The Tunnel

Superior Anglo-French crime drama

There are some, this writer among them, who think this Anglo-French crime series superior to the one it’s based on, Swedish-Danish co-production The Bridge. The Tunnel certainly has a more watchable co-lead in wayward British policeman Karl Roebuck (Stephen Dillane from Game Of Thrones), and as his French counterpart Elise Wassermann, Clémence Poésy more than holds her own against The Bridge’s Saga Norén (Sofia Helin). The coastal settings – depressed communities in and around Kent and Calais – add to the flavour though when it comes to the increasingly Byzantine plots there’s little to choose between them.

Did you know? In another change from The Bridge, Elise Wassermann drives a Porsche 944 instead of a Porsche 911.

Three series, 24 episodes, 1080 minutes. Available on DVD and to stream on Amazon Prime

The West Wing

Political drama

Back at the beginning of last year there was a news story that people were bingeing on Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing in order to cope with the Donald Trump presidency. "A show about a selfless, intelligent man who becomes president,” observed Sara Morrison a staff writer at Vocativ, “maybe—just maybe!—people are looking for a bit of escapism from the world we have now.” It’s been twelve years since The West Wing, centred on Michael Sheen’s Democrat president Jed Bartlet, finished, and the culture it portrays seems increasingly improbable. But if you’re looking for a fantasy of a sane (if very white male) politics, it lives on here.

Did you know? The longest “walk and talk” the show ever featured was three minutes long and involved around 500 extras.

Seven series, 156 episodes, 4 days 20 hours, available on DVD.

The Code

Australian political thriller

This whip-smart Aussie thriller centres on the activities of two brothers – investigative journalist Ned Banks (Dan Spielman) and his autistic, computer hacker brother Jesse (Ashley Zukerman) – but then pans out to take in a sprawling political conspiracy that reaches from the brothers’ Canberra stomping ground to the Outback and beyond. Jesse and Ned are soon joined in their investigation by Australian-Iranian Hani (Adele Perovic), like Jesse a blacklisted hacker with a police record, and the plot takes in an array of domestic concerns, such as the treatment of the Aboriginal people. But it’s the interplay the three principals that makes it so gripping.

Did you know? California-born Zukerman also stars in Netflix political drama Designated Survivor.

Two series, 12 episodes, 672 minutes. Available on DVD and to stream on Netflix

Gomorrah

Bloody Italian crime series

Adapted from the 2008 film which was in turn adapted from Roberto Saviano’s 2006 non-fiction book about the Camorra, the Naples Mafia, this series focuses on the Savastano clan as they fight for primacy in the city. It’s as lurid and blood-splattered as you’d expect and, given the continent-spanning nature of organised crime in the 21st century, it doesn’t all take place in Naples. But the pacing and the characterisation keep it grounded in reality and it never loses the flavour of the the mean streets and peripheral housing estates of that southern Italian city.

Did you know? So incensed were the Camorra by his book that anti-Mafia campaigner Saviano still lives under 24-hour police protection.

Three series, 36 episodes, 1548 minutes. Available on DVD and to stream on Amazon Prime

Sons of Anarchy

Melodramatic motorcycle-gang drama

Dubbed, however unlikely, as Hamlet on Harleys, this tells the story of a violent outlaw club/family from hell in California, which spends its time running drugs and guns. It stars Charlie Hunnam, Katey Sagal, Ron Perlman and Glasgow's scarred-faced Tommy Flanagan who uses his own gravelly accent throughout, presumably to confuse American viewers. Hunnam plays Jackson Teller, who seizes control of the club from his stepfather, egged on by his ambitious mother, a frighteningly good Sagal – hence the thematic Shakespeare comparisons.

Did you know? Newcastle-born Hunnam started his TV career in children's show Byker Grove.

Seven series, 92 episodes, 6600 minutes, available on Amazon Prime and DVD.

How To Get Away With Murder

A masterclass in criminology

Viola Davis stars as Annalise Keating, a law professor and criminal defence lawyer extraordinaire. She drafts in five students to help with her caseload and the quintet soon find themselves embroiled in complex murder plot. But if there is one thing Keating knows, it is how to get away with murder. Although only if everyone listens and does exactly what she says. Which they don’t, naturally. And that is when things get dark and twisty.

Did you know? Showrunner Pete Nowalk would love to have Meryl Streep as a guest star.

Series 1-4, 60 episodes, approx. 2,580 minutes. Available on Netflix, Sky Box Set and DVD. Watch series 5 on Sky Witness in early 2019.

