BritBox has announced its 2025 slate of premieres and returning series including IP-driven Original commissions, celebrated co-productions and highly-anticipated acquisitions.
With new series from top UK writers such as Sally Wainwright (Riot Women), Sarah Williams (Outrageous), Rachel Bennette (Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero), Catherine Moulton (Code of Silence), Kelly Jones (A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story), Anna Symon (Joan), and Cat Jones (The Jetty), BritBox’s slate highlights the depth and power of British storytelling.
In 2025, BritBox will bring beloved characters back to the screen with new seasons of its iconic favorites Blue Lights, Vera, Father Brown, Death in Paradise, Beyond Paradise, Silent Witness and Sister Boniface Mysteries plus reimagined looks at treasured literary characters in Lynley and Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero. From detectives, to PSNI recruits, to crime-solving priests and nuns, BritBox audiences will have the chance to sleuth alongside returning favorites and new series throughout the year.
Robert Schildhouse, President BritBox North America and GM BritBox International shared, “BritBox anticipates our most electrifying year yet, delivering a slate of premium television to delight BritBox fans and new audiences. From inspired re-imaginings of well-known tales to dramas filled with surprise, intrigue and emotional resonance, BritBox presents gripping narratives, complex challenges, and dynamic characters, crafted by powerhouse talent in front of and behind the camera. We can’t wait for everyone to experience the next chapter of BritBox’s story on screen in 2025.”
The British streaming service unveiled never-before-seen footage of new series as well as images.
Full details on 2025 programming can be found further below this comprehensive list:
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- January 2: Brenda Blethyn dons the trenchcoat and bucket hat for the fourteenth and final season of Vera S14.
- January: Father Brown S12
- February: Death in Paradise S14
- February 16: 2025 EE BAFTA Film Awards
- February 17: True crime drama, A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story starring Lucy Boynton as ambitious, brave and steadfast Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in Britain.
- March 4: Lost Boys & Fairies is a glittering, moving and groundbreaking drama, set in Cardiff, exploring the universal theme of parents and children through the perspective of gay adoption.
- March 6: Douglas is Cancelled, starring Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey) and Karen Gillan (Avengers: Endgame), from screenwriter Steven Moffat (Sherlock), is a timely series about gender politics and trial by social media.
- March 8 (International Women’s Day): Travels with Agatha Christie & Sir David Suchet, a five part series in which Sir David Suchet travels around the world, following in the footsteps of the Queen of mystery, Dame Agatha Christie.
- March 20: Following a record-breaking launch as the biggest scripted launch for the BBC since 2022, critically-acclaimed Ludwig, a new Original genre-bending mystery series, stars British comedy legend David Mitchell (Peep Show) as John “Ludwig” Taylor and multi-BAFTA TV Award winner Anna Maxwell Martin (Line of Duty) as Lucy Betts-Taylor, John’s sister-in-law and wife of his missing brother James.
- April: Based on the novel, A Darker Domain, by best selling-author, Val McDermid and from the producers of Line of Duty, Outlander’s Lauren Lyle stars as newly promoted DS Karen Pirie, a determined cold case investigator, when the series returns for Season Two.
- April: Beyond Paradise S3
- May: I, Jack Wright, a thrilling family drama starring BAFTA nominees Nikki Amuka-Bird (Old) and John Simm (Grace).
- May 11: 2025 BAFTA Television Awards with P&O Cruises
- Spring: Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero adapted by Rachel Bennette (NW) and featuring a head-turning cast including Matthew Rhys (The Americans) as troubled detective Inspector Leach, the inimitable, Academy Award-winning Anjelica Huston (The Addams Family) as formidable matriarch Lady Tresselian and Oliver Jackson-Cohen (Surface) as tennis star Neville Strange.
- Summer: Based on the true story of the Mitford sisters, Bessie Carter (Bridgerton), Joanna Vanderham (Crime) and Anna Chancellor (My Lady Jane) star in Outrageous, a family saga about six scandalous sisters, far ahead of their time.
- Summer: Sister Boniface Mysteries S4
- Summer: The Cleaner S3
- Summer: Silent Witness S28
- Fall: Code of Silence, written by Catherine Moulton (Baptiste), who drew on her own experiences with lip-reading and hearing loss to create the compelling six-part series which stars Rose Ayling-Ellis (Eastenders) in a ground-breaking lead role.
