Lockdown is still in full swing and, whilst the April four day weekend would usually see us piling into beer gardens with friends, this year our sofas are likely to be our best company (depending of course on the calibre of your lockdown inmates...) So to help you muddle through, we thought we’d throw it back to some of the best box sets we’ve binged in recent years and, for those TV buffs out there who’ve seen the lot, some lesser well known  alternatives that might fill a similar void.

Skins

#FLODown: This legendary show was ground breaking when it was first released in 2007. Focusing on mental illness, often dysfunctional family lives and the sexual awakenings of a group of Bristol college kids. With 7 seasons starring Dev Patel and Nicholas Hoult it’s simultaneously gritty and funny, making a truly addictive watch. 

Where to Watch?

 Netflix

If you liked Skins?

Skins is actually perfect material for a rewatch as it gives you that comfortable feeling of being back in the late naughties with some old friends. However for that same school-corridor drama but in a more light hearted hue, why not try Community. It might be from the other side of the Atlantic but it gives a glance at the career-beginnings of a number of today’s big-time comedians. Currently available on All 4. 

Killing Eve

#FLODown: An unconventional and epic thriller staring Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer as Eve and Villanelle - Killing Eve is about two women on the opposite sides of the law who are at the same time, fantastically obsessed with each other. A show that manages to blend murder with high fashion, Killing Eve raised a cult following during its two seasons and is a must watch for those who have not yet had the pleasure. 

Where to Watch?

Amazon Prime (with Season 3 premiering on the BBC on 13th April!!!)

For a similar fix of female fearlessness... 

We would recommend Marcella - a crime drama that follows Metropolitan police officer Marcella Backland on her return to the force after an eleven year hiatus. Follow Marcella as she cracks murder investigations whilst trying to wrestle with the death of her daughter and a husband who leaves her. Anna Friel is mesmerising and will captivate you throughout the sixteen episodes available on Netflix now.

Peaky Blinders

#FLODown: Escape to 1919 industrial Birmingham and get lost with the Midlands’ (far more charming) answer to the Mafia. With five full seasons of gang wars, plotting and messy romance you’ll have fallen in love with Cillian Murphy’s portrayal of unwittingly clever Brummie gangster, Tommy Shelby by the end of it.

 Where to watch?

 Netflix

If you loved Tommy Shelby?

Find your new crush in Arthur Kinniard - the protagonist in Netflix new period release The English Game. Similarly industrial in setting, this time we are in the world of 1870s football. The series illustrates the stories of the various men who were involved in the foundations of the English Premier League. Somewhat less feisty than Peaky Blinders (thankfully footballers are less likely to kill each other than gangsters...although only just), once again, you will find yourself softening for lads with local accents as they fight the rich to stake their place in modern society. 

Luther 

#FLODown: Luther focussed on Idris Elba’s captivating portrayal of Detective John Luther, a self destructive, but skilled and impulsive officer with the Serious Crime Unit. Also starring Ruth Wilson as a psychopathic murder, both deliver a compelling performance that makes for a brilliant Brit crime drama.

Where to Watch?

Netflix

For more British crime?

Why not try Hinterland. Currently available on Netflix, we like to think of this show as the Luther of Wales. A slower-burner than Luther perhaps, but with crime that is eerie, a little gothic and told with intensity through the dark eyes of DCI Tom Mathias, played by Richard Harrington. A pleasure to see some scenes in the Welsh language (with subtitles of course) making their way on to Netflix. 

Grey’s Anatomy 

#FLODown: It may be the longest running medical drama on our screens but for good reason. Shonda Rhimes tells the stories of Meredith Grey and her colleagues and friends at Seattle Grace (the hospital with an ever-changing name) with a flair for character development like no other TV creative. Sixteen seasons in and whilst we continue to be enveloped by new doctors and their lives of twists and turns, we also still look forward to meeting each new patient who we are made to care about deeply, usually within one 40 minute episode alone. If you’re looking for a series that gives you all-the-feels - wit, gravitas, thrills and romance, you have to take the plunge and crack open this boxset.

Where to watch?

 Amazon Prime or SkyGo

If you’ve already watched Grey’s repeatedly...

New Amsterdam should be next on your list. Inspired by New York City’s Bellevue hospital, New Amsterdam is the oldest public hospital in America and is in need of some serious TLC. Ready to shake things up is Dr Max Goodwin, the new medical director played by Ryan Eggold, who gives Grey’s Anatomy’s Karev a run for his money. Seasons 1 and 2 are currently on Amazon Prime and we have high hopes that they will deliver some real emotional punch. 

Words by Lucy Firestone