The United Kingdom has produced some of the best TV dramas in recent years, and 2018 was no exception. The likes of Killing Eve and Bodyguard took the world by storm, and 2019 looks set to be another good year for British television dramas.
There are going to plenty of things on offer which will, hopefully, cater to everybody's tastes. There will be thrillers, period dramas, fantasy TV shows and even some sci-fi stuff thrown into the mix. Something for everybody.
Here are the ten British TV dramas people should watch out for in 2019. Some of these a brand-spanking new shows, and others are well-established ones, yet they all look set to really get fans on the edge of their seats or sofas.
So, without further ado, here they are.
Gangs of London
Nope. This won't be a British take on Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York. Instead, Gangs of London marks Gareth Evans' return to his homeland (well, technically he's from Wales) and it'll also mark his first foray into television. Evans became world-famous for his work on The Raid and The Raid 2, which are both arguably some of the best action movies ever made. He's now going to try his hand at doing something similar, but for television, which is very exciting indeed, and we cannot wait to see what it produces.
Gangs of London will air on Sky Atlantic sometime in 2019.
The Victim
Scotland seems to be a good place to set an effective thriller, and that's what the BBC has done with The Victim. Written and created by Rob Williams, The Victim follows the story of a mother, Anna (played by Trainspotting's Kelly Macdonald) whose son was murdered when he was just a boy by another minor. Things take a turn when she identifies a man, Craig, via social media as being the same person who murdered her son. He's then violently attacked in his own home. This will open up a whole mystery of whether Craig really is who he says he is, and also will spark the debate of who's the real victim in this disturbing and perplexing case.
The Victim is currently airing on BBC, and is available to watch via BBC iPlayer.
Good Omens
Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett worked together to write the incredible book Good Omens, and that same book is now being turned into a TV show. Gaiman has quite a lot of experience in seeing his work be transferred to the small screen and his stuff tends to do very well there. Just take a look at how well American Gods has faired. It looks like the same thing might happen with Good Omens which sees David Tennant and Michael Sheen in the leads. The two of them together certainly seems like a recipe for success.
All six episodes of Good Omens are set to be released on May 31, 2019 on Amazon Prime, and later broadcast weekly on BBC Two.
Englistan
Riz Ahmed is quickly becoming a force to be reconned with in Hollywood circles. He's now starring in blockbuster hits, but he's also shown that he can do smaller budget stuff as well as work well on TV. Now, he's turning his hand to creating and producing his own shows, and his first one will be Englistan, which will tell the story of three generations of a British Pakistani family, the Latifs: Jamal and Fatima, their children Ashraf, Razia and Asim, and their grandchildren Zahed, Naseem and Ayesha. This definitely feels like a show to look out for in 2019. Is there no end to Ahmed's talents? Seemingly not.
Englistan will air on BBC Two in 2019.
Beecham House
Fans of Downton Abbey should look out for this one. However, this ITV period drama does seem to have one or two things that set it apart from the popular BBC show. Created by Gurinder Chadha, the show takes place in Delhi before British rule, depicts the lives of the Beecham family in their newly-bought house. The family is headed by John Beecham (played by Tom Bateman), a former soldier with the East India Company who seems to be keeping many secrets. The show seems like a real winner and should prove to be very popular with viewers the world over.
Beecham House will air on ITV in 2019.
A Christmas Carol
This is an interesting one. Peaky Blinders creator, Steven Knight and actor Tom Hardy have already teamed up to make Taboo, and season two of that is on its way. They've now teamed up again to do their take on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, which is set to air on BBC One over Christmas. Tom Hardy will star in the series, but it's not clear who'll he'll be playing. One of the three ghosts perhaps. This will be a three-part adaptation for the BBC, and Steven Knight is hoping it'll be the start of many other Dickens stories he plans to develop for television.
A Christmas Carol will air on BBC One over the Christmas period.
Black Mirror: Season 5
Charlie Brooker's TV show Black Mirror remains to this day one of the most fascinating and ground-breaking shows around. It's coming into its fifth season and 2018 saw the people behind Black Mirror release their choose-your-own-adventure type movie on Netflix, Bandersnatch. It was an interesting premise, yet it seems as though viewers aren't quite ready that sort of thing yet. That said, fans are still very much excited to see what Brooker and co. have come up with for the fifth season of Black Mirror. Very little is known about what's going to happen in this season, yet we do know that Anthony Mackie, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Miley Cyrus will star in episodes of the season.
Black Mirror season 5 will air on Netflix in 2019.
The Crown: Season 3
People just love to know more about the British Royal Family. There have been countless shows made about them, yet none of them have captured the hearts and minds of audiences quite like Netflix's The Crown. The show follows the life of Queen Elizabeth II and it's now coming into its third season. One of the big changes in this season will be the fact that Oscar-winner Olivia Coleman will now be playing The Queen, taking over from Clarie Foy. Tobias Menzies was cast as Prince Philip, replacing Matt Smith. Coleman and Menzies will star in both season three and four of the show.
The Crown will air on Netflix in 2019.
Line of Duty: Season 5
Before he wrote Bodyguard, Jed Mercurio came up with British police drama, Line of Duty, which much like his other show, caught the world by storm. People just love the show and it's now into its fifth season, which promises to be the very best yet. Unfortunately, Keeley Hawes won't be returning to the show, yet season five sees police anti-corruption unit AC-12 and creator Mercurio promises that it will explore new territory for the show. It turns out that police corruption is even more widespread than AC-12 realised and they have a lot more work on their hands in season five.
Line of Duty is currently airing on BBC, and is available to watch via BBC iPlayer.
Killing Eve: Season 2
Killing Eve's first season was a bit of a sleeper hit last year. It was all dropped at once on BBC Three and its popularity was very much down to good word of mouth, People couldn't stop talking about this unusual show, which in many ways is a sort of dark comedy about a frustrated MI5 officer, Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh), who's far too talented to be stuck behind a desk.
Her life takes a turn when she's asked to track down talented psychopathic assassin Villanelle (Jodie Comer), and they both become obsessed with each other. Season two promises to be one of the TV events of the year and people are desperate to find out how it'll all unfold between Even and Villanelle.
Killing Eve season two's premiere episode aired on April 7 on BBC America. It'll air in the UK on BBC One sometime in 2019.