English TV around the world.

[mvallevand]

Increasingly I see the availability of channels from the UK and other English language countries like Australia and NZ. I'd like to open a general discussion on the benefits of the good shows, stations on these networks. I'd like to exclude sports it's a huge topic.

I also don't think we need to discuss shows on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, Fox, the CW and a few "Superstations" from the US, but I think there may some smaller networks that people are watching that don't get any attention.

I will start by talking about Canada. We have CBC, CTV, Global, CHCH, and a few other networks, but primarily they just broadcast shows from the American network at the same time as in the States. There are a few Canadian shows that I like, Handmaids' Tale, Orphan Black but I can't think of any that are played just in Canada that I watch.

For news we have CBC and CTV but frankly I watch those once a day for real news and stick with CNN vs Fox for entertainment during the day.

Premium TV here is pretty much the same as in the US too, with shows from HBO and Showtime making up the new content.

What am I missing and what should I be watching?

Martin

[sub]

I can't think of any NZ shows I'd be recommending. There is a couple of decent ones, but I don't think they're available internationally. They probably wouldn't translate well.

Most of our TV is made up from US and UK shows. I love a lot the UK shows at the moment. Task Master. 8 Out Of 10 Cats. '8 Out Of 10 Cats does countdown' etc. There is also some great BBC dramas.

[martint123]

Being in the UK, I guess I'm spoilt a bit. There is something for everyone at some point. Who would have thought baking and sewing shows would prove so popular

[Graham]

Task Master. 8 Out Of 10 Cats. '8 Out Of 10 Cats does countdown' etc.

Plus QI, Have I got New for You, and more ... But I never see panel shows from other than the UK ... Do other countries not produce panel shows?

[sub]

QI is brilliant, though admittedly I've only seen older ones with Stephen Fry.

We've got '7 Days', which is local comedians doing a panel show about the last 7 Days in the news. I'm not sure it's up there with the calibre of the UK ones, but it's definitely has it's funny moments.

[mvallevand]

In Canada we have "This Hour has 22 Minutes" a similar take on the news and it certainly funny but the humour is in a Canadian context.

For panel shows we have the normal song, dance, talent shows that I completely ignore, but we do have our version "Dragon's Den" ("Shark Tank" in the US) which I do enjoy. I found 8 out of 10 Cat's so we give that a whirl.

Martin

[jksmurf]

I'm surprised either Martin or sub actually have time to watch TV, they spend 61 minutes every hour on here and pretty much never sleep. Must be hilarious in the sub household when NextPVR goes on the blink though, I hope his wife gives him both barrels when it does :-)

[ACTCMS]

Must be hilarious in the sub household when NextPVR goes on the blink though, I hope his wife gives him both barrels when it does :-)

Mrs sub probably has her own Humax...

Alex

[sub]

lol.

We live in the same world as you guys. We're largely a Netflix + Prime + Lightbox family, plus NextPVR for the extra stuff we can't get via those streaming services. (Lightbox is an NZ streaming service)

[mvallevand]

I'm surprised either Martin or sub actually have time to watch TV, they spend 61 minutes every hour on here and pretty much never sleep.

I only watch 3 or 4 shows a week which is why I am looking for good ones to add to make this worthwhile. I ended up viewing way too much children's programming during recent testing too because they are short and allow me to test transitions easier so I wouldn't mind finding some more adult shows to test on too. They don't have to be that serious either if I could find a network that played "Carry On" movies that would be great.

Martin