- 2025: Blue Lights S3
- 2025: Lynley, a new adaptation of Elizabeth George’s New York Times best-selling Inspector Lynley crime novels, starring Leo Suter (Vikings: Valhalla) as Lynley and Sofia Barclay (Ted Lasso) as Havers.
- 2025: Helmed by television legend Sally Wainwright (Happy Valley), the woman-led, punk rock-filled series, Riot Women, is a testament to the power of friendship, music, and the resilience of women who refuse to be silenced by age or expectation.
- 2025: Comedic murder mystery Death Valley starring BAFTA-winning actor Timothy Spall (The Sixth Commandment).
BritBox Upcoming Slate Details:
JOAN
Premiering December 5
BritBox Exclusive
Territories – North America
Format – 6 x 60’, 2x Weekly
Synopsis: The series opens with Joan, a fiery and uncompromising woman in her twenties who is deeply scarred and vulnerable. She is a devoted mother to her six-year-old daughter, Kelly, but is trapped in a disastrous marriage with a violent criminal named Gary. When Gary goes on the run, Joan seizes the opportunity to create a new life for herself and her daughter.
Adopting new identities and making new acquaintances along the way, Joan becomes a masterful jewel thief. She embarks on a thrilling, high-stakes journey that challenges her every limit, driven by her desire to care for her daughter and create a secure home for them both.
Through her sharp intelligence, charm, and talent for impersonation and performance, we follow the twists and turns in Joan’s life, the ups and downs, the heartache and the joy that makes this story so compelling to follow.
Cast: Sophie Turner, Frank Dillane, Mia Millichamp-Long, Laura Aikman
Creatives: Anna Symon (writer), Richard Laxton (director)
Executive Producers: Ruth Kenley-Letts, Neil Blair, Richard Laxton, Richard Webb, Jenny Van Der Lande
Production/Distribution Partners: Snowed In Productions, All3Media, ITV, CW
SHETLAND S9
Premiering December 11
BritBox Original, BritBox Exclusive
Territories: North America
Format: 6 X 60’, Weekly
Synopsis:
Acclaimed detective drama Shetland returns with another distinctive and emotionally complex mystery starring BAFTA® and Emmy® nominee Ashley Jensen. Having returned to her native Shetland in pursuit of a vulnerable witness for London’s Met Police in series seven, DI Calder (Jensen) is now a resident of the Isles. Calder is thrown in at the deep end after a friend of DI Alison ‘Tosh’ McIntosh goes missing. When the friend’s young son emerges alone on the moors, having witnessed a life-changing trauma, it sparks a chilling tale of love, death and betrayal. Calder and Tosh must walk the line between the personal and the professional as they set out on a labyrinthine investigation amid the stunning landscapes of Shetland. Inspired by the best-selling novels and characters created by acclaimed crime writer, Ann Cleeves.
Cast: Ashley Jensen, Alison O’Donnell, Steven Robertson, Lewis Howden, Anne Kidd
Creatives: Paul Logue (Lead Writer), Denise Paul (Writer), Andrew Cumming (Director), Ruth Paxton (Director), Louise V Say (Producer), Ann Cleeves (Author of The Shetland Island Series)
Executive Producers: Kate Bartlett,Paul Logue, Gaynor Holmes, Denise Paul
Production/Distribution Partners: Silverprint Pictures, ITV Studios, BBC
THE JETTY
Premiering December 13
Territories: North America
Format: 4 x 60’, All at Once
Synopsis: A detective must reassess everything she knows – and loves – when a fire in her hometown exposes shocking secrets. Starring Jenna Coleman.
After the fire tears through a property in the scenic Lancashire lake town, Detective Ember Manning must work out how it connects to a podcast journalist investigating a missing persons cold case and an illicit relationship between a man in his twenties and two underage girls. But as Ember gets close to the truth, it threatens to destroy her life – forcing her to re-evaluate everything she thought she knew about her past, present and the town she’s always called home. As much a coming-of-age story as a detective thriller, The Jetty asks big questions about sexual morality, identity and memory, in the places that Me Too has left behind.
Cast: Jenna Coleman, Archie Renaux, Laura Marcus, Amelia Bullmore, Tom Glynn-Carney, Ruby Stokes
Creatives: Cat Jones (Writer), Marialy Rivas (Director), Natasha Romaniuk (Producer)
Executive Producer: Cat Jones, Marialy Rivas, Liz Kilgariff, Craig Holleworth, Sarah Wyatt
Production/Distribution Partners: Firebird Pictures, BBC Studios, BBC, Hulu
Holiday and Christmas Specials
- More information on the Christmas Specials is available upon request.
