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British dramas are among some of Netflix’s most successful and celebrated over the years. The streamer has commissioned a lot of them, bringing together some of the UK’s most talented creators. In this list, we walk you through 10 hidden gems that you may have missed the first time around.
Among Adolescence, The Crown, Baby Reindeer, Harlan Coben dramas and, more recently, shows like Legends, Netflix UK has been on top of its game in recent years for developing award-winning, powerhouse dramas. So many shows have broken viewership records — look no further than Adolescence, which remains the streamer’s biggest limited series ever. But what about the ones that never quite reached the astronomical heights of the ‘household name’ dramas? They’re the shows we’re shining the spotlight on today.
From shows dating back almost a decade, to more recent miniseries that deserve your attention if you missed them the first time around, these 10 British series are not to be slept on.
Behind Her Eyes (2021)
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Netflix thriller Behind Her Eyes adapts the best-selling 2017 novel by Sarah Pinborough. The series was brought to the screen in 2021 from Steve Lightfoot, a producer and showrunner with a ridiculously good body of work, ranging from Hannibal to The Punisher to Spider-Noir.
Behind Her Eyes follows a mother, Louise (Simona Brown), who has an affair with her psychiatrist boss David (Tom Bateman)… all while secretly befriending his wife. It’s not just a love triangle she finds herself in, but a twisted web of secrets, games, and lies where nobody is who they seem.
The supporting cast in Behind Her Eyes includes The Rings of Power star Robert Aramayo, and Eve Hewson (Disclosure Day). The series is a 6-episode limited series telling a complete story.
Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials (2026)
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Over the years, the ‘Queen of Crime’, Agatha Christie, has had her stories told and retold myriad times. The most popular adaptations include Murder on the Orient Express, And Then There Were None, and Death on the Nile. In 2026, Netflix released an adaptation of one of her lesser-known stories, The Seven Dials Mystery. Adapted for television by former Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall, this short 3-episode series takes some creative liberties from the original story, but still tells the mystery in full.
The series is headlined by Mia McKenna-Bruce, who plays cunning young investigator Lady Eileen ‘Bundle’ Brent, who uses ingenuity and wit to uncover the mystery behind the murder of Gerry Wade (Corey Mylchreest). The supporting cast is particularly star-studded, with Iain Glen and Helena Bonham Carter playing Lord and Lady Caterham respectively. Martin Freeman is also involved as Christie’s legendary investigator Superintendent Battle, who investigates the case amidst the sleuthing of Bundle.
Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials presents a mystery that wants you to stick around until the end to see how it resolves. It’s fun, fascinating, and totally engrossing from the get-go. The real standout here is star Mia McKenna-Bruce, who delivers an exceptional performance as Bundle.
Bodyguard (2018)
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6-episode thriller Bodyguard is the ultimate binge-watch. The thriller is created by esteemed British screenwriter Jed Mercurio, who’s best-known for his work on Line of Duty.
Bodyguard follows David Budd (Richard Madden), a war veteran who works at the Royalty and Specialist Protection Branch of London’s Metropolitan Police Service. He is assigned to protect Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes), the country’s controversial home secretary who is subject to terror threats. He finds himself duty-bound to protect her, although she stands for everything he’s against — and working for her is a complete disservice to his beliefs.
Bodyguard was a standout success on Netflix, and online ratings remain strong with 8/10 on IMDb and 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite airing back in 2018, there are still discussions about continuing the series, though nothing has yet come to fruition. Both Mercurio and star Richard Madden have pondered returning to continue David Budd’s story, but conflicting issues are among the main reasons why another season has not been ordered. Even so, Season 1 serves perfectly as a limited series.
Dracula (2020)
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Over the years, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss have proven themselves to be a powerhouse duo on British television. They most famously developed the Sherlock series, which is regarded as one of the best Sherlock Holmes adaptations out there. They also crossed paths on Doctor Who — Gatiss wrote episodes when Moffat served as showrunner.
Their creative collaboration continued in 2020 with an ambitious adaptation of Dracula. The short, 3-episode series stars Claes Bang (The Northman) as Count Dracula, John Heffernan (The Banishing) as Jonathan Harker, and Morfydd Clark (The Rings of Power) as Mina Harker.
If you’re looking for a faithful adaptation of the source material by Bram Stoker, this is not it. There are better faithful adaptations out there. But if you’re willing to experience a version that follows the general shape of the original Dracula narrative, but gets creative with more contemporary elements, you’ll get something out of it.
The series is hit-and-miss among viewers, with it currently holding a fairly solid 71% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Collateral (2018)
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Netflix and the BBC have collaborated on a number of fantastic and high-profile dramas over the years. Some of the earliest, greatest co-productions span The Last Kingdom, Watership Down, and Troy: Fall of a City. In this list, we’re pointing out Collateral (2018) as one of the finest examples of the Netflix-BBC partnership.
Collateral brings together a heavyweight team of beloved British actors. Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman, BEEF) headlines the series, and other co-stars include Jeany Spark (Wallander), Nicola Walker (The Split), John Simm (Life on Mars), and Billie Piper (Doctor Who).
