Ten Great New Shows. And Some Oldies.

By Erica and Karen

The world is pretty topsy-turvy these days, so we need some engrossing distractions. Here are ten shows that meet that requirement:

• Blue Lights. Britbox. Three seasons of a beautifully written and wonderfully acted police show set in Belfast focused on three recruits, their seasoned mentors, and the grit and humanity of their work. Forbes calls it the best cop show on TV.
• The Forsythes. PBS. This series, inspired by John Galsworthy novels, will cover the family before the time covered in the John Galsworthy series, The Forsythe Saga. We loved those books, and the previous series which brought them to life, and are hopeful that this series–written by the writer of Poldark–will be equally engaging. Premiering on March 2
• The Pitt. HBO Max. Every hour a different episode of real life and real choices in the ER. Read Frank Rich’s piece on it here.
• The West Wing. Netflix and others. We started watching this series again from the pilot, which deals smartly with proportionate and disproportionate responses to an attack, refugees on a raft, the religious right…  And that was 1999. We love President Bartlett, his Nobel prize for mathematics, and his crew. We will be watching through all seven seasons.
• The Count of Monte Cristo. PBS. This sweeping and stylish drama, based on one of our favorite Alexandre Dumas novels, demonstrates that, indeed, revenge is a meal best served cold.
• The Night Agent. Netflix. Season 3. Who is betraying the country? A tangled web. We like tangled webs.
• The Night Manager. Prime video. Based on a John Le Carre novel. Really bad bad guys. A few good guys. And Tom Hiddleston, who looks fabulous and speaks in full, elegant sentences no matter the provocation as he seeks to stop the baddest guy of all.
• Drops of God. Apple TV. Season 2. For wine lovers. Season 1 was riveting–in three languages. Season 2 carries on with the story of the wine-loving team as they hit many roadblocks.
• Paradise. Hulu. Season 2. What is going on in this weird future world? Who murdered the President? How is Graceland involved? What’s going to happen to the baby?

And don’t forget these three long-running British series, all set in the UK, all on PBS. All just make you feel good: one focused on nuns and midwives through world wars and beyond, one on vets and rural England before and after the last world war, and one on a trailblazing female detective in Victorian times. Pick your candy. 

• Call the Midwife
• All Creatures Great and Small
• Miss Scarlet and The Duke. 

What have you been watching?