Banshee

Crime thriller

The daftest premise on TV: a man is released from prison after stealing $15 million in diamonds for a Ukrainian mob boss, moves to small town America (small towns being where all the craziest things happen in US television) and is promptly mistaken for the new sheriff. Featuring chilling baddies, Amish gangsters, and lots and lots of graphic sex and extremely violent violence, it's head-spinning fun. Mind you, the Boston Herald did call it: "A slow-pokey drama punctuated by shocking violence and sex". You'll know if it's for you.

Did you know? The director cited Jason Statham action films and John Carpenter movies as inspiration for the fight scenes.

Four series, 42 episodes, 1819 minutes. Available on DVD

Eyewitness

Norwegian crime noir

An under-rated slice of Nordic Noir (and not to be confused with moody French drama Witnesses), this Norwegian series turns on a plot involving those perennial Scandi baddies, the bikers, but adds a twist in the form of the murder eyewitnesses of the title – two gay 15-year-old boys who aren’t out to their parents – and a female police chief who’s straight out of the Frances-McDormand-in-Fargo playbook. Complicating matters, she’s also step-mother to one of the boys.

Did you know? The series has been remade for TV networks in the US, France and Romania.

One series, six episodes, 360 minutes. Available on DVD

Game of Thrones

Sex, violence, dragons

What began as a slightly dubious swords-and-sexploitation saga has developed into something rather more nuanced over seven series; to wit, a drama that recognises the cost of sexual violence and increasingly places women front and centre of the narrative.

That is not to say it isn’t still problematic at times, but it remains a compelling representation of the brutality of realpolitik (there is nothing divine about these kings and queens). The real secret of its success, though, is its potent storytelling. If ever a series knows how to catch you out with a plot twist it’s this one.

Did you know? The winter furs worn by Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) are in fact IKEA rugs.

Seven series, 67 episodes, 535 minutes, available on DVD and Now TV

Our Friends in the North

State-of-the-nation epic

Remember the 1990s? Tony Blair, Britpop, a time when British TV made dramas that didn’t have to involve coppers or period costumes?

Actually, policing –or in this case police corruption – does feature in Peter Flannery’s epic take on modern British history as told through the stories of four teenage friends from Newcastle. The drama takes in everything from sixties idealism to seventies slum housing, and the great storm of 1987. But it’s the human story that grips.

By the time a thoroughly beaten down Daniel Craig is walking across the Tyne Bridge as Noel Gallagher sings Don’t Look Back in Anger on the soundtrack there will be tears in your eyes. Or was that just me?

Did you know? The series was the calling card for a future Doctor Who in Christopher Eccleston and a future James Bond in Daniel Craig.

One series, nine episodes, 623 minutes, available DVD.

A Very English Scandal

Dog-killing Lib Dems

Anyone who was surprised by Hugh Grant’s performance here as the leader of the Liberals and duplicitous cad Jeremy Thorpe hasn’t been paying attention. In between the floppy-haired, tongue-tied romcom roles, Grant has always had an ability to play to politely poisonous, going all the way back to An Awfully Big Adventure (at the very least).

Russell T Davies’s script for A Very English Scandal, in which Thorpe plots against his former gay lover, – is smart and funny and revisits a moment in British political history that feels very far from now. Whether in 40 years someone will be able to make as gripping and comic a drama out of Brexit remains to be seen.

Oh, and can someone ensure we see Grant play opposite Ben Wishaw at least once a year for the foreseeable future? Preferably including a line about a missing national insurance card.

Did you know? Hugh Grant and Ben Wishaw were also cast opposite each other in the film Paddington 2 this year.

One series, 3 episodes, 360 minutes, available on Amazon Prime and DVD

Narcos

Sex and drugs and DEA agents

A serial drama set in 1980s and 1990s Colombia that plays as Jacobean revenge tragedy. Based on historical events, it follows American Drug Enforcement Administration agents (in the shape of Pedro Pascal and Boyd Holbrook) attempting to bring down drug kingpin Pablo Escobar (and in the third series the Medellin cartel), while dealing with political sensitivities and outright interference (by everyone from bribed Colombian officials to the CIA).

Escobar, as played by Wagner Moura, is the drama’s black heart; a narcissistic sociopath with an eye for the populist gesture and no sense of remorse. The result is a journey into darkness.

Did you know? Actor Wagner Moura had to learn Spanish to play Escobar. As a Brazilian, Portuguese is his mother tongue.

Three series, 30 episodes, 1500 minutes, available on Netflix and DVD

Inside No 9

Comedy-horror anthology

Many of the stories in Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith’s anthology drama are a tribute to, and deconstruction of, the duo’s favourite film genres (horror mostly). That’s a sign of its cleverness. But the best episodes offer much more than that.

