Is BritBox Worth It? Everything To Know About The Streaming Service

We’ve said it before, and we’ll undoubtedly say it again: there’s a streaming service for everything.

Brits in America or Americans craving more British TV are in luck because there’s a streaming service out there that collects some of the best British TV and gives you new episodes of popular soaps every day.

Let us introduce you to BritBox.

What is BritBox?

BritBox is a streaming service that first launched in 2017. Backed by two of the largest media companies in England, BBC Studios and ITV, the service boasts one of the largest single-service collections of British TV available to stream.

In 2020, BritBox launched originals, some of which star acclaimed actors well-known in the United States, like David Tennant, Will Poulter, and Matthew Macfadyen. The service also features movies, though the selection is significantly less.

BritBox also has a “Now” feature that lets subscribers watch the latest episodes of daily British soaps such as Coronation Street, EastEnders, Doctors, and Emmerdale just hours after they air in England. Other BritBox Now shows include the news show Good Morning Britain, the debate program Question Time, The Jonathan Ross Show chat show and the panel quiz show QI.

BritBox Subscriptions and Cost

BritBox costs $7.99/month. Though a standalone subscription exists, you can easily subscribe to the service through Amazon Prime, claim a seven-day free trial, and watch all the service’s content directly inside the Prime Video app.

What can I watch BritBox on?

In addition to the previously mentioned “Now” soaps and weekly panel shows, BritBox has a massive selection of new and classic British TV, plus some noteworthy originals. The service has some theme- and genre-based collections, like “Period Dramas,” “BritBox Destinations,” which organizes titles by the parts of the United Kingdom they take place in, and “British Home and Garden.”

Below, we’ve broken down the content library by genre, so you can see what you should expect to find on the service.

BritBox Comedy

From stand-up to panel shows, classic sitcoms to parodies, BritBox has comedy for every taste.

The service has every episode of The Office, the comedy which inspired the American sitcom of the same name, and The Thick Of It, Armando Iannucci’s government satire that eventually inspired HBO’s Veep.

You’ll also find episodes of Toast of London, which stars Matt Berry, and Gavin & Stacey, the show that catapulted James Corden to fame in the UK. Oscar winner Olivia Colman‘s mockumentary Twenty Twelve, about people in London preparing to host the Olympic Games, is also available to stream on BritBox.

BritBox is also set to launch a third season of David Tennant and Michael Sheen‘s quarantine comedy Staged, which the actors first conceived and filmed using video conferencing calls.

There are also plenty of British stand-up comedy specials, including James Acaster, Mae Martin, and Russell Brand. For those who can’t get enough of unscripted comedy, there’s a selection of panel game shows featuring comedians like 8 Out of 10 Cats, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, and Would I Lie To You?.

BritBox Drama

Whether you’re looking for something high-octane, a costume drama, or something based on a true story, BritBox likely has the drama you’ve been craving.

Recently, the streamer premiered Stonehouse, a drama based on British MP John Stonehouse, who faked his own death in the 1970s. Succession‘s Matthew Macfadyen stars as the titular character alongside his real-life wife, Keeley Hawes. The latest drama is a period drama titled The Confessions of Frannie Langston, which centers on forbidden love and a woman accused of murder.

Popular long-running broadcast procedurals like Line of Duty and MI-5 are available to stream in their entirety. Four seasons of Idris Elba‘s detective series Luther are also on BritBox.

Multiple Austen adaptations, Shakespeare, and 26 seasons of classic Doctor Who round out a robust and varied drama section.

BritBox Mystery

Though on the surface, mysteries may seem like they’re best aligned with dramas, when it comes to British TV, mystery may be one of the most popular genres.

Some are darker in tone, while others, like Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators, are of a sub-genre known as a cozy mystery — also known as a mystery where all of the violence takes place off-screen and the detective, typically an amateur, has to investigate the crime in a village where everyone often knows everyone else (think Murder She Wrote, but British).

Whether it’s adaptations of Agatha Christie, like the recent adaptation Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? or countless variations on Poirot and Marple, or popular long-running series Death in Paradise and Vera, BritBox’s mystery selection is varied and sure to keep you in suspense for a very long time.

BritBox Docs & Lifestyle

The fourth BritBox genre is all about unscripted shows, from cooking, to gardening, to history documentaries.

British celebrity chefs, including Gordon Ramsey, Nadiya Hussain (of Great British Bake Off fame), Nigella Lawson, and Jamie Oliver, have a number of cooking and restaurant shows on the service.

There are also a number of shows about gardening, from competitions to a look inside two big Flower and Garden festivals in England.

Three seasons of the popular architecture series Grand Designs are streaming on BritBox, and an original reality series, Make It At Market, appeals to crafters the same way Bake Off might to bakers.

BritBox Originals

There are currently 46 BritBox Originals across all four genres. Of the titles listed above, these are the BritBox Originals:

• Staged
• Stonehouse
• The Confessoins of Frannie Langton
• Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?
• Make It At Market

Is BritBox worth it?

If any of the genres or shows listed above appeal to you, BritBox might be worth the $7.99 monthly price.

Whether you’re a mystery enthusiast who already wore out what PBS has to offer, or you’ve always been fascinated by British comedy, there’s enough content on BritBox to keep you occupied for a long time.

We won’t lie: the service features a lot of titles that are lesser known or completely unknown to American audiences, but if you’re open to that kind of exploration in your streaming, we recommend giving BritBox a shot. You might just find your new favorite show.