Sister Boniface Christmas Special 2024 – December 17
Call the Midwife Christmas Special 2023 – December 20 – CANADA ONLY
Peep Show S7 Xmas & New Years Specials – December 24
Beyond Paradise Christmas Special 2024 – December 25
Carols from Kings Christmas Special 2024 –December 26
Death in Paradise Christmas Special 2024 – December
Gardeners’ World Winter Special 2024 – December 31
PROTECTION
Premiering December 29
BritBox Exclusive
Territories: North America
Format: 6 x 60’, All at Once
Synopsis:
Liz Nyles is a witness protection officer in charge of looking after Jimmy, Helen and Amy McLennan in their assigned safe house. Jimmy has been offered witness protection for testifying against Edward Crowther, an untouchable crime boss who’s finally being tried for murder. Liz is shocked when she hears there’s been a shooting at the safe house and her key witness Jimmy has been shot. But worse, her colleague DS Paul Brandice, with whom she’s been having a secret affair, was also at the house and has been shot too. Brandice had not been working on the case, there is no reason for him to be involved, so why was he at the address?
Cast: Siobhan Finneran, Barry Ward, Andrew Knott, Alec Newman
Creatives: Writers – Polly Buckle, Kris Mrksa, Giula Sandler Directors – Simen Alsvik, Sasha Ransome
Executive Producers:Kris Mrksa,Willow Grylls, Charlie Hampton
Production/Distribution Partners: All3Media Int., ITV
VERA S14 FINAL SEASON
Premiering January 2
BritBox Exclusive
Territories – North America
Format: 2 x 120’, Weekly
Synopsis:
In the first episode, DCI Vera Stanhope is called to the banks of the Tyne where the body of a young man has been discovered by some anglers. A tangled web of a broken relationship, secret love, grudges, regret, and fraud begins to emerge – has our former inmate been served cold justice, or does his death run deeper? The final episode brings Vera back to a familiar place when a body is found at the foot of legendary local stones The Dark Wives – with memories of childhood in the background, Vera must work hard to uncover the mystery of why a bright young student would be violently attacked and left so far from home. This poignant episode weaves together past and present and makes for a compelling and emotional farewell.
Vera is Inspired by the best-selling novels and characters created by acclaimed crime writer, Ann Cleeves.
Cast: Brenda Blethyn, David Leon, Jon Morisson, Riley Jones, Sarah Kameela Impey, Rhiannon Clemments
Creatives: Phil Mulryne (Writers), Claire Winyard Paul Gay (Directors), Ann Cleeves (Author of the Vera Stanhope Series)
Executive Producers: Kate Bartlett, Will Nicholson
Production/Distribution Partners: Silverprint Pictures, ITV Studios, ITV
FATHER BROWN S12
Premiering January 2025
BritBox Original, BritBox Exclusive
Territories: North America
Format: 10 x 45’, Weekly
Synopsis: Mark Williams is back as Father Brown, the charismatic clergyman sleuth based on the classic character created by GK Chesterton. Following the exciting proposal at the end of series 11, the sleepy village of Kembleford is abuzz with good news as Mrs Devine (Claudie Blakley) and Chief Inspector Sullivan (Tom Chambers) look forward to their upcoming wedding. But when a surprise visit from the father of the groom quickly throws preparations into turmoil, will they even make it to the church? With a medieval death at a Tudor battle re-enactment, Mrs Devine finding herself accused of murder, Sergeant Goodfellow’s professional future thrown into question and Brenda ballroom dancing on national television, Father Brown and the gang are busier than ever. And when a Cardinal from the Vatican arrives with a top-secret mission for Father Brown, the priest must request the help of his old adversary Flambeau, while a new nemesis lurks in the shadows…
Cast: Mark Williams, John Burton, Tom Chambers, Claudie Blakley, Ruby-May Martinwood
Creatives: Writers – Dan Muirden, Neil Irvine, Lol Fletcher, David Semple, Tahsin Guner, Rebecca Ramsden, Liberty Martin, David Innes Edwards (Series Producer)
Executive Producers: Neil Irvine
Production/Distribution Partners: BBC Studios Drama Productions, BBC Studios, BBC