TV fans reveal the British drama series they miss most when it’s not on
British TV dramas are renowned across the world for their quality.
But if there’s one downside to being a fan of British shows, it’s that we make fewer episodes than our American cousins and we take our sweet time between seasons!
BritishPeriodDramas.com recently asked TV fans to let us know the series they find it hardest to survive without when it’s not on air.
Nearly 5,000 of you voted in our poll and we can now reveal the results!
Just missing out on a spot in the Top 5 were Birmingham-set gangster saga Peaky Blinders, Idris Elba’s brutal crime drama Luther, the time-travelling shenanigans of Doctor Who, darkly comic cat-and-mouse thriller Killing Eve and Charlie Brooker’s technopobia anthology series Black Mirror.
In fifth place, with fans still recovering from the tense twists of its recently concluded fifth season, is BBC One’s police corruption drama Line of Duty.
Created by Bodyguard writer Jed Mercurio, the series originally premiered on BBC Two back in 2012 and has averaged a two-year break between each season.
A sixth – and possibly final – run is expected to air in 2021.
Line of Duty was voted third in a Radio Times poll of the best British crime dramas of all time.
Landing in fourth place in our poll is BBC One’s detective drama Sherlock, based on the classic stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Launching the career of Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular character, the show was a surprise hit when it debuted in the summer of 2010 and the first season ended on a massive cliffhanger.
However, despite airing only three episodes in each season, Sherlock became renowned for its long hiatuses between seasons, with fans left waiting 18 months to discover if Holmes survived Season 1’s poolside confrontation with Moriarty.
It took another two years for Season 3 to arrive and a further three years waiting for the most recent season!
There are currently no plans for Sherlock to return, but the writers and cast have all expressed interest in getting back together to make new episodes at some point in the future. In the meantime, creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss are currently filming their new Dracula series.
Taking third place is The Crown, Netflix’s award-winning period drama dramatising the reign of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
The series premiered in November 2016 and a second season followed in late 2017.
However, The Crown fans will have had a two-year wait by the time the third season arrives this autumn, as the show’s entire cast has been replaced by older actors as the story moves further into the latter half of the 20th Century.
It looks like Season 4 will follow fairly swiftly in 2020, however, as some major new characters have already been cast.
Riding moodily across a clifftop into second place, it’s BBC One’s Sunday night favourite Poldark!
Based on the series of historical novels by Winston Graham, the Cornish period drama series launched in March 2015 and, after a 19-month gap between the first and second seasons, new episodes have arrived fairly regularly each June.
The last ever episode finished filming earlier this year and the fifth and final season of Poldark is set to air this summer.
The show’s executive producer has hinted that the series could return one day, but – guess what – there will be a very long wait!
So, topping our poll with a whopping 83.83% of the votes, the British drama series that fans miss the most when it’s not on is… Outlander!
Based on American author Diana Gabaldon’s historical time travel book series, Starz’s hugely popular series began in August 2014, with a six month gap in the middle of its first season.
This established what would come to be known as ‘Droughtlander’ – the long and difficult wait between new episodes of Outlander!
The series tells the story of Caitriona Balfe’s Claire Randall, a married World War II nurse who in 1945 finds herself transported back to 1743 Scotland, where she encounters Highland warrior Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan).
There’s been well over a year between the last few seasons of Outlander and, while filming on the next chapter is currently underway in Scotland, Season 5 isn’t expected to air until early 2020.
On the positive side, at least that gives us plenty of time to rewatch the fourth season, which was released on DVD and Blu-ray this week.
Featuring all 13 episodes from Season 4, the 5-disc set is available on Amazon here and also includes additional Outlander Untold scenes and more extras.