BBC Studios has announced the titles coming to BritBox in June 2024, which include everything from new BritBox Originals to classic British fare. BritBox is a digital video subscription service offering the largest collection of British TV in the U.S. and Canada.
Summer will see the powerful return of gritty, impactful crime dramas on BritBox, starting with the June 13 return of BritBox Original Blue Lights. A breakout hit in the UK, the Belfast-based series delves into complex local politics through the lens of a police drama.
Additionally, the Alan Carr (Alan Carr’s Adventures with Agatha Christie) semi-autobiographical sitcom Changing Ends will premiere on June 6. It chronicles the comedian’s childhood and adolescence in Thatcher’s Britain. IFTA-nominated Irish drama Northern Lights will premiere in the U.S. and Canada on June 26.
BritBox is a digital subscription video-on-demand service offering the largest and most comprehensive, unmissable collection of British entertainment available all in one place. The service delivers the UK’s favorite programs, ranging from brand new commissions to gems, across a variety of genres, including critically acclaimed drama, crime thrillers, classic comedy, and powerful documentaries, alongside reality hits and entertainment.
BritBox is available on multiple platforms, including the web, mobile, tablet, streaming devices, and connected TVs. The offering in each market showcases the depth and breadth of British creativity.
With the support of BBC providing a pipeline of exceptional content, made available as soon as it comes out of its broadcast and catch-up windows, BritBox is home to a wealth of titles from its parent companies, in addition to completely new original commissions from British production companies specifically created for BritBox.
BRITBOX JUNE 2024 SCHEDULE
AVAILABLE JUNE 1
June 1, 2024: Fingersmith S1 | New to BritBox | 3 x 60’ | All at Once
In Victorian England, Sue (Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water), a young thief, participates in a scam to defraud a rich heiress by becoming her maid. Things take an unexpected turn, and Sue’s plan goes horribly wrong.
AVAILABLE JUNE 5
Suspects S1 | New to BritBox | 5 x 60’ | All at Once
Suspects is a fascinatingly different crime drama. Filmed in a fly-on-the-wall documentary style with actors improvising their lines and reactions based on detailed plot information, it deals with gritty, hard-hitting crime in a naturalistic way that’s deeply compelling to watch.
A team of London detectives, each with their own style, grapple with cases ranging from murder, attempted murder, missing persons, drug overdoses, child abuse, sex crimes, and even police corruption. The unique way Suspects presents each case subverts the norms of the genre for a more authentic feel, keeps viewers tuning in series after series, and has seen the format adapted internationally.
AVAILABLE JUNE 6
Changing Ends S1 | North American Premiere, BritBox Exclusive | 6 x 30’ | All at Once
Alan Carr’s (Alan Carr’s Adventures With Agatha Christie) semi-autobiographical sitcom focuses on the comedian’s upbringing in Northampton in the 1980s as the son of a professional football manager. Northampton, 1980s. This is more than just a trip down memory lane.
It’s a love letter to a time and a town where things weren’t always so inclusive. Told with warmth and wit, it follows Alan’s journey through puberty, adolescence, and finally, self-discovery. Against the backdrop of Thatcher’s Britain, Alan experiences sexual awakenings, battles with bullies, and navigates the highs and lows of fourth-division football.
This is a show about school and family and figuring out who you are when your family members are Match of the Day football fanatics – and you’re a little bit Miss Marple. Starring Alan Carr and rising star Oliver Savell (Belfast).
AVAILABLE JUNE 7
Naked Civil Servant | New to BritBox | 1 x 90’ | All at Once
Quentin Crisp (John Hurt, Harry Potter) makes the bold choice of exhibiting his homosexuality in the highly conservative environment of England in the 1930s and 1940s. What’s more, he adopts a self-consciously flamboyant and theatrical persona destined to attract negative attention, although he navigates the streets of London with caution as he comes of age against a backdrop of homophobia. But when he is confronted with criminal charges, he must decide how willing he is to defend his lifestyle.
AVAILABLE JUNE 10
Lovejoy S4 | New to BritBox | 13 x 60’, 1 x 120’ | All at Once
Lovejoy (Ian McShane, Deadwood)is a trickster, a swindling art and antiques dealer who seems to get caught up in devious deals and `get rich quick’ schemes. But you can’t help liking Lovejoy, who has a talent for finding hidden treasures. When he’s not out for himself, he uses his skills as a con man to help the less fortunate and less sneaky.
AVAILABLE JUNE 12
Suspects S2 | New to BritBox | 4 x 60’ | All at Once
Shot with a unique fly-on-the-wall style and improvised dialogue, this gritty crime drama, unlike any other, follows three detectives solving chilling crimes in London. DI Martha Bellamy (Fay Ripley, Cold Feet), DS Jack Weston (Damien Molony, Crashing), and DC Charlie Steele (Clare-Hope Ashitey, Top Boy) investigate a brutal attack on a barrister who may have been leading a double life.
