. Wainwright has since gone on to create the HBO/BBC co-production Gentleman Jack, which is also available on HBO Max and stars Scott & Bailey's Suranne Jones.
- Actors: Suranne Jones, Lesley Sharp, Amelia Bullmore, Rupert Graves, Nicholas Gleaves
- Premiered: May 29, 2011
Worth a watch?- Photo:
Initial Release: 2010-2019
Seasons: 5
Genre: Drama
Starring: Idris Elba, Ruth Wilson
Idris Elba stars as haunted Detective Chief Inspector John Luther, a man who lives life on the edge and is always in danger of succumbing to the darkness around him. His world is forever changed when he comes into the orbit of the nefarious Alice Morgan, played by The Affair star Ruth Wilson. Luther nabbed Elba Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe win for his work.
- Actors: Idris Elba, Ruth Wilson, Dermot Crowley, Michael Smiley, Warren Brown
- Premiered: May 4, 2010
Worth a watch?- Photo:
Initial Release: 1995
Seasons: 1
Genre: Drama
Starring: Jennifer Ehle, Colin Firth, Adrian Lukis, Alison Steadman, Benjamin Whitrow
The series that made Colin Firth a star in America, Pride and Prejudice is a miniseries adaptation of Jane Austen's novel, which would go on to inspire journalist Helen Fielding to write the newspaper column and subsequent novel Bridget Jones's Diary. Ironically, Colin Firth would go on to star in the film version of Bridget Jones as Mark Darcy, named after the very same character Firth played in this memorable TV series.
- Actors: Colin Firth, Jennifer Ehle, Crispin Bonham-Carter, Susannah Harker, Julia Sawalha
- Premiered: September 24, 1995
Worth a watch?- Photo:
Initial Release: 2007-2019
Seasons: 3
Genre: Comedy
Starring: Matthew Horne, Joanna Page, James Corden, Ruth Jones
James Corden might not have become a household name in America without co-creating Gavin & Stacey with Welsh writer and actor Ruth Jones. The series tells the story of the romance of Gavin and Stacey, as they hope to meld their very different, culturally distinct families and friends. A 2019 Christmas reunion special, which is available under the "Season 4" tab on HBO Max, was the most-watched comedy in Britain in 17 years, viewed by 17.1 million people.
- Actors: Mathew Horne, Joanna Page, James Corden, Ruth Jones, Alison Steadman
- Premiered: May 13, 2007
Worth a watch?- Photo:
Initial Release: 2001-2003
Seasons: 2
Genre: Comedy
Starring: Ricky Gervais, Martin Freeman, Lucy Davis, Mackenzie Crook
One of the most seminal works of British comedy ever, The Office spun off an American remake that's, well... on another streaming service that hasn't launched yet. But if you're an Anglophile who prefers the Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant-created original, the entire run of 12 episodes (and the climactic two-part Christmas special) are available to stream.
- Actors: Ricky Gervais, Mackenzie Crook, Lucy Davis, Martin Freeman, Ralph Ineson
- Premiered: August 7, 2002
Worth a watch?- Photo:
Initial Release: 2021-Present
Seasons: 1
Genre: Comedy
Starring: Rose Matafeo, Nikesh Patel, Emma Sidi
New Zealander 20-something Jesse (Rose Matafeo) is living in London working multiple jobs and unprepared for the fallout of realising her drunken New Year's Eve fling was with a wildly famous movie star.
- Actors: Rose Matafeo, Nikesh Patel, Emma Sidi, Al Roberts, Joe Barnes
- Premiered: April 26, 2021
Worth a watch?Initial Release: 2008-2009
Seasons: 1
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Starring: Kit Harington, Peter Mullan, Mark Gatiss, Liv Tyler
The series focus on the story of a detective agency opened by Mma Ramotswe and her courtship with the mechanic Mr. JLB Matekoni.
