Look no further if you want to find the greatest shows of Hollywood. There is a large selection of PBS movies, PBS news programs, and the best PBS shows in UK featuring some of the most well-known titles. PBS connects and amuses its viewers across several platforms by providing exclusive content.
PBS is a non-profit, free-to-air television network in the United States. The Public Broadcasting Service is situated in Arlington, Virginia. PBS offers top-class shows; some of the best shows on PBS are Victoria, Secret of the Six Wives, Jamestown, Grantchester, and many more
PBS is a geo-restricted service, so you can’t access PBS in UK. You can watch PBS shows on Television through your TV cable provider or watch them without cable on Fubo, SlingTV + Lifestyle Extra Bundle, DirecTV steam, Philo, or YouTube TV.
Let’s further discuss the best shows on PBS so you can update your watch list!
What Are The Best PBS Shows in UK in 2022?
Wondering what are the best PBS shows in UK? If you want to learn more about the different PBS new shows and old shows that are available, keep reading our blog.
Without further sound and fury, take a look at our list of the top best shows on PBS online we recommend
The Miniaturist (2017)
Genre: Drama/Fantasy/Mystery
Director: Guillem Morales
Writer/Creator: John Brownlow
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Romola Garai, Hayley Squires
IMDb Rating: 7.0/10
Run time/ No. of seasons: 1
A young woman travels to Amsterdam in the 17th century. She hires an enigmatic local miniaturist to furnish the dollhouse she received as a gift from her merchant husband, but the lifelike miniatures start unsettlingly porting her demise. It is one of the best PBS shows in UK to watch in 2022.
Sanditon (2019- )
Genre: Drama/Romance
Director: Charles Sturridge
Writer/Creator: Andrew Davies
Cast: Rose Williams, Crystal Clarke, Kris Marshall
IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
Run time/ No. of seasons: 3
A version of Jane Austin’s unfinished final book, which was started just months before she passed away in 1817. The main character Calotte Haywood and Sidney Parker are portrayed by actors Rose Willams and Theo Jame
The narrative follows Charlotte as she relocates to Sanditon, a sleepy fishing village, in search of a fresh start. She quickly meets Sidney, an attractive man with plans to transform a sleepy seaside community into a posh resort.
Northanger Abbey (2007)
Genre: Drama/Romance
Director: John Jones
Writer/Creator: Andrew Davis
Cast: Geraldine James, Micheal Judd, Julia Dearden
IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
Run time/ No. of seasons: 1h 24m
It takes an idea from Jane Austine’s novel, and this movie is one of those interesting and wholesome best PBS shows in UK. A young woman’s love for existing Gothic literature causes miscommunication in issues of the heart.
Hotel Portofino (2022- )
Genre: Drama
Director: Adam Wimpenny
Writer/Creator: Matt Baker
Cast: Natascha McElhone, Oliver Dench, Louise Binder
IMDb Rating: 6.7/10
Run time/ No. of seasons: 1
This PBS Show is filled with drama and conspiracies. Hotel Portofino, which is set in Mussolini’s Italian Riviera in 1926 and has gorgeous surroundings, tells the story of matriarch Bella Ainsworth.
Bella Ainsworth hopes that her eponymous hotel will serve as an upscale English traveler’s home away from home. She has to deal with obnoxious visitors, a rebellious husband, and being threatened by the local Nazi politician.
Unforgotten (2015 – )
Genre: Crime Drama Mystery
Director: Andy Wilson
Writer/Creator: Chris Lang
Cast: Sanjeev Bhaskar, Jordan Long, Nicola Walker
IMDb Rating: 8.3/10
Run time/ No. of seasons: 5
Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Cassie Stuart and Detective Sergeant (DS) Sunil “Sunny” Khan are called in to conduct an investigation after a young man’s death is found in an abandoned building (Sanjeev Bhaskar).
When the structure was a hostel in 1976, Jimmy Sullivan, a homeless runaway, was murdered there. Four people are named in his notebook as suspects: a pastor, a prominent businessperson, a community activist, and a crippled husband who is housebound and taking care of his wife.
Everybody is hiding something. The people they love the most start to worry what more they might be capable of as their lies start to fall apart. Nothing about this situation is clear-cut. Is it possible to truly know those closest to you? What mysteries have they concealed?
