Masterpiece Theater

There is nothing like making a nice cup of tea and sitting down to watch Masterpiece on PBS. It sounds like something your grandma would have done and I do have some tendencies in the grandmotherly direction but actually Masterpiece has recently come out with some great miniseries. Recently I have watched Sherlock, Downton Abbey and 39 Steps. All have been highly entertaining and most offer history lessons without a hint of boring. I was even inspired to enter the sweepstakes to go on a Masterpiece tour of England, I didn't win so I may have to create my own.

Sherlock is set in modern day London, with Watson as a vet returning from Afghanistan. The episodes are entertaining and really draw you into the stories. I really loved they are filmed with a grey tinge; it added this element of doom to everything. There are three 90 minute episodes and each one is taken from one of the Sherlock Holmes characters. Sherlock is an interesting character, unlikeable but somehow you are still rooting for him. Watson is played by the Martin Freeman who was Tim on the U.K. version of The Office.

Downton Abbey is set in 1912 at the country estate of the Earl of Grantham. The show starts with the heirs to the title and estate perishing on the Titanic. This starts a scramble to train the new heir in the ways of the estate and secure husbands for the three daughters, one of whom was promised to the son of the heir who was lost to the Titanic. The show goes back and forth between the Earl and his family and the servants that work for them. There is loads of drama, manners and history to keep you entertained.

39 Steps is a romantic thriller based off a book that was later turned into a Hitchcock movie. The lead character is a bored playboy who gets caught up in a spy plot that involves threats to Britain’s national security. As he is running from the people trying to stop him from revealing the information to the government he meets a young suffragette and romance ensues. There is action, humor and suppressed Victorian style romance.

Learn more about these shows and other upcoming Masterpiece films and miniseries.

Downton Abbey and Sherlock are both currently available to watch instantly on Netflix.