It’s never too early to plan for next year. And if you plan to keep up with British programming there will be a lot to fill your calender with. Check out Acorn’s January slate bellow.
JANUARY 2020- Acorn TV Calendar
Monday, January 6, 2020
THE BROKENWOOD MYSTERIES, Series 6, Episode 1 (Exclusive U.S. Premiere, new episodes to premiere weekly on Mondays)
This New Zealand detective series filmed amid the beautiful landscape of the country’s North Island returns with four feature-length, standalone mysteries featuring compelling characters, dry humor, and piquant wit. After transferring from a big city to the quiet, little, murder-ridden town of Brokenwood, Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Shepherd (Neill Rea, Go Girls) and Detective Kristin Simms (Fern Sutherland, The Almighty Johnsons) uncover more macabre goings on and investigate murderous rivalries and lethal grudges. In the series opener, “The Power of Steam,” Shepherd and his team are taken into a world of Victorian dress-up and escapism when they investigate a murder at the Brokenwood Steampunk event. (1 EP, 2019)
MURDOCH MYSTERIES, Season 13 Episode 4 (Exclusive U.S. Premiere, new episodes to premiere every weekly on Mondays)
In this beloved, award-winning Canadian series, Detective William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) uses radical forensic techniques like fingerprinting and ultraviolet light to solve turn-of-the-century Toronto’s most intriguing mysteries, and with the help of Constable Crabtree (Jonny Harris, Still Standing); Dr. Julia Ogden (Hélène Joy); and Inspector Brackenreid (Thomas Craig). In episode “Prodigal Father,” a death at an investment event leads Crabtree to the father he never knew–and Murdoch to suspect he may be culpable. (1 EP, 2020)
THE FAMILY FARM (Series, Documentary)
In this ambitious four-part BBC reality series, three UK families with no experience of farming volunteer to spend their summer living and working on a north Wales hill farm – in search of a better work-life balance and the experience of a lifetime high in the mountains of Snowdonia. The Morgans from Tenby, the Burtons from Manchester and the McNulty family from Glasgow are taken out of their comfort zones and pushed to their limits with early starts, late finishes and dirty jobs in all weather conditions on Gareth Wyn Jones’s family hill farm. The families are given a set of challenges, designed to show how our food moves from gate to plate. (6 EPS, 2018)
TERRY PRATCHETT’S GOING POSTAL (Series)
“Elaborately designed fantasy fun”–Observer (UK). In this lavish made-for-TV adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s novel, part of the best-selling, delightfully surreal “Discworld” series, con man Moist von Lipwig (Richard Coyle,Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) is caught by the law and given two choices: suffer a painful death, or take over a derelict post office. Also starring David Suchet (Poirot), Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), and Claire Foy(The Crown). (8 EPS, 2010)
Monday, January 13, 2020
ACKLEY BRIDGE, Series 3 (Exclusive U.S. Premiere)
From the creators of Shameless (UK) comes the return of this hit British dramedy for a run of eight new laugh-out-loud, irreverent and highly emotional episodes set in and around a multicultural academy school in a small Yorkshire mill town. This series offers a gritty, funny, truthful, and mischievous angle into the daily drama of the teachers, teenagers and families whose lives and cultures collide when two schools are integrated after years of racial segregation. The series 3 cast includes new additions Robert James-Collier (Downton Abbey), and Charlie Hardwick (Emmerdale), as well as longtime cast members Jo Joyner (EastEnders), Liz White (Life on Mars), Sunetra Sarker (Broadchurch), Adil Ray (Citizen Kahn), Poppy Lee Friar (Mr. Selfridge, In The Club), Amy-Leigh Hickman (EastEnders), Tony Jayawardena (Holby City, The Tunnel) and Megan Parkinson (Game of Thrones.) (8 EPS, 2019)
THE BROKENWOOD MYSTERIES, Series 6, Episode 2 (Exclusive U.S. Premiere)
This quirky New Zealand mystery follows DI Mike Shepherd (Neill Rea, Go Girls), who arrives to the seemingly peaceful town of Brokenwood with a classic car, a country music collection, and an indeterminate number of ex-wives. His assistant, DC Kristin Sims (Fern Sutherland, The Almighty Johnsons), is a by-the-book investigator 15 years younger than her boss’s car. In episode “The Page Turner,” world-renowned crime-writing author Jack Rudd visits Brokenwood to give a reading at the local book club from his latest novel – but never leaves, falling victim to a method of murder portrayed in his own book. (1 EP, 2019)
MURDOCH MYSTERIES, Season 13, Episode 5 (Exclusive U.S. Premiere)
In this beloved, award-winning Canadian series, Detective William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) uses radical forensic techniques like fingerprinting and ultraviolet light to solve turn-of-the-century Toronto’s most intriguing mysteries, and with the help of Constable Crabtree (Jonny Harris, Still Standing); Dr. Julia Ogden (Hélène Joy); and Inspector Brackenreid (Thomas Craig). In episode “The Philately Fatality,” when a stamp enthusiast is murdered, Murdoch wonders if it was for his collection of unique stamps or lovers. (1 EP, 2020)
