Top BritBox Originals of 2023
- Stonehouse│ Premiered January 17, 2023
The true story of disgraced Labour minister John Stonehouse by acclaimed writer John Preston with BAFTA award-winning and Emmy-nominated Matthew Macfadyen in the leading role and co-starring Keeley Hawes as Stonehouse’s wife Barbara.
The three-part drama, directed by BAFTA-nominated Jon S. Baird relates how Stonehouse, a high-flying member of Harold Wilson’s Government, vanished from the beach of a large luxury hotel in Florida in November 1974, leaving a neatly pile of clothes as he swam into the sea, intent on faking his own death. The MP left behind his loving wife Barbara and three young children as a shocked public and media presumed he had drowned or been eaten by sharks.
As the drama unfolds, it becomes apparent his reputation as a devoted family man masked the truth, as he’d embarked on an extra marital affair with his secretary, Sheila Buckley, and acted as a spy for the Czech Secret Service in the 1960s.
His complex financial status and relationships eventually took their toll, with Stonehouse deliberately stealing the identity of a recently deceased constituent. Stonehouse applied for a passport in the dead man’s name and began to weave an elaborate conspiracy, seeking a new life in Australia. But his plans soon turned sour as Stonehouse was arrested by Australian police who had been under the mistaken impression that he was the fugitive peer Lord Lucan. Brought back to the UK by Scotland Yard Detectives, Stonehouse found that he was crucial to keeping the Labour government in power with its wafer-thin majority.
- Beyond Paradise│ Season 1 Premiered February 24, 2023
After leaving the tropical paradise of Saint Marie in search of a quieter life, Humphrey Goodman takes up the position of DI in the sleepy Devon town of Shipton Abbott, the home of his fiancée Martha. However, their dream of living happily ever after together is quickly shattered when a crime wave unexpectedly hits the town. With his formidable investigative experience, Humphrey sets out to crack a range of criminal cases in the hope of restoring the peace and tranquility of this corner of rural Britain.
- The Confessions of Frannie Langton │ Season 1 Premiered March 8, 2023
Set against the dazzling opulence of Georgian London, The Confessions of Frannie Langton, narrates Frannie’s journey from a Jamaican plantation to the grand Mayfair mansion of celebrated scientist George Benham and his exquisitely beautiful wife, Madame Marguerite Benham.
In a misguided and monstrous gesture Frannie is gifted to Benham by the man who owns her, John Langton, and she is employed as a maid in the household much to her chagrin.
As the plot twists and turns, events take a fateful turn as the Benhams are found murdered in their beds, with Frannie lying next to Marguerite. Frannie is accused of murder; a murder she has no recollection of, other than she couldn’t possibly have killed her mistress because she was devoted to her. Dragged away to prison, Frannie attempts to piece together the events of that night. She is deep into a laudanum addiction and unable to recall what happened.
Will Frannie recall the haunting events of that night? All she knows is she loved Marguerite passionately and cannot believe she would have hurt her. But if not Frannie, who did commit the double murder? Others have motive, but only Frannie is accused and she will hang if found guilty. What hope does she have of clearing her name?
- Sister Boniface Mysteries │ Season 2 Premiered April 4, 2023
The acclaimed, light-hearted murder-mystery series returns, along with its eponymous Vespa-driving, crime-solving Catholic nun. It’s the 1960s and Sister Boniface, with her aptitude for detective work, is an invaluable asset to the Great Slaughter Police Department.
- The Ghost of Richard Harris │ Premiered May 5, 2023
Richard Harris a fascinating man as seen through the eyes of his three sons, BAFTA Award-winning actor Jared Harris, actor Jamie Harris and director Damian Harris.
- Peter O’Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba │ Premiered May 9, 2023
Documentary about legendary actor Peter O’Toole who brought a touch of danger to his art and a stroke of madness to his life yet inspired a generation of movie makers.
Reflecting O’Toole’s theatrical legacy, this film is structured into four acts each introduced by a quote about O’Toole that encapsulates his life during a specific period. Each act expands into a holistic narrative addressing questions such as his self-belief, his alcoholism, his relationships with women, his belief in socialism and his selective embrace of Irishness.
While O’Toole’s words (gleaned from hundreds of hours of archival interviews) act as a narrator of his own journey, Jim Sheridan further explores the story through interviews with O’Toole’s family, artists, actors and directors that knew him well.