And the very best of them – Bernie Clifton’s Dressing Room and The 12 Days of Christine (oh, let’s call it what it is: a masterpiece) – as well as being examples of concise, precise storytelling reimagine what television drama can do.

Did you know? Oona Chaplin, Charlie’s granddaughter, appears in A Quiet Night In, an episode which is almost entirely without dialogue.

Four series, 24 episodes, 689 minutes, available on DVD. A Halloween Special airs on BBC2 tomorrow/tonight (Oct 28)

Penny Dreadful

Victorian horror

Creator John Logan borrowed a trick from Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neil’s graphic novel series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen for this Showtime drama. He takes some familiar literary characters – Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray. Mary Shelley’s Victor Frankenstein (and his creature), Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Van Helsing and Mina Harker – and wove them together into an original horror drama that took in vampires, spiritualists, witches, Egyptologists, and American gunslingers.

The result is grand guignol thrills, inevitably camp at times but with a real arsenic kick to it. Billie Piper is great in it, and Eva Green is simply imperious.

Did you know? The title Penny Dreadful is borrowed from the name given to cheap serial literature in the Victorian era.

Three series, 27 episodes, 1396 minutes, available on Netflix and DVD

Lost

Garlanded sci-fi mystery series

Co-created by JJ Abrams (whatever happened to him?), this sprawling drama drops a handful of strangers onto a strange desert island – literally: they’re in a plane crash – and then spends the rest of the time messing with their (and our) heads. A succession of flashbacks flesh out the characters, but the more you think you know, the more the mystery deepens. What is the Dharma Initiative? Who built the underground shelter? And how did those polar bears get here? Compulsive viewing from start to finish.

Did you know? Alt-rockers Weezer named their 2010 album Hurley after one of the show’s central characters.

Six series, 121 episodes, 4840 minutes. Available on DVD

Room at the Top

Kitchen sink thrills

This 2011 BBC adaptation of John Braine’s novel had to be pulled from the schedules at the last moment because of a rights issue. When it did finally appear a year later it was largely overlooked. A pity. It is a decent enough adaption made remarkable by Maxine Peake’s electrifying performance as Joe Lampton’s older married lover. Britain in the 1950s was not the world for her and by the end she is battering against the bars that cage her.

Did you know? Jenna Coleman – billed as Jenna Louise Coleman here – plays Lampton’s wife. It was her last role before she entered the Tardis.

One series, two episodes, available on Amazon Prime

Doctor Foster

Battle of the sexes

I know, I know, I know. It’s utterly preposterous. But so what? It is also utterly gripping even if you were watching in a kind of slack-jawed stupor, thinking: “no one would ever do that?”

Thankfully, they did in Mike Bartlett’s loopy marital drama. Surane Jones and Bertie Carvel give it the full Burton-Taylor in their verbal slugfests as their marriage breaks down in the face of Carvel’s adultery. Surane’s title character takes it badly. To put it mildly.

Was it melodramatic? Oh yes. That’s why we all couldn’t get enough of it.

Did you know? Jodie Comer who plays Bertie Carvel’s mistress and second wife in Doctor Foster has more recently appeared as psychopathic hitwoman Villanelle in Killing Eve.

Two series, 10 episodes, 600 minutes, available on Netflix and DVD

Bosch

Police procedural

Listen, let’s be upfront about this. Amazon’s adaptation of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch novels is solid rather than inspired. But, sometimes, solid is enough. This is a well-crafted, well-paced Los Angeles cop show that passes the time very agreeably. That should be enough, really, but if you want something more, something that elevates it above the herd, then consider the fact that it’s rare that a TV show is happy to have such a condescending moralist as its lead character (Titus Welliver is great at playing self-righteous). Other pluses? Bosch’s relationship with his daughter (Madison Lintz) is actually rather touchingly done. Oh, and Bosch has the most enviable house on television.

Did you know? The character Harry Bosch is named after the 15th-century artist Hieronymous Bosch.

Four series, 40 episodes, 2000 minutes, available on Amazon Prime

Happy Valley

Northern grit + police drama

Rather like ITV’S Broadchurch, Happy Valley is a character study masquerading as a crime drama. Both series are in many ways about coping with grief. In Broadchurch it’s Jodie Whittaker and Andrew Buchanan who are the heart of the story. In Sally Wainwright’s BBC drama it’s Sarah Lancashire who burns up the screen. As Sergeant Catherine Cawood she is bloody-minded, dedicated, unsentimental and stoical.

