David Farnor | On 07, Feb 2021

Acorn TV has officially landed in the UK, and it continues to build a library of exclusives this February.

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 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.

To fill up the cold, winter nights, it’s serving up crime mystery aplenty with Agatha Raisin and Rosemary and Thyme, plus Nordic noir Bäckström, a double helping of dramas from Down Under and a spy drama based no Joseph Conrad’s The Secret Agent.

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

Agatha Raisin: Season 1 to 3 – 1st February

Hollywood favourite Ashley Jensen (After Life, Extras, Ugly Betty) plays the eponymous lead Agatha Raisin, a high-flying PR guru turned amateur sleuth in the hit series. Based on MC Beaton’s bestselling novels, the series can now be seen in its entirety – including the pilot.

The Secret Agent – 1st February

Toby Jones (Detectorists, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) stars in this thrilling spy drama based on Joseph Conrad’s timeless novel. Anton Verloc (Jones) is a modest Soho shopkeeper, but unbeknownst to everyone, even his loyal wife, played by TV favourite Vicky McClure (Line of Duty, This is England), he’s an undercover agent for the Russian embassy. This three -part miniseries follows Verloc as he plays a dangerous game spying on an agitating anarchist group.

A Place to Call Home: Season 2 – 1st February

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.

All Creatures Great & Small: Christmas Special – 1st February

The Christmas special for the hit adaptation of the classic British veterinary drama joins Season 1. The holiday episode brings more festive cheer to fans, following on from the season one finale with James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) deliberating his return to Scotland for Christmas. His heart still belongs to Helen Alderson (Rachel Shenton, White Gold, Hollyoaks) who recently got engaged to Hugh Hulton (Matthew Lewis – Ripper Street, Happy Valley).

Love My Way: Season 1 – 8th February

Frankie (Claudia Karvan, Newton’s Law, Jack Irish) is a tempestuous ball of mad life who works as an illustrator at a large daily newspaper. She lives with Tom (Brendan Cowell, The Borgias, The Letdown), a fallen star chef, now a cook at the local rehabilitation hospital. Just down the road in a much nicer house lives Tom’s brother Charlie (Dan Wyllie, Romper Stomper, No Activity), an emotionally stunted architect, surfer…and father to Frankie’s daughter Lou. Along with Charlie’s ambitious new wife Julia (Asher Keddie, Party Tricks, The Cry), this group of thirty-somethings must tackle life and love, truth and lies, all in a tangled web. Season 2 arrives on 22nd February.

Moving On: Season 5 and 6 – 8th February

Jimmy McGovern’s gripping series of plays set in contemporary Britain; all share the theme of major life changes. Series 5 and 6 stars Ray Fearon (Plebs, Fleabag), Danny Ryder (Secret State, Hollyoaks), Hayley Mills (Midsomer Murders, Wild at Heart), Alicia Brockenbrow (Boiling Point, Pitching In), Kenneth Cranham (Maleficent, Layer Cake), Graeme Hawley (Coronation Street, Peaky Blinders), Olivia Fenton (Scott & Bailey), Charles Venn (Casualty, Eastenders), and Wil Johnson (Holby City, Hollyoaks). Season 7 and 8 arrive on 22nd February.

Bäckström – 8th February

This dark Nordic noir from Sweden, based on Leif GW Persson’s novel Can You Die Twice?, follows respected detective Evert Bäckström (Kjell Bergqvistist, The Wedding Photographer, A Summer Tale). But when a bullet ridden skull is found in the Swedish archipelago, DNA results confirm it belongs to a victim of Thailand’s 2004 tsunami, and Bäckström is faced with an inexplicable mystery that even he could not have imagined. Can you die twice?

Dead Lucky – 15th February

Rachel Griffiths (Six Feet Under, Total Control) stars in this thrilling four-part Australian crime thriller as Grace Gibbs, a detective obsessed with catching the armed robber who murdered her partner. She works with trainee Charlie (Yoson An, Mortal Engines), who blames Grace for his best friend’s death. This compelling series follows the feuding detectives who must unite to hunt down a killer who leaves a trail of broken lives across Sydney in their wake.

The Circuit: Season 1 and 2 – 15th February

Aaron Pedersen (Mystery Road, Jack Irish, The Secret Life of Us) takes the lead in this gripping legal drama. He stars as Drew Ellis, a successful lawyer who decides to take a sabbatical from his comfortable city life and his wife in Perth, to join the turbulent and challenging world of the Kimberley Circuit Court: a legal service that dispenses justice to the remote communities of North Western Australia.

Rosemary and Thyme: Season 1 to 3 – 22nd February

Felicity Kendal (The Good Life, The Mistress) and Pam Ferris (Clocking Off, Darling Buds of May) team up as avid gardeners turned super sleuths in this charming, hit detective drama.

 

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

Add to Watchlist