BritBox debuts new seasons of two police dramas, Shetland and The Coroner, in April. Some of the UK’s most popular political programs and a celebration of Marvel movie actors also are part of the BritBox April 2018 TV premieres calendar.
Check out more from BritBox, the subscription streaming service from BBC Worldwide and ITV, below.
BritBox April 2018 TV premieres calendar
Sunday. April 1
Easter From Kings
U.S. exclusive premiere, “Now” title
In a BritBox annual tradition, the streamer once again will offer the traditional Easter Sunday service—“Easter From Kings”—in presentation from Cambridge University’s historic Chapel of Kings College. The service features a selection of gospel reading and music accompanied by the beautiful voices of the all-boy choir.
Wednesday, April 4
Poirot
Season 13, BritBox premiere
For more than 25 years, David Suchet has portrayed the inspired Belgian investigator Hercule Poirot, creating a unique catalogue of timeless crime fiction. Join David Suchet for an emotional farewell as Agatha Christie’s No. 1 detective to take on his final cases.
Tuesday, April 10
Political Circus
BritBox goes to the polls in its own unique way with one of the UK’s most popular political programs and a pair of political parodies that pull no punches—just strings.
- Spitting Image: BritBox premiere, April 10—A milestone in television comedy, “Spitting Image” lifts satire to a whole new level. Entertaining and informing a whole generation in the 1980s and ’90s, the award-winning series and its grotesque latex caricatures, lampoon and ridiculed everyone from pop stars to politicians to even the British Royal Family. No one was safe from the writers’ razor sharp wit and up-to-the-minute cutting political satire.
- Newzoids: U.S. exclusive premiere, April 11 —Featuring a groundbreaking blend of high-energy traditional puppeteering and state-of-the-art animation, alongside snappy writing and pinpoint accurate voices from impressionists, the series uses a cast of outrageous, off-the wall characters to put a satirical and surreal spin on the world’s headline stories. From “Forrest Trump” to “Despicable Me,” everything is fair game.
- Question Time: U.S. exclusive premiere, “Now” title, April 12—As a companion piece to BritBox’s popular PMQ, aka “Prime Ministers Questions,” “Question Time” offers topical debate in which guests from the worlds of politics and media answer questions posed by members of the public. Filmed in front of a live audience, the series is moderated by David Dimbleby.
Monday, April 14
Shetland
Season 4, U.S. exclusive premiere
Award-winning crime writer Ann Cleeves’ bestselling detective series returns with Douglas Henshall (“Primeval” and “Outlander”) as DI Perez, solving crime against the dramatic backdrop of the Shetland Isles. This gripping drama’s latest season sees Perez and the team re-open a 23-year-old cold case after Thomas Malone, a convicted murder, is released from prison.
Friday, April 18
QI
Seasons 12 & 13, BritBox exclusive premiere
Before Sandi Toksvig slipped into the role of host, “QI” had Stephen Fry at the helm. Now BritBox is reaching back into the vaults to add Fry’s final two seasons to the service. Featuring permanent panelist Alan Davies and current host Toksvig along with a who’s who of top UK guests, the panel series proves sometimes being interesting is more important than being right.
Monday, April 21
Our Friends in the North
BritBox exclusive premiere
Spanning a time of local authority and police corruption in the ’60s, the radical far-left militancy of the early ’70s, Thatcher’s election, the 1984 miner’s strike and the subsequent “murder” of Northern communities, this epic saga follows the lives of four young people in North-East England stretching from 1964 to 1995. The series also features early appearances of top Hollywood talent such as Daniel Craig, Christopher Eccleston, Gina McKee, Mark Strong, Malcolm McDowell.
Thursday, April 24
BritBox’s “Marvel-ous” Celebration
Before they showcased their skills in Marvel signature blockbusters, several members of the Avengers universe (including Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston and Idris Elba) showed off their “super” talents on the small screen in numerous British favorites. BritBox presents a playlist of “Actors to Marvel At” timed to “Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War” hitting theaters this month.
Monday, April 28
The Coroner
Season 2, U.S. exclusive BritBox
Set against a stunning seaside backdrop, crime investigations are at the heart of this drama series following a high-flying solicitor who returns to live and work in the small town she escaped as a teenager. With a new and intriguing case to investigate in each episode, coroner Jane Kennedy finds herself having to work with old flame Davey Higgins, who is now the local detective sergeant.