- The Tower │ Season 2 Premiered May 16, 2023
The Tower is based on the acclaimed debut novel by Kate London, a former detective who spent eight years in the Metropolitan Police’s homicide squad. A veteran cop and a teenage fall to their deaths from a tower block in London’s East End. Left alive on the roof are rookie police officer Lizzie Griffiths and a five-year-old boy. Within hours, Lizzie has disappeared. As DSI officer Sarah Collins sets out to uncover the truth around the grisly deaths, the investigation takes her into the dark heart of policing in a complex and diverse city. The Tower will bring this thrilling, intelligent crime story to screen – a tale grounded in the terrifying realities of life on the beat.
- The Curse │ Season 2 Premiered September 6, 2023
Set in 1985 — around 18 months after his gang accidentally pulled off the biggest gold heist in history — the new six-part series finds Albert Fantoni (Mustafa) living on the infamous Costa Del Crime. What becomes quickly evident is that Spain isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The stakes are higher, the gangsters are scarier, and the vultures are beginning to circle. Behind the cocktails around the pool and the paradise façade the calamitous gang have very much got out of the frying pan and into the fire. The Curse takes hold in the Spanish heat and it’s a guessing game who will get out alive!”
Crime-comedy caper. Written by the combined multi-BAFTA winning talents of Tom Davis and director James De Frond (Murder in Successville, King Gary), and Allan Mustafa, Steve Stamp and Hugo Chegwin (People Just Do Nothing) who also star alongside Davis as the calamitous cockney clowns.
- Avoidance │Season 1 Premiered September 20, 2023
Avoidance’ follows hapless anti-hero Jonathan who is struggling to get back on his feet after breaking up with partner Claire. After Claire has accused him of being difficult to live with, and keen to avoid conflict at all costs, Jonathan briefly moves in with his sister and her wife. As he tries to present the best front to Claire, Jonathan is also trying his best to pull himself together for the sake of his son. Written by, and starring, actor and comedian Romesh Ranganathan.
- The Sixth Commandment │Season 1 Premiered October 4, 2023
The Sixth Commandment tells the story of how the meeting of an inspirational teacher, Peter Farquhar (Timothy Spall), and a charismatic young student, Ben Field (Éanna Hardwicke), who bonded over their love of books and involvement with the Church of England, set the stage for one of the most complex and confounding criminal cases in recent memory. It also focuses on how suspicions around Ben’s relationship with Peter’s deeply religious neighbour Ann Moore-Martin (Anne Reid), also targeted by Field, unlocked a series of stunning revelations, culminating in a headline-grabbing trial.
The Sixth Commandment captures the initial seductions, the extreme gaslighting, the gripping police investigation and Peter’s killer finally being brought to justice four years after his untimely death. While poignantly highlighting the damaging effect of isolation and loneliness, it also celebrates both Peter and Ann’s lives as cherished mentors, much loved relatives and adored friends.
This series, written by Sarah Phelps (A Very British Scandal, The Pale Horse) and directed by Saul Dibb (The Salisbury Poisonings), is inspired by the critically acclaimed and BAFTA nominated documentary Catching A Killer: A Diary From The Grave.
- Payback │ Season 1 Premiered October 19, 2023
Starring Morven Christie and Peter Mullan, the six-part crime thriller tells the story of a woman who becomes entangled in a police investigation into a dangerous crime lord. Created by Debbie O’Malley, whose writing credits include Call the Midwife, Humans and Harlots, the drama will be produced by Jed Mercurio’s HTM Television, with the Line of Duty showrunner also acting as an executive producer. The six-part crime thriller follows Lexie Noble, who gets mixed up in a perilous police operation to bring down a notorious crime lord, Cal Morris. With an idyllic family lifestyle in the suburbs of Edinburgh, Lexie is unaware her husband, Jared, has been laundering Cal Morris’ illegal earnings on a vast scale. Jared’s every move is being monitored by financial investigators DC Jibran Khan and DCI Adam Guthrie, who are determined to use the Noble family to bring Cal Morris to justice.” A partner in Jared’s business, Lexie is forced into working for Cal, at the same time as the police net inexorably tightens. Soon Lexie finds herself walking a treacherous tightrope between Cal and the police in which her safety, and even her life, are in grave danger.