- Actors: Jill Scott, Anika Noni Rose, Lucian Msamati, David Oyelowo, Idris Elba
- Premiered: March 29, 2009
Worth a watch?- Photo:
Initial Release: 2009-2012
Seasons: 3
Genre: Dramedy
Starring: Jo Brand, Joanna Scanlan, Vicki Pepperdine, Ricky Grover
Originally airing on BBC Four, Getting On focuses on the otherwise unsung heroes of the UK's National Health Service. While comedic in tone, the show was often gritty, realistic, and dramatic about life for nurses in a large hospital's geriatric ward. Getting On received an American HBO remake in 2013, which starred Niecy Nash, Laurie Metcalf, Alex Borstein, and Mel Rodriguez. The remake ended up being only three episodes longer than the briefly tenured British original.
- Actors: Jo Brand, Vicki Pepperdine, Joanna Scanlan, Ricky Grover
- Premiered: July 8, 2009
Worth a watch?- Photo:
- His Dark Materials
Initial Release: 2010- present
Seasons: 2
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Drama, Mystery
Starring: Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, Anne-Marie Duff
The series follows the life of a young girl named Lyra who is an orphan living with the scholars at Jordan College, Oxford, in a world governed by the Magisterium, a religious and political body. Lyra discovers a dangerous secret that involves Lord Asriel and Marisa Coulter, and is the subject of a witches prophecy that she will change the world.
- Actors: Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, James McAvoy, Clarke Peters
- Premiered: November 3, 2019
Worth a watch?- Photo:
- Photo:
Initial Release: 2015-Present
Seasons: 3
Genre: Reality Competition
Starring: Kate Malone, Keith Brymer Jones, Sue Pryke, Sara Cox.
Originally airing on BBC Two and eventually moving to Channel 4's More4 for it's third seaon, The Great Pottery Throw Down offers the same gentle talent competition as GBBO, but with ceramics. Ten home potters from around the country head to Stoke-on-Trent, the home of pottery, in their quest to become Top Potter.
- Actors: Melanie Sykes, Kate Malone, Keith Brymer Jones, Sue Pryke
- Premiered: November 3, 2015
Worth a watch?- Photo:
Initial Release: 2013
Seasons: 1
Genre: Comedy
Starring: Chris O'Dowd, Nina Conti, Michael McKean
Jobless and unattached, 30-year-old Tom Chadwick has lost his sense of self. But a mysterious box of curios might hold the answers -- however strange -- to the person Tom really is. The box, bequeathed to him by a great aunt he never met, inspires Tom to start investigating his lineage, and the clues lead to a world of unusual stories and characters in both England and the United States.
- Actors: Chris O'Dowd, Tom Bennett, Nina Conti
- Premiered: May 12, 2013
Worth a watch?- Photo:
Initial Release: 2005-Present
Seasons: 12
Genre: Sci-Fi Action-Adventure
Starring: Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, Jodie Whittaker
For years, the modern iteration of Doctor Who, the whimsical sci-fi show about a quirky time-traveling alien with an infinite number of lives, could be found on the BBC America cable channel and services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Now, Doctor Who's home is HBO Max. It features all 12 seasons of the show, including the latest seasons starring Jodie Whittaker.
- Actors: Jodie Whittaker, Mandip Gill, John Bishop, Tosin Cole, Bradley Walsh
- Premiered: March 26, 2005
Worth a watch?The Greatest Doctor Who Companions of All TimeSee all
- 1Donna Noble11,544 Votes
- 2Sarah Jane Smith9,103 Votes
- 3Wilfred Mott6,184 Votes
- Photo:
15Initial Release: 2009
Seasons: 1
Genre: Dramedy
Starring: Romola Garai, Jonny Lee Miller, Michael Gambon, Rupert Evans
An acclaimed adaptation of Jane Austen's novel of the same name, Emma stars Golden Globe nominee Romola Garai as wealthy matchmaker Emma and Michael Gambon, who played Dumbledore in seven of the eight Harry Potter films, as her father Mr. Woodhouse.