Grantchester (2014 – )
Genre: Crime/Drama/Mystery
Director: –
Writer/Creator: Daisy Coulam
Cast: Robson Green, Tessa Peak-Jones, Al Weaver
IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
Run time/ No. of seasons: 7
Sidney is the rector of Grantchester, in the year 1953. Until the moment a murder comes his way, Sidney’s life is peaceful. When forced into the perilous world of murder and lies, he discovers right away that his understanding of the human condition and the trust he naturally inspires in others make him an excellent detective.
But Sidney is preoccupied with more than crime. He’s in love with the intelligent, gorgeous Amanda, but could high society Amanda ever wed a meek rural vicar? When the world of murder demands that you see the worst in people, can you still see the best in them? This is one of the best PBS shows in UK to watch.
Prime Suspect (2017)
Genre: Crime/Drama /Thriller
Director: David Caffery
Writer/Creator: Glen Laker
Cast: Stam Reid, Stefanie Martini, Blake Harrison
IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
Run time/ No. of seasons: 1
In prime suspect 1973, Jane Tennison a 22-year-old is described as going through blatant sexism in her early days as a police officer before being plunged into a murder investigation.
Les Miserables (2018-2019)
Genre: Drama/History/Romance
Director: Tom Shankland
Writer/Creator: Andrew Davis
Cast: Dominic West, David Oyelowo, Adeel Akhtar
IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
Run time/ No. of seasons: 1
The classic novel by Victor Hugo, adapted from television, follows Jean Valjean as he eludes the relentless inspector Javert. Set again the backdrop of the post Napoleonic France new instability sweeps through Paris.
Endeavour (2012-2022)
Genre: Crime/Drama/Mystery
Director: Shaun Evan
Writer/Creator: Russell Lewis
Cast: Shaun Evans, Roger Allam, James Bradshaw
IMDb Rating: 8.6/10
Run time/ No. of seasons: 9
The program follows Endeavour Morse during his formative years as a police officer and is set between 1965 and 1971. Morse conducts a variety of investigations near Oxford while collaborating with his senior associate DI Fred Thursday.
Call The Midwife (2012 – )
Genre: Drama/History
Director: Syd Macartney
Writer/Creator: Heidi Thomas
Cast: Venessa Redgrave, Laura Main, Jenny Agutter
IMDb Rating: 8.6/10
Run time/ No. of seasons: 11
Jenny’s eyes are opened to the difficult living conditions of the slums while working with other nurses and the medically trained nuns, but she also learns about the warm hearts and bravery of the moms.
Poirot (1989-2013)
Genre: Crime/Drama/Mystery
Director: Edward Beneette
Writer/Creator: Guy Andrews
Cast: David Suchet, Hugh Fresher, Philip Jackson
IMDb Rating: 8.6/10
Run time/ No. of seasons: 13
This PBS show, which is based on Dame Agatha Christie’s crime novels, takes its name from the series’ star sleuth, Hercule Poirot (David Suchet), a well-known former Belgian policeman who made a permanent home in London after the war.
Poirot quickly gains notoriety as an implacable private investigator and ends up becoming a well-known member of society. For a paying customer or for some other reason, Poirot gets to solve a crime mystery in each episode.
He usually does this alongside his devoted English sidekick Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser) and/or his Scotland yard “friendly rival” Chief Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson).
Downton Abbey (2010-2015)
Genre: Drama/Romance
Director: David Evans
Writer/Creator: Julian Fellows
Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern
IMDb Rating: 8.7/10
Run time/ No. of seasons: 6
Lord Robert Crawley is the Earl and and accountant of Grantham of the early 20th-century, considers it his life’s work to preserve the legacy of his ancestors, particularly the lavish country estate Downton Abbey.
Little Women (2019)
Genre: Drama/Romance
Director: Greta Gerwig
Writer/Creator: Greta Gerwig
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh
IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
Run time/ No. of seasons: 2h 15m
Jo March alternately reflects on her life while narrating the cherished tale of the March sisters, a group of four young ladies who are all adamant about living it to the fullest.
Wolf Hall (2015)
Genre: Biography/Drama/History
Director: Peter Kosminsky
Writer/Creator: Peter Straughan
Cast: Mark Rylance, Damian Lewis Claire Foy
IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
Run time/ No. of seasons: 1
Thomas Cromwell, Cardinal Wolsey’s secretary, finds himself caught up in the deceit and intrigue of King Henry VIII’s court after the Cardinal’s fall. He quickly rises to the position of intimate advisor to the King, a dangerous one.