Monday, January 20
THE BROKENWOOD MYSTERIES, Series 6, Episode 3 (Exclusive U.S. Premiere)
This quirky New Zealand mystery follows DI Mike Shepherd (Neill Rea, Go Girls), who arrives to the seemingly peaceful town of Brokenwood with a classic car, a country music collection, and an indeterminate number of ex-wives. His assistant, DC Kristin Sims (Fern Sutherland, The Almighty Johnsons), is a by-the-book investigator 15 years younger than her boss’s car. In this episode titled “Dead Men Don’t Shoot Ducks,” when an animal activist is killed on the first day of duck hunting season, Shepherd and the team must determine whether it was an accidental shooting, or something more sinister. (1 EP, 2019)
MURDOCH MYSTERIES, Season 13, Episode 6 (Exclusive U.S. Premiere)
In this beloved, award-winning Canadian series, Detective William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) uses radical forensic techniques like fingerprinting and ultraviolet light to solve turn-of-the-century Toronto’s most intriguing mysteries, and with the help of Constable Crabtree (Jonny Harris, Still Standing); Dr. Julia Ogden (Hélène Joy); and Inspector Brackenreid (Thomas Craig). In episode “Murdoch and the Cursed Caves,” an adventure in the woods turns scary when Murdoch, Ogden, Higgins, and Ruth are stalked by a beast that killed two men. (1 EP, 2020)
DEAD LUCKY (Series)
This Australian urban crime thriller starring Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actress Rachel Griffiths (Six Feet Under, Hilary & Jackie) follows two very different detectives thrown together to solve a murder. Featured in the series: a couple of convenience store owners resort to deadly measures to defend their business, a house of international students thinks they have found paradise, and a violent fugitive is in hiding. Over a week, the paths of these characters collide, leaving two people dead and one missing. (4 EPS, 2018)
HIDDEN BRITAIN BY DRONE, Series 1 (Documentary)
Everywhere you turn in Britain, there are places hidden from public view- with their secrets locked away behind high walls and heavy gates. No access has been allowed… until now. In this new series, history and travel enthusiast Sir Tony Robinson uses the latest aerial filming technology to show us new aspects of the country in a completely different way. Dispatching flying cameras of every shape and size, Tony opens up the far reaches of Britain, soaring above historic sites normally closed off to visitors, gets behind the doors of some of the biggest British brands, explores some top-secret military locations, and finds unexpected hidden treasures in pockets of their rolling countryside. (7 EPS, 2016).
Monday, January 27, 2020
THE BROKENWOOD MYSTERIES, Series 6, Episode 4 (Exclusive U.S. Premiere)
This quirky New Zealand mystery follows DI Mike Shepherd (Neill Rea, Go Girls), who arrives to the seemingly peaceful town of Brokenwood with a classic car, a country music collection, and an indeterminate number of ex-wives. His assistant, DC Kristin Sims (Fern Sutherland, The Almighty Johnsons), is a by-the-book investigator 15 years younger than her boss’s car. In the episode “Dead and Buried,” Shepherd and the team are reacquainted with some familiar faces when investigating a suspicious suicide at the Brokenwood Women’s Prison. (1 EP, 2020)
MURDOCH MYSTERIES, Season 13, Episode 7 (Exclusive U.S. Premiere)
In this beloved, award-winning Canadian series, Detective William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) uses radical forensic techniques like fingerprinting and ultraviolet light to solve turn-of-the-century Toronto’s most intriguing mysteries, and with the help of Constable Crabtree (Jonny Harris, Still Standing); Dr. Julia Ogden (Hélène Joy); and Inspector Brackenreid (Thomas Craig). In episode “Toronto the Bad”- while moonlighting as a cab driver, Higgins finds a dead passenger in the backseat. (1 EP, 2020)
THE SILENCE (Series)
In this BBC drama series, an eighteen-year-old (Genevieve Barr, The Accident TV series) who struggles to integrate into a hearing world following cochlear implantation witnesses the murder of a police officer. The subsequent investigation unravels a net of police corruption. (4 EPS, 2010)
THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY
From the acclaimed writer of the hit series Broadchurch (Chris Chibnall) come two ninety-minute films chronicling the true story of the 1963 Great Train Robbery. On August 8, 1963 Britain awakens to the news of the biggest robbery in the country’s history — the hijacking of a train 35 miles from its arrival in central London, leaving the country stunned and wanting to know who did it and how they managed to pull off such an audacious raid. The two films are: “A Robber’s Tale,” which traces the planning and execution of the crime under mastermind Bruce Reynolds (Luke Evans, Robin Hood), and “A Copper’s Tale,” which follows the manhunt for Britain’s most-wanted criminals, led by the relentless DCS Tommy Butler (Oscar® winner Jim Broadbent, Moulin Rouge). Also starring: James Fox, James Wilby, Tim Pigott-Smith, Jack Roth, and Martin Compston. (2 EPS, 2013)