Because in the end Wainwright’s drama is a story of endurance. Life is hard but we go on because, well, what else can we do?

Did you know? The poet Sylvia Plath’s headstone in Heptonstall cemetery appears in one episode.

Two series, 12 episodes, 700 minutes, available on DVD & Netflix

The Crow Road

Scottish family drama

Ambition? Remember that? You do feel it’s a word that has been struck from the dictionary of Scottish telly makers. River City and yet another possible reboot of Taggart? Is that the best we can do?

The Crow Road reminds us that Scottish TV drama once reached a little further. Starring Joe McFadden, Dougray Scott, Peter Capaldi and Patricia Kerrigan, Bryan Elsley’s adaptation of Banks’s family saga, is given room to breathe over four episodes. And in the end it’s a reminder that families can be strangers to each other too.

Did you know? Amazon are currently developing a series based on Iain Banks’s SF novel Consider Phlebas. As yet, no one has found a way to bring Banks’s debut The Wasp Factory to the screen however.

One series, four episodes, 228 minutes, available DVD

Detectorists

Beta male comedy

Listen, not all masculinity is toxic. Alpha male assholery is not the only brand available. Take Andy and Lance in Mackenzie Crook’s wonderful comedy. Feckless, slightly useless, socially and emotionally inarticulate. But, also, decent, loving, gentle, generous.

This is a gentle comedy and gentle is not a bad word. Not in the real world. Philip Larkin, despite beinga miserably, misogynistic grouch, once wrote “what will survive of us is love.” Mackenzie Crook knows this too.

Did you know? Much of the series was filmed in the market town of Framlingham in Sussex, also the home town of Ed Sheeran.

Three series, 19 episodes, plus Christmas special, 570 minutes, available on DVD and BBC iPlayer.

Grey’s Anatomy

Medical drama supreme

Buckle up, you are in for a hell of a ride. Welcome to Shondaland – the world as created by television writer/producer Shonda Rhimes – where the first rule is don’t get too attached to anyone. Rhimes makes the character culls in George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones seem wonderfully tame. Grey’s Anatomy combines cutting-edge medical procedures with heart-tugging storylines and whip-smart observation. It is pleasing on the eye: everyone is ridiculously good-looking. And Ellen Pompeo is sublime as the eponymous surgeon Meredith Grey.

Did you know? Rhimes initially wanted to set Grey’s Anatomy in her native Chicago but switched to Seattle to avoid comparisons with mega-hit ER.

Series 1-14, 317 episodes, 13,631 minutes. Available on DVD. Watch series 15 now on Sky Witness.

Black Mirror

A modern-day Twilight Zone

Charlie Brooker’s anthology series isn’t for the faint of heart. The brilliant episode Crocodile was filmed in Iceland and stars Kiran Sonia Sawar as an insurance investigator who uses a device dubbed “the recaller” to extract memories and resolve claims. Nosedive imagines a world in which every human interaction is scored out of five and plummeting ratings lead to social pariahdom. Futuristic gadgets and end-game technology loom large at the heart of Black Mirror, but it is the behaviour of human beings which ultimately can prove most terrifying.

Did you know? The series got its name from the black screens – TVs, phones and tablets – that surround us every day.

Series 1-4, 19 episodes, approx. 1,140 mins. Available on Netflix and DVD.

The Good Wife

Slick legal and political drama

When her politician husband is embroiled in a sex scandal, Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) returns to work as a lawyer. A decade as devoted wife and mother have clipped the wings of the once-promising legal eagle who finds herself starting over from the bottom. There is a star turn from Archie Panjabi as the firm’s tough, enigmatic – and leather-clad – in-house investigator Kalinda Sharma, while Alan Cumming is a delight as ruthless Eli Gold, the campaign strategist and crisis manager for Alicia’s embattled husband Peter (Chris Noth).

Did you know? The show was created by husband and wife powerhouse Robert and Michelle King.

Series 1-7, 156 episodes, approx. 6,708 minutes. Available on Prime Video and DVD.

Pretty Little Liars

Glossy mystery thriller

Type “Who is A?” into an internet search engine and you will get some idea of what compelling viewing Pretty Little Liars became during the eight years it was on air. A high school clique falls apart after their leader Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse) disappears. A year later the remaining quartet Spencer (Troian Bellisario), Aria (Lucy Hale), Hanna (Ashley Benson) and Emily (Shay Mitchell) begin receiving unsettling messages from a mysterious figure named “A”. Their lives are turned upside down when Alison is found dead, yet the cryptic texts keep coming thick and fast.

