4 August 2021
BritBox makes its SA debut with binge-worthy British TV
A joint venture between British telly heavyweights BBC and ITV, BritBox launches in South Africa on Friday, 6 August 2021. The streaming services promises viewers brilliant boxsets, from drama to documentaries, murder mysteries to lifestyle, and everyone’s favourite Brit genre, period drama.
BritBox CEO Reemah Sakaan said research showed a clear appetite from viewers of diverse backgrounds for premium British programming, expertly curated and available on demand.
“It’s quality content that’s effortlessly watchable,” she said. “British TV and film has grown exponentially as a cultural export in recent years, with productions and talent frequently scooping BAFTAs, Emmys and Oscars, and regularly recognised as some of the best in the world for quality and escapism. Our TV is no longer niche but has come firmly into the mainstream, plus there’s a definite rise in nostalgia viewing, which is finding completely new audiences. It’s a rich time to be in British TV.”
BritBox is available to stream via BritBox.com, on Android and Apple mobile/tablets, FireTV, AppleTV, Samsung smart TVs and LG smart TVs. You get a week free to see if it’s a good fit for your viewing pleasure; thereafter it’s R99.99 per month or R999.99 for 12 months. Find out more at www.britbox.com.
The 10 best shows to stream on BritBox in South Africa
With so much content to choose from, here’s our quick top 10 list, in alphabetical order, so make a nice cuppa and fetch the biccies.
Absolutely Fabulous
The adventures of Patsy and Eddie, sweetie darlings! Jennifer Saunders (who created and wrote the series) and Joanna Lumley star as the bestest best friends ever. Edina Monsoon is a PR agent and Patsy Stone is a magazine editor (allegedly – she seems to work as often as she eats, which is to say never). They drink, they smoke, they take drugs, they are fashion obsessed, and as shallow as a martini glass.
Nearly 30 years ago, Variety said: “not always as funny as it intends to be, but it is absolutely unique, absolutely rude and absolutely politically incorrect. The sitcom from, believe it or not, the BBC, would likely turn off American masses, but, thanks to its cable berth, cult status is assured.”
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Black Adder
Rowan Atkinson leads this series of four different pseudo historical sitcoms, each set in a different period, plus various once-off specials. It can be very confusing if you fall asleep in one season and wake up in another. In a BBC campaign, Britain’s Best Sitcom (of all time), it came second (behind Only Fools And Horses).
It wasn’t always considered great TV, though; the first season struggled to find its feet. AV Club goes into detail, saying “Few comedies come out of the gate fully formed and tracking the show’s progress as it finds its feet is one of the true pleasures of watching season one of Blackadder.”
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Gavin & Stacey
Remember when you’d never heard of James Corden? Well, he was in this charming and absolutely delightful comedy series about the titular couple’s long distance relationship, which begins with a blind date, and the bringing together of friends and family from Billericay in Essex, and Wales.
“The beauty of Gavin & Stacey is in its simplicity. The set-up is one that could happen to any of us; an engrossing love story spawned from the mundanity of office life,” says Den Of Geek. Corden, who plays Smithy, Gavin’s best mate, and Ruth Jones, who plays Stacey’s, Nessa, co-wrote the series.
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Line of Duty
Seasons 1 through 5 are on Netflix, but fans with a hankering for Season 6 are in for a treat. Series regulars Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar return in their quest to bring “bent coppers” to book while fighting their own flaws and demons, and this time they’re joined by Kelly Macdonald (Trainspotting, The Victim, Boardwalk Empire) guest-starring as DCI Joanne Davidson, the senior investigating officer on an unsolved murder whose unconventional conduct raises eyebrows at the AC-12 anti-corruption unit.
“In the UK, it’s a bigger hit than Downton Abbey or any other shows that aired there this century. Yes, Line of Duty is just that riveting,” says TV Insider.