Bleak House (2005)
Genre: Crime/Drama/History
Director: Justin Chadwick
Writer/Creator: Andrew Davies
Cast: Anna Maxwell Martin, Carey Mulligan, Denis Lawson
IMDb Rating: 8.9/10
Run time/ No. of seasons: 1
This PBS show is based on Charles Dickens’s novel that was initially released as a 20-episode serial. The plot consists of the Jarndyce family, who wait in vain to receive money from a disputed wealth in the settlement of the incredibly protracted case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, who is the subject of Bleak House.
Howards End (2017-2018)
Genre: Drama/Romance
Director: Hettie Macdonalds
Writer/Creator: Kenneth Lonergan
Cast: Matthew Macfadyen, Hayley Atwell Philippa Coulthard
IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
Run time/ No. of seasons: 1
E . M. Froster wrote a novel of the same name Howards End on which this British American and one of the best shows on PBS is based on.
The intersection of three families – the rich Wilcoxes, the kind, and idealistic Schlegels, and the lower middle-class Basts – shows the social and class divisions in early 20th-century England.
Poldark (2015-2019)
Genre: Drama Romance
Director: Joss Agnew
Writer/Creator: Debbie Horsfield
Cast: Adian Turner, Eleanor Tomlinson, Jack Farthing
IMDb Rating: 8.3/10
Run time/ No. of seasons: 5
Ross Poldark served in the American Revolution and has since returned to England. His loved one believed he has passed away. His intended bride has since been engaged to his cousin. The land he inherited from his descended father has been allowed to degrade.
In Cornwall, in the late 1700s, the price of food and rent are high, fishermen are not catching much fish and the economical balance is out too. Making his land fruitful, taking care of the tenants that depend on him, and trying to win back the lady he loves – or finding reasons to live without her are the challenges Ross must overcome.
All Creatures Great And Small (2020- )
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Director: Andy Hay, Brian Percival, Metin Huseyin, Sasha Ransome, Stewart Svaasand
Writer/Creator: Ben Vanstone
Cast: Nicholas Ralph, Anna, Samuel West
IMDb Rating: 8.6/10
Run time/ No. of seasons: 3
The countless exploits of the helpful staff at a rural veterinary clinic in Yorkshire in the 1930s and 1940s.
This series is based on a novel names Chronicles the heartwarming and humorous adventures of James. Siegfried Faron, one of the three veterinarians is featured in the show which takes on James as a client for his Skeldale House Clinic. This series is very interesting and filled with humor and drama. If you are into comedy genre then this is one of the best PBS shows in UK to watch right now.
Victoria (2016-2019)
Genre: Biography/Drama/History
Director: Geoffrey Sax, Olly Blackburn, Tom Vaughan, Jim Loach, Chloe Thomas, Sandra Goldbacher, Lisa James Larsson, Daniel O’Hara, Delyth Thomas
Writer/Creator: Daisy Goodwin
Cast: Jenna Coleman, Adrian Schiller, Tommy Knight
IMDb rating: 8.2/10
Run time/ No. of seasons: 3
The early years of Queen Victoria started with her accession to the throne at the young age of 18 and ended with her courtship and union with Prince Albert. This is one of the best PBS masterpiece shows, it covers drama, history, thriller, and suspense.
The Durrells in Corfu (2016-2019)
Genre: Biography/Comedy/Drama
Director: Roger Goldby, Steve Barron, Niall MacCormick, Edward Hall
Writer/Creator: Simon Nye
Cast: Keeley Hawes, Josh’ O Connor, Milo Parker
IMDb Rating: 8.2/10
Run time/ No. of seasons: 4
Englishwoman Louisa Durell’s life completely disintegrated in 1935. She has money issues, and troublesome kids, and her spouse passed away a few years ago. She abruptly declares that the five of them would relocate to Corfu on the Greek Island of Greece from Bournemouth.
As the family adjusts to life on the Island, even when they got to know that Corfu doesn’t have power yet. But the Durell family takes the decisive decision that will alter their lives because it is affordable and a piece of Earth.
Wrapping It Up!
If you’re interested in reality television, drama, romance, and comedy then you can stream the best PBS shows in UK and PBS original series by choosing from our recommendations
These shows will keep you entertained, and PBS subscription can be watched with any free trial. Also, you can cancel your PBS subscription anytime. PBS is a site packed with entertainment and thrill, so take a seat and happy binge-watching!