Did you know? Pretty Little Liars used the same set on the Warner Brothers lot as Gilmore Girls.

Series 1-7, 160 episodes, approx. 6,880 minutes. Available on Netflix and DVD.

Shetland

Cosy crime noir

Is there a better telly detective than Douglas Henshall as DI Jimmy Perez? We think not. And who doesn’t have a crush on sweet and dependable DC Sandy Wilson (Steven Robertson) or want to hang out with the amazing DS Alison “Tosh” Mcintosh (Alison O'Donnell)? The BBC Scotland drama series is based on the original quartet of Shetland murder mystery novels by Ann Cleeves. An upcoming fifth series is due to air on BBC One next year. In the meantime, we’ll be re-watching 1-4 on a loop.

Did you know? Ann Cleeves worked as an assistant cook at the Fair Isle Bird Observatory.

Series 1-4, 20 episodes, approx. 1,200 minutes. Available on Prime Video and DVD.

Sex and the City

Shoes, sass and steamy shenanigans

In the late nineties and early noughties, Sex and the City was cult viewing – and a rallying cry – for single women everywhere. Forget choosing your favourite Spice Girl, it was all about channelling your inner Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte or Samantha. Sarah Jessica Parker plays fashionista newspaper columnist Carrie with Cynthia Nixon as no-nonsense lawyer Miranda, Kristin Davis as Pollyanna-esque princess Charlotte and Kim Cattrall as sex-mad Samantha. Some storylines are uncomfortable viewing in these woke times, but the themes of rubbish men and loyal gal pals still ring true.

Did you know? Former Spice Girl Geri Horner (nee Halliwell) made a cameo in series 6.

Series 1-6, 94 episodes, approx. 2,820 minutes. Available on DVD.

The Legacy

Scandi-chic family turmoil

The death of a matriarch opens a Pandora’s box of secrets in this compelling Danish drama series. Internationally renowned artist Veronika Gronnegaard lived an eccentric and colourful life. When she dies her children – each of whom carries with them the indelible mark of an unconventional and often chaotic upbringing – must return to the family home to wind up her estate. When they discover that Veronika has left the sprawling manor to their unknown sibling who was given up for adoption, relations become fractured as new battle lines are swiftly drawn.

Did you know? Mikkel Folsgaard who plays Emil also stars in Netflix apocalyptic drama The Rain.

Series 1-3, 26 episodes, approx. 1,560 minutes. Available on Prime Video and DVD.

Breaking Bad

Crime and black comedy

For many Breaking Bad represents the ultimate box set binge. Beleaguered high school chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston) is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and needs to make cash fast. Teaming up with his former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) he quite literally cooks up a life of crime by setting up their own crystal meth lab. On paper it seems straightforward but throw in turf wars, psychological warfare and a spiralling body count, then things soon get messy.

Did you know? Jesse Pinkman uses the word “bitch” a total of 54 times.

Series 1-5, 62 episodes, approx. 3,596 minutes. Available on Netflix and DVD.

Better Call Saul

Breaking Bad spin-off

There’s a rule of thumb that prequel, sequel and spin-off series are often poor imitation of the TV shows from which they were spawned. Better Call Saul deftly bucks that trend. Set in the early 2000s, it follows the story of con-man turned small-time lawyer, Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk), six years before the events of Breaking Bad, showing his transformation into the persona of criminal-for-hire Saul Goodman. Shrewd and blackly funny, it is a modern-day twist on Jekyll and Hyde as flawed but lovable Jimmy slowly morphs into callous and unscrupulous Saul before our eyes.

Did you know? All the episode titles in series one end with an O.

Series 1-4, 40 episodes, approx. 2,400 minutes. Available on Netflix and DVD.

The Walking Dead

Post-apocalyptic zombie horror

Based on the comic book of the same name, The Walking Dead follows a group of survivors in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse, led by former sheriff’s deputy Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln). It is set in and around Atlanta, Georgia, and then later in Virginia with the aim of the game to stay alive among the hoards of “walkers” as the undead are nicknamed. Rule one: Blood will be spilled. Rule two: Safe havens are never safe. Rule three: Don’t get too fond of any of the characters.

Did you know? The “organs” munched on by zombies are actually hams soaked in vinegar.

Series 1-8, 115 episodes, approx. 6,900 minutes. Available on Sky Box Set, Prime Video and DVD. Series 9 now showing on Fox UK.

As chosen by Vicky Allan, Barry Didcock, Teddy Jamieson, Alison Rowat, Garry Scott and Susan Swarbrick