The 4-part thriller takes place in London, covering the space of four days. We follow detective inspector Kip Glaspie (Mulligan), who is put in charge of an investigation into the shooting of a pizza delivery driver. When she dives into the case, she learns that it wasn’t just a random act of violence, but something more calculated — and it draws her deep into the dangerous underworld of London.
Giri/Haji (2019)
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Translating to Duty/Shame, 2019 drama Giri/Haji is another top-tier collaboration between Netflix and the BBC. In fact, the series still holds a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer.
The series is set in both Tokyo and London; two contrasting cultures, brought together through exceptionally creative cinematography. It’s one of the best-looking miniseries out there. We follow a Tokyo detective called Kenzo Mori, who travels to London in order to track down his criminal brother Yuto, who is allegedly dead. When Kenzo arrives, his investigation sweeps him deep into the London underworld. It’s tightly plotted and suspenseful, but not without a surprisingly fun sense of humour.
The series stars Takehiro Hira (Shogun), Kelly MacDonald (Lanterns, Trainspotting), and Yosuke Kubozuka (The Dogs of Karma).
Giri/Haji originally aired on BBC Two in 2019 before landing an international debut on Netflix in 2020.
Treason (2022)
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British spy thriller Treason instantly catches the eye thanks to its outstanding cast, which includes Daredevil star Charlie Cox and Avatar’s Oona Chaplin. The series is created by Matt Charman, a screenwriter known for his thrilling style, from Hostage (2025) to Bridge of Spies (2015).
At 5 episodes, it’s tightly packed and fast-paced, following MI6 Deputy Chief Mark Lawrence (Cox), who is unwittingly promoted to MI6 chief after his boss is hospitalised. Then a reunion with a Russian spy makes him question everything: Which side is he really drawn to?
Treason garnered solid ratings on release; it currently stands at 71% on Rotten Tomatoes. It had a strong debut on Netflix, breaking into the English Top 10 with 56.06M hours watched. It also allowed creator Matt Charman to pursue other thrillers at Netflix, including Hostage.
Toxic Town (2025)
Toxic Town Season 1. (L to R) Jodie Whittaker as Susan, Aimee Lou Wood as Tracy in Episode 4 of Toxic Town. Cr. Ben Blackall/Netflix © 2024.
Written by Adolescence creator Jack Thorne, Toxic Town debuted on Netflix just a month before Adolescence became the streamer’s biggest limited series of all time. In that sense, it was a little overshadowed, despite largely stellar ratings across the board.
Toxic Town is based on one of the UK’s biggest environmental scandals. The story takes place in Corby, a small English town of around 60,000, where industrial negligence led to myriad poisonings. This ultimately caused babies to be born with birth defects. The event was absolutely real, and made in collaboration with real victims — but many of the stories told in the show are dramatised.
Toxic Town boasts an all-star cast, including Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who, Broadchurch), Claudia Jessie (Bridgerton), Aimee Lou Wood (The White Lotus), Rory Kinnear (Bank of Dave), and Brendan Coyle (Downton Abbey).
Hostage (2025)
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BAFTA-winning actress Suranne Jones plays the British Prime Minister in Netflix’s political thriller Hostage. The series also stars Julie Delpy (Before Sunrise) as French President Vivienne Toussaint.
The 5-episode miniseries begins in 10 Downing Street, where Prime Minister Abigail Dalton (Jones) meets with French President Vivienne Toussaint (Delpy). Despite being newly elected, Dalton faces immense pressure from both her peers and the British public for austerity and cuts to the British National Health Service (NHS). French President Toussaint offers her assistance to Dalton, and in exchange, the French people would be positioned on the English border.
Meanwhile, Dalton’s husband Alex Anderson (Ashley Thomas) is captured while on a campaign in French Guiana to provide medical support. The perpetrators of his capture use their leverage to attempt to force Dalton to step down as prime minister; otherwise, they’ll kill him.
Fast-paced and throwing in constant twists and turns, Hostage was one of Netflix’s strongest miniseries of 2025, despite being quickly forgotten about. From its tight plot, to the stellar performances by its stars, Hostage remains an extremely solid entry in Netflix’s library of limited series — and one of the very best from the streamer’s British division.
Bodies (2023)
Bodies Netflix Everything We Know So Far
If you fancy a gritty historical crime procedural with a mind-bending and sci-fi edge, look no further than Bodies. The 2023 drama tells a complete story, and does so in one of the most creative ways. We follow four detectives from four separate eras in history — 1890, 1941, 2023, and 2053 — and each of them find the same dead body in the same alleyway in London. As they investigate and unravel a 150-year conspiracy, they come to realise that the murder scene is so much deeper than they could imagine.
Bodies boasts an all-star cast, including Shira Haas, Stephen Graham, Kyle Soller, Amanda Okafor, and Jacob Fortune-Lloyd. The series currently holds a very solid 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
What’s your favorite British series on Netflix? Tell us in the comments down below!
