6 Most Exciting Upcoming BBC Series In 2026 & Beyond

Published Oct 25, 2026, 7:15 AM EDT El is a Junior TV Features Editor for ScreenRant, with previous experience as The Mary Sue's UK and Weekend Editor. She holds a Bachelor's in International Media and Entertainment Management, as well as an MA and Ph.D. in Creative Writing. There is little she loves more than discussing her favorite TV shows with fellow fans. One day, she hopes to publish an original fantasy novel. The BBC and its production partners have several great shows and series coming up for British TV enthusiasts, including the long-awaited return of one of the UK's most popular crime thrillers and an exciting sci-fi novel adaptation. With BritBox making it easier for audiences in North America and beyond to access British TV productions, the BBC's ideas and series have gotten even bigger and better. Doctor Who's future may be uncertain, but that certainly hasn't stopped the network from greenlighting some exciting new shows. Whether audiences want a swoon-worthy period drama or the most thought-provoking murder mystery series, the BBC has it covered. The BBC and other British networks invented short seasons long before Netflix came along, so viewers can choose between following along weekly or binging everything in a single weekend. Sit back, relax, and prepare yourselves for an adventure across the pond. These are the BBC shows everyone should be watching next. The Other Bennet Sister 3-Part Christmas Special (2026) Credit: Bad Wolf/James Pardon, Courtesy of BritBox One of this year's most pleasant surprises, The Other Bennet Sister will return for a three-part Christmas special this holiday season on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK and BritBox in North America, picking up where the show's original 10-episode run left off. Mary (Ella Bruccoleri) is settling into her new life now that she's no longer the overlooked middle Bennett sister. How will she balance her aspirations with running her own home? Original series writer Sarah Quintrell returns to pen all three episodes, based on original storylines by author Janice Hadlow. Asim Abbasi, who directed half of the primary series, is back as well. This three-episode special is a real treat for fans, as Mary and the charmingly sincere Mr. Hayward (Dónal Finn) find their way together as a couple. Familiar cast members Ruth Jones, Tanya Reynolds, Laurie Davidson, Varada Sethu, Poppy Gilbert, and more will also join the festivities. What better way to celebrate? Ludwig Christmas Special (2026) + Season 3 Credit: Olly Courtney/Courtesy of BritBox BritBox may still be airing new episodes of Ludwig season 2 in the US and Canada, but luckily, we already know more is on the way. Not only will the International Emmy-winning detective series return for a festive Christmas special this year featuring the ultimate detective crossover — David Mitchell's John "Ludwig" Taylor, Anna Maxwell Martin's Lucy, and Dylan Hughes' Henry will be joined by Poirot's one and only Sir David Suchet at a snowy Yorkshire retreat — season 3 is already in the works and filming on location in London, Cambridge, and elsewhere across the UK. It's no surprise the BBC and BritBox have already confirmed another season (with hopefully more to come). Season 1 was the BBC's "biggest comedy launch" since 2018 when it premiered in 2024, and season 2's opening episode was just as successful, attracting 9.1 million viewers in its first 28 days and 5.5 million additional viewers via BBC iPlayer (via BBC). With Mitchell's and Martin's hilarious, charming performances as sleuthing duo Ludwig and Lucy, weekly Agatha Christie-like murder cases, and the show's increasingly intricate overarching conspiracy, Mark Brotherhood's Ludwig is an absolute delight. Long may it reign. Line Of Duty Season 7 (2027) BBC This will undoubtedly be one of the BBC's biggest releases next year, as Adrian Dunbar, Vicky McClure, Martin Compston, and writer and creator Jed Mercurio team up for a long-rumored and highly anticipated seventh season of the smash-hit police thriller Line of Duty. Following the divisive but culturally significant season 6 finale, the new series will see AC-12 disbanded and rebranded into the Inspectorate of Police Standards. Thankfully, the golden trio is still together, set to take on their most sensitive and potentially explosive case yet as they investigate a decorated Detective Inspector accused of being