Rolling iPlayer and other UK TV Streaming 2024 and onwards!

Thought I'd revive this as there are two decent things up right now.

The Way - "a three-part British television series, created by James Graham, Michael Sheen and Adam Curtis, with Sheen directing from a Graham script. The series is set in the 2020s and follows the Driscoll family as they attempt to flee the United Kingdom, which has descended into anti-Welsh civil conflict following riots in Port Talbot." (my bold) - this has the right-wing media absolutely furious for some reason, this is basically why I'm watching it (plus Adam Curtis helped make it, and you really can tell) - I am just half an episode in so far, so probably not time for thoughts yet.

Boarders - "comedy-drama" about five poor black kids being given scholarships to go to a private school, it is dark and unfunny and weird, which is exactly the way I like my comedy, also relentlessly grim picture of private school culture so far.

Both of these are on the BBC.

Anyone else watched/watching 'The Dry' on itv? First series just finished on regular TV and second is up on itvx now. Loved the first series and am a couple of episodes into the 2nd and the standard has been maintained. I think off the back of reading some marian Keyes I was well disposed to some ultra snarky Irish family with a v funny look at a serious topic business. The dad is great and the conversation where he apologies to his surviving son about not being the father he was to him that he managed to be to his deceased son was incredible. Siobhan Cullen is great as Caroline tho my opinion is probably clouded by the fact that I massively fancy her.

We finished the Dry when it was on RTÉ via VPN, seconding the recommendation.

Didn't know there was a new thread.
Anyway not saying which show but was mildly annoyed/amused at a cold open to a new series where the main characters are dropped into a rapidly escalating situation where serious danger looks inevitable and then... awwww it was the old "training exercise" all along! used to be a staple in TV dramas and films!

I'm on Flagging so screwed that up eh, should've been a spoiler tag

I watched all 4 episodes of Douglas Is Cancelled, expecting it to be 'lol @ woke kids' (it is, but it's quite funny in places - "Would you like a list of countries where homosexuality is actually punished by death?” “No” “Why not?” “Because it’s racist”). Instead it became something quite different - I don't know how others felt watching ep3 but the sheer relentless SUFFOCATION of it and urge to GET OUT was pretty heavy on me (I have not been in this situation so it's not that).

It's Stephen Moffat btw, and I did not know until a couple of weeks ago that Moffat had a pilot filmed for a TV Sitcom called "The Office" back in 1996 with Robert Lindsay (and Paul Robinson off Neighbours). You can watch the whole thing if you like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vUWv86AHMw

all the sport has killed tv recently

lots of the Saturday night foreign series still on iplayer and it's generally good, am currently enjoying the one that just finished, Jana.

Walter Presents on More 4 also. last of those was The Cinderella murder. before that they repeated the whole 30 Astrid in Paris episodes.

Did anyone watch the (weirdly) underhyped Rebus show on iPlayer?

I've only read a couple Rankins but they mostly seemed like cheesey formula fiction: Rebus gets case; Rebus is arsehole and goes off the rails (anger, drink, or both); Rebus gets taken off case; Rebus solves case. I don't think Rankin's a terribly good writer, and Michael Connolly knocks spots off him as a proceduralist.

But the TV show was different - it's still Rebus being an arsehole getting thrown off the case, but instead of a whodunnit, Rebus is just one character in crime drama ensemble - it's Rebus goes Happy Valley.

Anyway -- it wasn't great, but it was very watchable and maybe better than the books? The actor playing Rebus, a guy from Burnistoun, was enjoyably smarmy and moody.

have read the first dozen rebus books and the recent series waiting to watch. haven't bothered with the previous attempts (currently being repeated on drama), maybe i should.

Threads is on bbc4 next wednesday

(Inside Sellafield beforehand)

never seen it, maybe it's time. it might take my mind off my usual climate catastrophe doom spiral thoughts.

They've put eight classic 40 Minutes documentaries up for a few weeks. Only one one seen, I think, is the wonderful Heart of the Angel with 48 hours in the life of the Tube station in 1989

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00cyyfj/episodes/player

not strictly uk streaming, just uk tv, but Lego Masters Australia is my favourite of the various versions and is a fun sunday afternoon watch. but they keep having special guests on, special guests that nobody outside of australia has heard of.

this series is Grand Masters, with hand-picked teams from previous series (and after 4 weeks there's been only 1 elimination)

(Doctor Karl - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Kruszelnicki )

These 40 Minutes docs are so amazing. Some only up till next Tuesday

Watched the Angel one based on your recommendation, thanks! So recent and so like another world somehow.

1984 starring Peter Cushing, from 1954

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00256y7

Sunday night at 10pm

BBC4 and iplayer have also just reshown Hardy's Wessex Tales from 1973 starring people like billie whitelaw and john hurt. The Withered Arm has a bit of a MR James / tales of the unexpected feel about it.

(there's been a slew of Hardy adaptations shown recently - two versions of Madding Crowd yesterday on bbc4 and film4. it's odd because it's not an anniversary)

Oh, thanks for the heads up. Better crack open the VPN. I have the Carey Mulligan version of Far from the Madding Crowd permanently stored on my Sky box. It's one of my favourite films.

that was bbc4 yesterday evening, the film4 matinee was julie christie and terrance stamp version

Watching the latest season of A House Through Time.

For those not in the know, the concept is historian David Olusoga picks a random residential building and goes through the life histories of the people who lived there. It is very People's History, focused on telling stories of ordinary people instead of Great Statesmen, the houses tend to be in working class or lower middle class areas. The first four seasons were all about places in cities other than London which I think was a conscious choice too.

Anyway this one switches things up by focusing on two different houses, one in London the other in Berlin, through the rise of the nazis and WWII. Watched the first ep and am instantly hooked - the Berlin house's tenants include a black university professor from Togo! People in both houses end up involved in their country's respective film industries!

This is amongst the best stuff the BBC produces imo and if you're frustrated by those shitty "I am going on a journey to explore topic x" fluff docs BBC4 usually does you owe it to yourself to check these out.

The Sound of Metal is on here, watched it last night - excellent. (If you find the first couple of minutes too much, noise wise, it does not continue in that vein at all.)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0028nyw

Pauline Boty documentary Monday on bbc4
followed by Pop Goes The Easel
and another hour or so about Lee Miller

(i forgot about this. turned it on and there was Travis...)

only two episodes in but Families Like Ours seems a bit different from the usual foreign cop drama Saturday night programming. Denmark is drowning and they are evacuating the entire country...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002brfd/families-like-ours

Going to catch up with the new Adam Curtis as soon as I can, but have spent the last few days binging What It Feels Like For A Girl

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002c6nz/what-it-feels-like-for-a-girl-series-1-episode-1

Finished this now, it's based on Paris Lees' autobiography, so very much based around Nottingham gay scene of early 2000s (& I know that will be of interest to at least one person on here) - here's the Guardian review, I think 4/5 is about right, it doesn't have any of the annoying RTD quirks this kind of thing usually has.

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jun/03/what-it-feels-like-for-a-girl-review-deeply-disturbing-and-totally-fearless-tv