- Actors: Romola Garai, Michael Gambon, Jonny Lee Miller, Jodhi May, Robert Bathurst
- Premiered: October 4, 2009
Worth a watch?- Photo:
16The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan
Initial Release: 2018-2019
Seasons: 2
Genre: Travel Documentary
Starring: Romesh Ranganathan
Stand-up comedian Romesh Ranganathan hosts a travelogue adventure series in which he tries to shine a light on the experiences and lives of cultures other than his own. The countries he visits are not often on the tourist's itinerary and he spares no truth in showing the way in which real people live in places like Haiti, Bosnia, and Zimbabwe.
Worth a watch?- Photo:
Initial Release: 2020
Seasons: 1
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Starring: Maisie Williams, Sian Clifford, Mawaan Rizwan, Taheen Modak
Kim goes to a pub for the first time as an adventure and meets two brothers. She is naive and goes home with them where a practical joke is played on Kim : a fake video depicting a nuclear explosion apocalypse and that everybody had just Two Weeks to live. Kim – raised to believe the end times were close – sets off to kill the man who murdered her father in front of her when she was a child
- Actors: Maisie Williams, Sian Clifford, Mawaan Rizwan, Taheen Modak, Jason Flemyng
- Premiered: September 2, 2020
Worth a watch?- Photo:
- I Hate Suzie
Initial Release: 2020-Present
Seasons: 1
Genre: Comedy-Drama
Starring: Billie Piper, Leila Farzad, Daniel Ings, Nathaniel Martello-White
Premiering on Sky Atlantic in August 2020, this bitterly funny drama is the third collaboration between Lucy Prebble and Piper. Former child star Suzie Pickles (Piper), finds her phone hacked and life upended thanks to a compromising photo, which rocks her already unsteady hold on being a star.
- Actors: Billie Piper, Leila Farzad, Daniel Ings, Nathaniel Martello-White, Matthew Jordan-Caws
- Premiered: August 27, 2020
Worth a watch?- Photo:
- Photo:
Initial Release: 2017
Seasons: 1
Genre: Period drama, Thriller
Starring: Kit Harington, Peter Mullan, Mark Gatiss, Liv Tyler
In 1603, as England is engaged in war against Spain, tensions are high in domestic society due to brutal persecution of Catholics. Robert Catesby, a young Catholic nobleman who has recently lost both his wife and his father and, angry at his perception of punishment from society, conjures a literally explosive plot to kill King James I when he sits in the houses of Parliament.
- Actors: Kit Harington, Peter Mullan, Liv Tyler, Mark Gatiss, Shaun Dooley
- Premiered: October 21, 2017
Worth a watch?- Photo:
- It's a Sin
Initial Release: 2021
Seasons: 1
Genre: Comedy-Drama
Starring: Olly Alexander, Omari Douglas, Callum Scott Howells, Lydia West, Nathaniel Curtis, James Corden
Following a group of friends who've recently moved to London during the turbulent decade of 1981-1991, during which everything changed, including the rise of AIDS, the five-part serial chronicles their friendships over the decade as they become determined to live fiercely despite the threat HIV poses to them.
- Actors: Olly Alexander, Lydia West, Nathaniel Curtis, Keeley Hawes, Shaun Dooley
- Premiered: January 22, 2021
Worth a watch?- Photo:
- Photo:
Initial Release: 2018-Present
Seasons: 2
Genre: Comedy
Starring: Jamie Demetriou, Natasia Demetriou, Al Roberts, Christos Stergioglou, Katy Wix
The comic story of a rental agent well out of his depth, Stath Lets Flats is the creation of comedian Jamie Demetriou and writer Robert Popper, and is very loosely inspired by Demetriou's experience as a Greek Cypriot in England. It also co-stars his sister, Natasia, who can be seen on FX's vampire sitcom What We Do in the Shadows and Netflix's The Big Flower Fight.
- Actors: Jamie Demetriou, Natasia Demetriou, Al Roberts, Christos Stergioglou, Katy Wix
- Premiered: June 27, 2018
Worth a watch?- Photo:
- user uploaded image
22Initial Release: 2002- present
Seasons: 30
Genre: Reality
Starring: Jeremy Clarkson, Jason Dawe, Richard Hammond
The programme focuses on the examination and reviewing of motor vehicles, primarily cars, though this was expanded upon after the broadcast of its earlier series to incorporate films featuring motoring-based challenges, special races, timed laps of notable cars, and celebrity timed laps on a course specially-designed for the relaunched programme.