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Luther
If you missed it on Netflix or Showmax, here’s your chance to binge the series that stars Idris Elba as John Luther, a troubled but brilliant detective who often employs, shall we say, unconventional policing methods, while battling his own inner demons.
“Elevated by an incredible performance by Idris Elba, Luther is an emotionally charged, unconventional crime thriller,” said The Review Geek of Season 1. “There are times where Luther feels rudimentary; the multiple cases are usually solved by Luther’s eccentricity and ingenuity. Ultimately though, it’s the realistic blend of John Luther’s personal drama and the high stake crime cases that make this such an absorbing drama. Although the first season does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, there’s enough here in this gripping, well acted crime thriller to enjoy.”
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Mr Bean
Rowan Atkinson again, this time as a character he created when he was at university (studying for his masters degree in electrical engineering) and described as a “boy inside a grown man’s body”. Mr Bean is adorable. You cannot not love him and his innocence.
The sad part? There are only 15 episodes, but I’ll put good money on betting you have your favourites. For me it’s anything with Teddy. Because Mr Bean doesn’t talk, he can be enjoyed by anyone in the world, at any age.
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Professor T
Another exclusive crime drama to binge-watch is Professor T, starring Ben Miller (Death in Paradise, Bridgerton, Primeval) as Professor Jason Tempest, a brilliant but unorthodox criminologist at the University of Cambridge, and Emma Naomi (Bridgerton, Blithe Spirit) as DI Lisa Donckers, a detective facing an uphill battle to get the eccentric professor’s help with a challenging case.
Haunted by childhood trauma and contending with a domineering mother (Frances de la Tour – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The History Boys), can Professor T take a hands-on role in solving crimes while battling his neuroses?
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Rick Stein’s Long Weekends
Rick Stein has to be one of the loveliest, gentlest, sweetest celebrity chefs who’ve made TV series – and he’s done a lot of them. According to his website, “In 2016, Rick Stein embarked on a series of weekend culinary adventures around Europe in search of good food, lovely wine and brilliant recipes – Rick Stein’s Long Weekends. On his adventures, Rick explores Bordeaux, Berlin, Reykjavik, Vienna, Bologna, Copenhagen, Cadiz, Lisbon, Thessaloniki and Palermo.”
That’s so wonderfully nostalgic, the concept of popping off somewhere for a few days … thanks Covid, thanks Brexit.
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Unforgotten
Nicola Walker is one of my favourite British actresses: from The Split, which has just been on M-Net 101 on DStv to Last Tango In Halifax, and most definitely Unforgotten. She plays DCI Cassie Stuart opposite Sanjeev Bhaskar’s (The Kumars at No 42) DI Sunny Khan as they solve cold cases of disappearance and murder. Each of the four seasons deals with a new case, introducing seemingly unconnected characters who are gradually revealed to have some relationship with the victim.
In Season 4, “the cold-case drama keeps its delicate balance of mystery, melodrama and compassion,” says The New York Times.
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Wedding of the Century
It seems, no matter the history, we will never tire of rewatching the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, even 40 years later. This feature-length documentary, a BritBox Original that premiered on 29 July, features beautifully restored high-definition footage (it was 1981, after all) and interviews with key professionals from behind the scenes.
“Despite their union eventually crumbling, Prince Charles and Diana’s wedding remains one of the most-watched and most-discussed events in modern history. Wedding of the Century takes us back there, to relive it once again or to experience it for the first time,” says Global News.
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What else is on BritBox in South Africa?
Other upcoming new BritBox titles include Annika starring Nicola Walker, Deadwater Fell with David Tennant and The Larkins featuring Bradley Walsh; Michael Apted’s multi-award winning documentary series Up, from 1964’s Seven Up all the way to the most recent 63 Up; plus fresh seasons of established favourites such as Manhunt S2 starring Martin Clunes, Endeavour Season 8, Vera S11, Grantchester S6 and The Syndicate S4.
