As TV's summer takes hold, we covet the few places that have plenty of new shows.
There are streaming networks and premium cable channels, of course. There are games on ABC, reality competitions on NBC, quirks on CW, and news everywhere. And, especially, there's PBS.
PBS had already planned a cascade of women's rights shows, leading to Aug. 26, the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote. It has quickly added coverage of COVID-19 and of race relations. And it also has what it does best – elegantly crafted British shows each Sunday.
That starts tonight (check your local listings for specific days and times) with a 1-2-3 punch: At 8 p.m. ET, a portrait of Prince Albert; at 9 p.m. ET, the season-opener of Grantchester; at 10 p.m. ET, the debut of Beecham House.
The Albert special is just a one-shot, to be followed June 21 by the three-part Lucy Worsley's Royal Myths & Secrets. But the dramas continue all summer, joined in August by Endeavour.
There is one catch here. (There always seems to be.) Both Grantchester and Beecham have some story problems. Still, they are done with such class that we'll kind of forgive any flaws. Details include:
Grantchester: Based on short stories by James Runcie, Grantchesteris set in the 1950s, in a sweet-looking village alongside Cambridge. An earnest Anglican priest (James Norton) helps solve crimes with Geordie Keating (Robson Green), a weary cop who's a World War II veteran.
The result has been popular – so much so that Norton became a star and left early in the fourth season. By happy coincidence, the new priest, Will Davenport (Tom Brittney), also happens to be young, handsome, single, and fond of solving crimes.
Will is a former rich kid with a disapproving mother, a motorcycle, and a tenuous romantic history. He has rediscovered celibacy (not an Anglican requirement), to the dismay of an attractive local reporter.
These are richly developed characters, especially when you add Will's assistant (Leonard Finch , a closeted gay man played by Al Weaver), their housekeeper (Sylvia Chapman , a temporarily happy newlywed, played by Tessa Peake-Jones), and Geordie's hectic family.
Indeed, Grantchester spends so much time on the characters that its mysteries are sometimes thin and quickly settled with confessions blurted out with astonishing ease.
That's true of the June 14 opener, for instance, which has some young Cambridge women clinging to secrets. Twice they try to be hidden in woods that seem to be maybe three trees deep.
Despite the plot flaws in some episodes, Grantchester is written, acted, and filmed with the subtle skill we expect from the British.
BEECHAM HOUSE: Now we're late in the 18th century, with the British and the French clutching for the soul (and the riches) of India.
Arriving is John Beecham (Tom Bateman, top), who is sort of "Hasselhoffish," both in his look (tall, handsome) and his range (limited). We meet him in a brief shoot-em-up prologue, then see him reach his massive Delhi estate.
Once a soldier for the East India Trading Company, he now plans to be an honest trader – if he gets permission. By the end of the first hour, we've met two young and single Englishwomen plus his privileged mother, his wayward brother, a mystery baby, and lots of Indian workers.
Most of the roles fit convenient stereotypes. Performances are adequate, hampered by stiff dialog. We would switch away from this, except the settings are so elegant, and this is programming in the summer when we really appreciate a healthy burst of British drama.