And when a pedophile hunter is assaulted, the team struggles to prove their case. How far will Jack go to get justice?
AVAILABLE JUNE 13
Blue Lights S2 | US Premiere, US Exclusive, BritBox Original | 6 x 50’ | 2x Weekly
The critically acclaimed Belfast police drama returns for a second series – which sees the response officers deal with a major gangland feud in the city. Grace (Sian Brooke, Good Omens), Annie (Katherine Devlin, The Dig), and Tommy (Nathan Braniff) are growing up fast as police officers, but nothing can prepare them for the turmoil they face every day.
It’s a year since the fall of the McIntyre crime gang, and the vacuum has been filled by rival gangs, all competing for dominance. Constable Shane Bradley (Frank Blake, Sanditon) is drafted in to help, but his motivations are unclear.
Tommy is dangerously seduced by the world of intelligence policing, while Grace struggles to deal with her son’s absence and growing feelings for fellow officer Stevie (Martin McCann, Marcella). As a young military veteran turned gang leader threatens to take over the city, the officers face a major gangland feud – culminating in a violent and devastating confrontation.
AVAILABLE JUNE 17
Grand Designs S19 | New to BritBox | 8 x 47’ | All at Once
Join architecture enthusiast Kevin McCloud as we watch Britain’s most spectacular and ambitious self-build projects unfold and meet the daring people behind them. Once again, series 19 follows self-builds all over the UK, from a sculptural home in Devon to an ambitious renovation on a Scottish country estate and an eye-catching triangular home in Sussex.
We follow the power of building as we see a family overcome grief, an estuary home designed to survive one-in-a-thousand-year flood events, an architect attempting to intertwine his home with a beautiful natural pond, and many more.
AVAILABLE JUNE 19
Suspects S3 | New to BritBox | 4 x 60’ | All at Once
DI Martha Bellamy (Fay Ripley, Cold Feet), DS Jack Weston (Damien Molony, Crashing), and DC Charlie Steele (Clare-Hope Ashitey, Top Boy) tackle investigations into a series of suspicious deaths, a badly burned body found in the Thames, a fatal arson attack with ties to the corporate world, and the connections between a pre-op transgender teenager and another teen gone missing.
AVAILABLE JUNE 21
Manhunt: The Phantom Cop Killer | BritBox Exclusive, North American Premiere | 1 x 90’ | All at Once
For 18 days in the summer of 1982, Barry Prudom was the most wanted man in Britain. 1,000 officers from 12 forces spent two weeks scouring West Yorkshire for the fugitive who had shot dead two police officers and a local pensioner. Hiding out in forests and villages, Prudom managed to evade capture in a series of extraordinary escapes, which earned him the nickname The Phantom, using survival techniques he’d learned on a SAS course.
As pressure on the police grew, desperate measures were called for. Step forward, the man who’d taught Prudom on a survival course. His task was to track down the man who apparently couldn’t be caught… Mixing never-previously-seen archive with cinematic reconstruction, this is the story of Barry Prudom, “The Phantom in The Forest.”
AVAILABLE JUNE 24
Lovejoy S5 | New to BritBox | 13 x 60’, 1 x 120’ | All at Once
In this series, Lovejoy becomes romantically entangled with the striking Charlotte Cavendish (Caroline Langrishe, Agatha Raisin), the owner of an upmarket auction house, and takes on a youth employment scheme trainee, Beth Taylor (Diane Parish, The Bill), to help him with the business.
At the same time, he has to juggle stolen goods and forged antiques and try to keep himself in gainful employment while he’s at it.
AVAILABLE JUNE 26
Northern Lights S1 | BritBox Exclusive, North American Premiere | 6 x 60’ | All at Once
Set in Dublin North City Centre’s Capel Street and Northside Quays, Northern Lights tells the story of two grieving strangers, Lloyd (Stephen Jones, Kin) and Áine (Elva Trill, Starstruck), whose worlds collide when Lloyd notices Áine standing on Grattan Bridge. Fearing the worst, he decides to intervene.
A series of revelations, confessions, secrets, and lies follow, leading to Lloyd and Áine becoming beacons of light for one another when they need it most, negotiating the obvious gender politics and initial awkwardness of meeting in such unusual circumstances.
Suspects S4 | New to BritBox | 4 x 60’ | All at Once
DI Martha Bellamy (Fay Ripley, Cold Feet), DS Jack Weston (Damien Molony, Crashing), and DC Charlie Steele (Clare-Hope Ashitey, Top Boy) examine cases ranging from the disappearance of a soldier with PTSD to a possible revenge killing of an ex-con, the shooting of a popular clergyman and a violent attack on an elderly widow.
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills to provide the latest news on streaming, movies, and TV shows. He previously created the websites ComingSoon, SuperHeroHype, and ShockTillYouDrop.