a sexual predator. Joining Line of Duty season 7 as the lead guest star is Trainspotting legend Robert Carlyle, playing Detective Constable Shaun Massie, a Specialist Rifle Officer working for the accused, DI Dominic Gough (Tom Weston-Jones). Of course, viewers will wonder whether Gough is somehow linked to the corrupt organized crime network formerly led by the mysterious "H." It's certainly possible, as the BBC's official synopsis teases that Gough's case may be a "deliberate distraction from a bigger threat still operating in the shadows." Previous Line of Duty seasons are available on BritBox, Acorn TV, and Prime Video. The Ministry of Time (TBD) One of 2024's most successful and inventive sci-fi books, Kaliane Bradley's debut novel The Ministry of Time is being turned into a six-episode series, co-produced by the BBC and A24. Starring Aoife Hinds as the unnamed narrator now known as Sophy and Billy Howle as real-life Victorian Arctic explorer Commander Graham Gore, the story explores the ramifications of time travel in the near future as the British government experiments with bringing displaced "expats" from across history into 21st-century London. Sophy is assigned to watch over Commander Gore as his "bridge," but as she helps him assimilate, the two fall deeply in love. The Ministry of Time isn't a typical sci-fi rom-com, however, and the lovebirds soon become entangled in a dangerous web of government conspiracies, as Gore and his fellow expats try to find their place in this new world after narrowly escaping certain death. Normal People's Alice Birch is penning the script, with Aneil Karia (Top Boy, The Gold) directing. Joining Hinds and Howle are Hong Chau and Adeel Akhtar as Sophy's handlers, Tamara Lawrence as Sophy's colleague Simellia, and Emily Fairn, Josh Finan, and Aisling Loftus as Gore's fellow expats. Aoife Hinds' real-life parents, The Terror's Ciarán Hinds and Whitetail's Hélène Patarot, will play Sophy's in-universe parents. Hercule (TBD) My Lady Jane heartthrob Edward Bluemel will return to the world of Agatha Christie in Hercule, the BBC's and BritBox's upcoming six-episode Hercule Poirot prequel series. Playing the youngest version of the character ever seen on screen, Bluemel has big shoes to fill, following in the footsteps of great actors such as Peter Ustinov, Kenneth Branagh and, of course, the legendary David Suchet. The show follows the mustachioed Belgian detective's first cases in London, so Bluemel will have a chance to make the role his own. Audiences will see a brand-new side of the Queen of Crime's most famous sleuth. The show is described as an "intimate study" of Poirot's life and his investigative process, adapting three of Christie's beloved Hercule Poirot stories as he meets iconic characters like Captain Arthur Hastings and Scotland Yard's James Japp. Hercule is certainly not the first detective prequel series — ITV's brilliant Inspector Morse prequel Endeavour and Prime Video's energetic Young Sherlock series come to mind — but few writers have influenced the genre quite like Agatha Christie. This could be the start of a new era, not only for Poirot but for detective adaptations as a whole. The Detection Club (TBD) This is the ultimate show for murder mystery enthusiasts. Created by Kit Lambert, the mastermind behind beloved British detective dramas like Father Brown, Cooper & Fry, and Whitstable Pearl, and based on an idea by author Simon Brett, The Detection Club brings together three of the most celebrated British crime authors of all time: Agatha Christie (Bryony Hannah), Dorothy L. Sayers (Cara Theobold), and G.K. Chesterton (Miles Jupp). Set in 1930s London, the three authors form a mysterious society and end up investigating actual murders. It's a fun, 10-episode spin on the Golden Age of detective fiction. Are they as good at sleuthing as their characters? Interestingly, all three authors presided over the real-life Detection Club. G.K. Chesterton was the first president, followed by Sayers from 1949 to 1957, and Christie took over from 1957 until her death nearly 20 years later. The club still exists; members have previously even written works together, with different authors contributing individual chapters for new stories. Who knows? This could be the start of a franchise, with new seasons introducing a different generation of Detection Club members. This could be the murder mystery to end all murder mysteries for the BBC and BritBox.