September marks the return of the fall season, which is an ideal time for the British crime genre. Cold weather, rain-drenched countryside locations, and dead bodies — what could be more autumnal than that?
There’s no shortage of British crime shows available on such streaming services as Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, BritBox, and Acorn. But which ones should you watch? The following three selections are the best of a very crowded genre, with one series adapting one of the bestselling novels of all time and another being a remake of a great 1992 film starring Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche.
Need more recommendations? Check out the best British shows on Netflix and the best British shows on Hulu.
Ridley (2022-present)
On the surface, Ridley seems like your standard police procedural. There’s an older, cantankerous detective, Alex Ridley (Adrian Dunbar), who reluctantly comes out of retirement to solve some murders; a younger counterpart, Carol Farman (Bronagh Waugh), who frequently bends the rules to find criminals; and plenty of wonderfully moody shots of the English countryside, complete with a jazzy score.
Ridley is a bit better than most British crime shows, however, due to its devotion to its lead characters, who emerge as complex, flawed people who are just trying to do the best they can. Ridley is still grieving the loss of his wife and daughter due to a suspicious fire, while Carol struggles with a teenage son and a wife who wants another child.
Ridley balances the professional and personal lives of its detectives well, and what emerges is an addictive crime drama that offers a feast for the eyes and ears. After watching its eight episodes, you’ll have to stifle the urge to want more. (Don’t fret; season 2 is coming soon.)
Ridley is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
And Then There Were None (2015)
The world didn’t need another adaptation of And Then There Were None, but it got one in 2015 in the form of a three-episode miniseries courtesy of BBC One and Acorn TV. And thank goodness we did, since it’s arguably the best Agatha Christie adaptation ever. Yes, even better than 1974’s Murder on the Orient Express, which won an Oscar in 1975. You probably know the story: a group of strangers are invited to a secluded island, where they are killed one by one by a mysterious assailant who wants to punish them for sins they committed in their past. And they have to find out who is killing them before it’s too late.
Christie’s 1939 novel isn’t particularly deep, and all previous movie adaptations of it stick strictly to the tricky plot mechanics that made the story so popular to begin with. This adaptation does too, but what makes it so great is that it fleshes out key characters such as Vera Claythorne and Lawrence Wargrave and expands on the main theme of human evil, which doesn’t fit easy categorization.
And Then There Were None is also surprisingly cinematic and elegiac for a television miniseries, with excellent cinematography by John Pardue and a ruminative, atmospheric score by Stuart Earl. The acting is top-notch, with very good performances from Maeve Dermody as Vera and Sam Neill as John MacArthur, but it’s veteran character actor Charles Dance who lingers in the memory the most. His Wargrave best embodies Christie’s nihilistic view that the worst of humanity is often disguised with the friendliest of smiles.
And Then There Were None is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Obsession (2023)
Most crime shows begin with an actual crime; Obsession is more concerned with crimes of the heart, which lead to an inevitable tragedy. William Farrow (Richard Armitage) seems to have it all: a loving wife; fully-grown kids who are intelligent, caring, and compassionate; and a successful career as a surgeon. But he realizes something is missing when he meets Anna Barton (Charlie Murphy), a much younger woman who is just as interested in William as he is as her. Soon, they’re having a torrid affair, one that is based solely on having sex in an empty apartment away from everyone else.
There’s only one problem: Anna is engaged to William’s son, Jay, a fact that only gives the two pause until they resume their destructive passion. Over four episodes, Obsession details how consumed William is with Anna, and how, despite all his intelligence and love for his family, he’s unable to stop it. A remake of the 1992 film Damage, this Netflix series is sexy, alright, but one tinged with sadness. Love doesn’t conquer all, it turns out; instead, it ruins everything.
Obsession is streaming on Netflix.
