James R | On 06, Jul 2021

Acorn TV has officially landed in the UK. The AMC Network platform, which specialises in British and international TV, has racked up more than 1 million subscribers in the US, and aims to find similar success on British soil by growing a bumper crop of crime and period dramas. The service launched in 2020 with the UK debut of Queens of Mystery, plus Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, Partners in Crime and The Witness for the Prosecution and hit Welsh drama Keeping Faith.

This summer, there’s more crime drama and mystery on offer, from Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries returning for a second season and the Australian series My Life Is Murder starring Lucy Lawless to Murderland, featuring Robbie Coltrane, and The Helen West Casebook, starring Amanda Burton, Martin Freeman and Jim Carter.

Here’s what’s coming to Acorn TV in July 2021:

Episodes: Season 1 – 5th July

British writing couple Sean (Stephen Mangan, Green Wing) and Beverley (Tamsin Greig, Friday Night Dinners) are commissioned to transform their successful British sitcom for a US audience with Matt Le Blanc (Friends) up for the lead role. From interfering studio bigwigs to Le Blanc sending up himself, this satire of the TV industry is a self-aware delight.

Doctor Thorne: Season 1 – 5th July

Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey) adapts Anthony Trollope’s best-selling novel for this critically acclaimed period drama that stars a line-up of acting greats including Tom Hollander as the titular lead alongside Rebecca Front and Ian McShane.

My Life Is Murder: Season 1 – 5th July

Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess, Parks and Recreation) plays retired cop Alexa Crowe, who has turned intrepid private investigator in this entertaining Australian mystery series. With her ex-boss (Bernard Curry, Once Upon a Time) constantly asking for help with cold cases alongside rookie police data-analyst (Ebony Vagulans) wanting to be mentored by her, her crime-solving days may never be over.

A Place to Call Home: Season 4 – 12th July

This internationally loved Australian saga, which aired on the BBC in the UK, follows a privileged family’s confrontation with a changing era and one woman’s journey to heal her soul. Set in rural Australia in the 1950s, this sweeping, romantic drama sees acclaimed actor Marta Dusseldorp (Jack Irish, Stateless) take the lead as Sarah Adams, a nurse with a mysterious past who returns to Australia after 20 years abroad. Series Four finds Sarah’s suspicions aroused when she realises that the death of the local teacher, Milly Davis, may not have been a suicide as first suspected and James and Olivia’s sham marriage falls further into disarray when she learns that although they aren’t George’s biological parents, the courts will still favour the Bligh family in a custody battle.

Murderland – 12th July

Robbie Coltrane (Harry Potter, Cracker) stars in this gripping thriller about revenge, redemption, and rough justice. Years after a young girl (Bel Powley, King of Staten Island, The Diary of a Teenage Girl) witnesses her mother’s murder, she finally comes forward to help the original detective on the case to try and solve the crime. Starring Amanda Hale (Ripper Street, The Crimson Petal and the White) and Sharon Small (London Kills, Law & Order: UK).

The Windermere Children – 19th July

This stunning, critically acclaimed film recounts the true story of a group of young adults rescued from Nazi concentration camps and brought for rehabilitation, on the shores of Lake Windermere, to prepare for a new life in the UK. We follow the group of orphaned teenagers as they arrive and begin to adjust to their new surroundings, trying to shed the traumatic physical and emotional scars they bear and cope with their terrible losses. This deeply touching drama features outstanding performances including Iain Glen (Jack Taylor, Game of Thrones), Romola Garai (The Crimson Petal and the White, The Hour), Tim Mcinnerny (Marple, Notting Hill) and Thomas Kretschmann (The Pianist, Young Victoria) and includes cameos from the surviving children of Windermere themselves.

Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries: Season 2 – 19th July

The stylish and intrepid investigator Peregrine Fisher (Geraldine Hakewill, Wanted) returns to our screens for a second thrilling series of intriguing mysteries. As murders continue to plague the streets of 1960s Melbourne, our daring detective must tackle her trickiest assignment yet; juggling her career, the busy life of an Adventuress, and her romance with Detective James Steed (Joel Jackson, Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door, Deadline Gallipolli). Playful but never mocking, exuberant but never naive, Peregrine Fisher continues her mission to do the legacy of her famous aunt justice, to find her way in changing times and to make a difference in the world. Episodes 1 and 2 arrive together, then one arrives per week on subsequent Mondays.

Wisting: Season 1 – 19th July

Set in the unique and stunning landscape of Norway, this Norwegian/English language series, based on the crime novels by Jørn Lier Horst, follows homicide detective William Wisting (Sven Nordin) as he wrestles with the most challenging and shocking case of his career: a wanted American serial killer living among them. Meanwhile, Line – Wisting’s intrepid journalist daughter – is chasing headlines, leading her straight into the path of the serial killer. Suddenly, an old case comes back to haunt Wisting, and a dreadful accusation is hurled at him. How will Wisting save other lives when he finds himself suspended and fighting for his own reputation, career, and life? Starring Carrie-Anne Moss (Memento, Jessica Jones, The Matrix) and Thea Green Lundberg.

The Helen West Case Book – 26th July

As a crown prosecutor, Helen West (Amanda Burton, Silent Witness, The Level) must deal with domestic abuse, sex crimes, and murder. Driven by a strong sense of justice, she pursues cases even when her boss insists she drop them. Although she’s determined to right the wrongs in others’ lives, her personal life could use some work, particularly her relationship with handsome policeman Geoffrey Bailey. Starring Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, Sherlock, Black Panther), Jim Carter (Downton Abbey), Conor Mullen (Reckless) and Nicholas Woodeson (Death of Stalin).

 

Acorn TV is available on Roku, Fire TV, Android and iOS and Apple TV, costing £4.99 a month or £49.99 a year.

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