Powers into the New Year with a strong slate of exclusives, featuring BritBox Originals plus new series launching express from the UK. My To whet your appetite, here is a taster of some key titles you can look forward to bingeing on BritBox in 2023, ranging from new seasons of favourites such as Sanditon, Sister Boniface Mysteries and The Cleaner, to the final instalment of multi-award-winning crime drama Happy Valley, the brand new Death in Paradise spin-off Beyond Paradise, and actor and comedian Lenny Henry’s semi-autobiographical six-parter Three Little Birds.
Happy Valley – Season 3
Thursday, 9 February 2023
A global hit with critics and viewers alike, Sally Wainwright’s gritty multi-BAFTA winning crime drama Happy Valley returns for a final six-part instalment, launching on BritBox express from the UK, and featuring Sarah Lancashire (Last Tango in Halifax) in her award-winning role as Sergeant Catherine Cawood. Season three sees Catherine discovering the remains of a gangland murder victim in a drained reservoir, sparking a chain of events that unwittingly leads her straight back to the manipulative Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton – Grantchester, War & Peace, McMafia). A strong supporting cast includes Siobhan Finneran as Catherine’s troubled sister Clare, plus newcomers Jack Bandeira (Sex Education) and Anthony Flanagan (Gentleman Jack)
Seasons one and two will also be available to binge-watch from 9 February exclusively on BritBox.
The Confessions of Frannie Langton – BritBox Original
Set against the dazzling opulence of Georgian London, The Confessions of Frannie Langton follows a young woman’s journey from life as a Jamaican plantation slave to the grand Mayfair mansion of a celebrated scientist and his glamorous wife.
When Frannie (Karla-Simone Spence – Blue Story, Wannabe) is ‘gifted’ by her owner to the family as a maid, she finds herself trapped in a deeply troubled household and becomes the chief suspect in a double murder. Hot from UK screens, this powerful period drama is based on the novelby Sara Collins and also features Sophie Cookson (The Trial of Christine Keeler) and Steven Macintosh (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Luther).
Beyond Paradise – BritBox Original
What really happens after happily ever after? Beyond Paradise follows DI Humphrey Goodman and his fiancée Martha after their romance reached its emotional finale in the long-running hit Death in Paradise.
In this brand new spin-off, they begin a new life together on England’s beautiful Devon coast, with Martha (Sally Bretton – Not Going Out) pursuing her dream of running her own business, while Humphrey (Kris Marshall – My Family, Sanditon) joins the local police and must solve a host of baffling mysteries, from an entire family disappearing into thin air, to a woman who claims she was attacked by a ghost. All ten seasons of Death in Paradise are already available to binge on BritBox.
Sanditon Season 3
The charming Jane Austen-inspired period drama is back for a third season, as feisty heroine Charlotte Heywood (Rose Williams, Curfew) returns to the pretty seaside town of Sanditon to continue her quest for independence and contentment.
Season two ended with Charlotte, distraught after the departure of Alexander Colbourne (Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Industry), accepting another marriage proposal – setting the stage for more romantic conflict.
Season three of the Regency-era fan favourite also sees the return of numerous familiar faces, including Kris Marshal (Death in Paradise, Beyond Paradise) as Tom Parker and Crystal Clarke (Ordeal by Innocence) as Georgiana Lambe. Seasons one and two of Sanditon are currently available to stream exclusively on BritBox.
The Cleaner Season 2 – BritBox Original
Described as “gruesomely enjoyable” and “brilliantly funny” by the UK press, this dark comedy is back for another blood-spattered season.
Greg Davies (The Inbetweeners, Cuckoo, Taskmaster) returns as Paul ‘Wicky’ Wickstead, a middle-aged crime-scene cleaner who mops up after grisly murders and untimely deaths. For him, a bloodbath and a trip down the pub are all in a day’s work! Expect a raft of new guest stars and plenty of laughs in this sitcom with a macabre twist.
Archie – BritBox Original
Cary Grant was arguably Hollywood’s greatest leading man, but his suave exterior masked a dark past. Telling the story of Archibald Alexander Leach’s troubled childhood in Bristol, it explores how extreme poverty, his father’s adultery and the loss of his older brother tore his family apart.
A four-part drama by BAFTA-winning screenwriter Jeff Pope (Stan & Ollie, The Lost King), Archie stars Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter, Peter Pan) in the title role, alongside Harriet Walter (Succession, Ted Lasso, Killing Eve) and Laura Aikman(Gavin and Stacey), revealing how deceit, cruelty and one overpowering lie shaped the life of a global star.
Sister Boniface Mysteries Season 2 – BritBox Original
Time to get back into the habit! The Father Brown spin-off series Sister Boniface Mysteries, set in rural England in the 1960s, returns for a second season, with Lorna Watson reprising her role as the plucky nun who’s a moped rider, winemaker and part-time forensic scientist.
Follow Sister Boniface out of St Vincent’s Convent as she embarks on a range of new forensics-driven investigations, alongside regular cast members Max Brown(Downton Abbey, The Tudors), Amanda Raison (Spooks – also on BritBox) and Jerry Iwu (Sex Education).
Three Little Birds – BritBox Original
Spirited, funny and heartfelt, this semi-autobiographical drama series written and produced by one of the UK’s national treasures – actor and comedian Lenny Henry – is inspired by the true life experiences of his mother and a generation who travelled far from their roots to make a new home in Britain.
Set in 1957, Three Little Birds celebrates immigration, community and the strength of black womanhood, and features rising stars Rochelle Neil (The Nevers, Guilt), Yazmin Belo (What Just Happened) and Saffron Coomber(Tracey Beaker Returns, Eastenders) as three young women who board a ship from Jamaica bound for a new life in the UK.
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