- Actors: Richard Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson, James May
- Premiered: October 20, 2002
Worth a watch?- Photo:
Initial Release: 2020
Seasons: 1
Genre: Drama
Starring: Sophie Cookson, James Norton, Ellie Bamber, Emilia Fox, Ben Miles
Dramatizing one of the most captivating scandals of 1960s Britain, this limited series about the Profumo affair of the 1960s mixes a showgirl-slash-model and MI5 against the height of the cold war.
- Actors: Sophie Cookson, James Norton, Ellie Bamber, Emilia Fox, Ben Miles
- Premiered: December 29, 2019
Worth a watch?- Photo:
- Five Days
Initial Release: 2007
Seasons: 2
Genre: Crime drama
Starring: Hugh Bonneville, David Oyelowo, Sarah Smart, Edward Woodward
Five non-consecutive days of police investigations into mysterious events are shown, starting on the first day and ending at the resolution of the mysteries.
- Actors: Nikki Amuka-Bird, Hugh Bonneville, Charlie Creed-Miles, Philip Davis, Patrick Malahide
- Premiered: October 2, 2007
Worth a watch?- Photo:
- Photo:
25The Louis Theroux Collection
Initial Release: Various
Seasons: N/A
Genre: Documentary
Starring: Louis Theroux
Journalist and presenter Louis Theroux tells real-life stories that alternate from the wacky to the tragic and back again. HBO Max offers eight documentary films from Theroux, including well-known recent works like Miami Mega-Jail, a look at Florida's corrections system, and America's Most Hated Family, about the Westboro Baptist Church's protests against LGBTQ+ communities.
Worth a watch?- Photo:
- The Girl Before
Initial Release: 2022
Seasons: Miniseries
Genre: Thriller
Starring: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Oyelowo, Jessica Plummer, Ben Hardy
Written and created by J.P. Delaney, based on Delaney's book of the same name, the concept is eerily simple: a traumatised woman falls in love with a minimalist house with many restrictions on living there. Its history slowly unfolds in her hands, from the woman who had died in the house before she moved there to the continuing presence of the genius architect.
- Actors: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Oyelowo, Jessica Plummer, Ben Hardy, Amanda Drew
- Premiered: December 19, 2021
Worth a watch?- Photo:
- Photo:
- Adult Material
Initial Release: 2020
Seasons: 1
Genre: Drama
Starring: Hayley Squires, Rupert Everett, Kerry Godliman
The series follows Hayley Burrows, ostensibly an ordinary hardworking mum-of-three who has been working as Jolene Dollar in the adult entertainment industry for many years. Her life is dramatically changed by an incident between Amy, a new girl in the industry and an American hardcore actor, Tom Pain.
- Actors: Phil Daniels, Joe Dempsie, Rupert Everett, Kerry Godliman, Alex Jarrett
- Premiered: October 5, 2020
Worth a watch?- Photo:
- Photo:
Initial Release: 2019
Seasons: 2
Genre: Reality
Starring: Perry Fitzpatrick, Andrew Buchan
Observational documentary set inside Wood Green animal charity in Godmanchester. Following the work of staff, who are committed to matching their homeless dogs with prospective new owners.
- Actors: Perry Fitzpatrick
- Premiered: September 5, 2019
Worth a watch?- Photo:
- Trigonometry
Initial Release: 2020
Seasons: 1
Genre: Romantic Dramedy
Starring: Ariane Labed, Thalissa Teixeira, Gary Carr
When Gemma and Kieran open their small apartment in expensive and crowded London to a third person they are only expecting their new roommate to make rent easier. However, their new addition, Ray, makes the flat seem bigger, not smaller and gradually, many things become easier, nicer, and better with an extra pair of hands.
- Actors: Gary Carr, Ariane Labed, Thalissa Teixeira, Anne Consigny, Aymen Hamdouchi
- Premiered: March 15, 2020
Worth a watch?- Photo:
