10 Shows From ITV That Need to Cross the Pond

ITV, Independent Television, was conceived and chartered as the first commercial network in the U.K. in 1955, to create competition to the BBC. Until the late 1980s, it wasn’t really a large company, but more like PBS in the States: a loose federation of regional networks with a weak central oversight. When all those independent networks consolidated in the 1990s, it was technically renamed “Channel 3,” as the next channel on the dial after BBC 1 and BBC 2, but that never stuck. However, to this day, ITV and its streaming service, ITVX, remain the main terrestrial competitors to the BBC and iPlayer.

Far more importantly, ITV is the source of most of the popular shows PBS viewers find on Masterpiece. From Inspectors Morse and Lewis, to Endeavour and Grantchester, ITV is behind most of the big-time mysteries people assume come from the BBC. Some of its biggest hits include Poirot, Marple, Unforgotten, and Midsomer Murders. Oh, and Downton Abbey and Victoria were ITV series too.

This is why any series made for ITV and ITVX that has recently debuted or is on the verge of premiering but doesn’t yet have distribution in the U.S. is of great interest. With such a high rate of Global sales, the chances of an ITV series finding its way over here are very high. Moreover, if a show doesn’t cross the pond, it’s usually a sign it was just that bad.

Here’s the full rundown of everything currently in the works that we expect to see cross the pond soon.

Believe Me

Let’s start with Believe Me, because it recently released its first images ahead of the planned spring 2026 premiere. This was a show announced in August 2025 that we backburnered, planning to write about it once Slow Horses returned, as it stars Aimée-Ffion Edwards, but never got to. Here’s the synopsis:

Believe Me tells the story of how the victims of one of the most prolific sex attackers in British history were failed by the system. John Worboys was dubbed the ‘black cab rapist’ after preying on women under the cover of being a ‘respectable’ licensed taxi-cab driver. He was convicted in 2009 for crimes including sexual assault and drugging with intent against twelve women between 2006 and 2008, with their cases selected from a large number of suspected further victims. His modus operandi was to pick up women in his cab after they’d been on a night out, claim that he’d had a win at a casino or on the lottery, then persistently offer them a drug-laced glass of champagne to help him ‘celebrate’ - which then rendered his victims unconscious. The drama focuses on the ordeal of Sarah and Laila, who reported sexual assaults, and how the Metropolitan Police failed to thoroughly investigate their allegations, leading them to feel that they were just not believed.

Edwards stars as Sarah, with Aasiya Shah (The Beast Must Die) as Laila, Daniel Mays (Magpie Murders) as John Worboys, and Miriam Petche (Industry) as Carrie, another would-be victim who managed a lucky escape.

Betrayal

Any series that stars Endeavour’s Shaun Evans is going to cross the pond at some point; like John Thaw before him, Evans’s turn as Morse has resulted in a hardcore fanbase of PBS viewers, which is why we covered Betrayal from the moment it was announced in early 2025. That he’s returning to play a detective in a new police procedural after a short foray as a serial killer is merely bonus cookies. Here’s the synopsis:

John Hughes is a mid-career MI5 officer navigating a rapidly evolving intelligence landscape while struggling to keep his personal life intact. Acting on a hunch, John meets a British-Iranian man with links to the Stockport gangland who claims to have intelligence about an imminent plot on UK soil. When the encounter takes an unexpected turn, John finds himself under internal investigation. But when he meets Mehreen Askari-Evans, an intelligence operative who is tasked with taking over John’s duties, he finds an unlikely ally. As John becomes increasingly convinced of the involvement of a hardline faction of the Iranian regime, he also starts to worry that there are enemies closer to home. But can he identify the target and avert the attack before it’s too late?

Evans co-stars with Romola Garai (Becoming Elizabeth) as his wife, Claire; Nikki Amuka-Bird (I Jack Wright) as his boss, Simone Grant; and Zahra Ahmadi (Beyond Paradise) as Mehreen Askari-Evans. Supporting cast includes Gamba Cole (Three Little Birds), Omid Djalili (His Dark Materials), Matthew Tennyson (Grantchester), Hayley Tamaddon (Unforgotten), Anthony Flanagan (House of the Dragon), Waj Ali (Out There), Karim Kadjar (Wolf Hall), Emma Cunniffe (The Long Shadow), Georgina Rylance (Sherlock), and Ben Lambert (The Crown).

Saviour

Commissioned at the end of January 2026, Saviour is a brand new crime thriller from criminal barrister, novelist, and screenwriter Imran Mahmood, with directors Leanne Welham (Pachinko) and Annetta Laufer (The Forsytes) splitting helming duties across six episodes. Here’s the synopsis:

Saviour follows Ben, who, after borrowing his dad’s police uniform for a costume party, gets into an altercation that results in a man’s death. Called to represent Ben is brilliant criminal defence solicitor, Indy Sangar, who has just been promoted to Higher Rights of Audience in the Old Bailey. But what she doesn’t know is that, whilst fighting tooth and nail for Ben’s freedom, deeply personal secrets of her own are finally coming to the surface and threatening to tear her career and her family apart.

Archie Fisher (Death by Lightning) stars as Ben with Aidan Gillen (Kin) as his father, Eddie, Anjli Mohindra (The Red King) as Indy Sangar, and Shaun Parkes (The Suspect) as DI Jon Creasy. The series is currently filming in Liverpool.

The Party

ITV commissioned The Party in early November 2025, based on the acclaimed novel by Elizabeth Day. Luke Evans (The Pembrokeshire Murders) executive produces the series and stars as Martin Gilmour, a journalist shaped by his lifelong friendship with the wealthy and charismatic politician Ben Fitzmaurice, played by Tom Cullen (The Gold). Here’s the synopsis:

Raised alone by his working-class mum, Sylvia, Martin wins a scholarship to an elite boarding school, where he first meets Ben. They forge an unbreakable bond, as Ben and the Fitzmaurices give Martin the sense of belonging he has always craved. In turn, Martin remains unflinchingly loyal to Ben through even the greatest crises. Three decades on, Martin is invited to Ben’s lavish birthday party at the Fitzmaurice’s country pile. The news of the Conservative leader’s resignation threatens to derail Ben’s party, as he considers announcing his intention to stand. Martin fears the publicity that Ben’s bid would bring, dredging up the secrets of their past with tragic consequences …

Evans and Cullen are joined by Joanna Scanlan (Riot Women) as Sylvia, Lydia Leonard (Ten Percent) as Ben’s wife Serena, plus Lindsay Duncan (Truelove), and Douglas Hodge (The Great) as Ben’s parents, Lady Katherine and Lord George Fitzmaurice. Sarah Solemani (Ridley Road) penned all episodes and also co-stars as Martin’s pregnant wife, Lucy. The series has been filming since October 2025, and is expected to premiere on ITV before the end of 2026.

Shakedown

Produced in conjunction with Australia’s ABC, Shakedown was initially announced in November 2025, which (at the time) listed March 2026 as the start of filming. We haven’t seen any movement on it yet, but considering this is an Australian-set series being filmed down under, it may be a minute before the full cast is announced. Here’s the synopsis:

Shakedown is the gripping true story of how a group of ordinary Australians risked it all to expose an unlawful automated debt-recovery system that falsely accused half a million people of welfare fraud. This searing drama is set to reveal how a courageous coalition of victims, activists, journalists, and lawyers fought back against a government and bureaucracy that refused to listen - uncovering what’s been described as Australia’s greatest miscarriage of justice.

As should be obvious, this is ITV’s newest “factual drama” to be commissioned in the wake of its success with Mr Bates vs the Post Office. As a way to change it up (especially considering several other networks are doing the same), aiming to dramatize terrible miscarriages of justice in countries other than the U.K. isn’t a bad move.

Adultery

Romola Garai continues to stay booked and busy with a second series on this list, co-starring with Dominic Cooper (My Lady Jane) in what ITV seems to be hoping will be a controversial series, the provocatively named Adultery. Initially announced in September 2025, we backburnered it since we weren’t even sure if we’d get to cover it. Here’s the (messy, messy) synopsis:

The provocative love story raises questions about class, grief, and the effects of social media, taking the viewer on a rollercoaster of passion, parenthood, and peril as Tom Kirkman and Beth Brookes embark on a passionate and intense love affair that threatens to uproot their whole lives. The series begins when Tom’s 15-year-old daughter Jess starts dating schoolmate Ollie; they can’t take their hands off one another, as love’s young dream becomes all-consuming. But when Tom meets Ollie’s mum, Beth, in the most unexpected of circumstances, the two families’ lives are potentially turned upside down forever. Will Tom and Beth be able to control their desires, unlike their lovestruck teenagers?

Cooper and Garai play Tom and Beth, with Shelley Conn (Bridgerton) as Tom’s wife Hannah, and Matthew McNulty (Domina) as Beth’s husband Neil. Leila Khan (Heartstopper) plays Jess, with newcomer Johnny Sanpher as Ollie. Filming began in September 2025; there have been no updates since.

I Fought the Law

While most of ITV’s shows cross the pond, a few don’t. If I were a betting person (and thank god I’m not), I would say I Fought the Law is the one on this list that won’t make it over. The series was announced back in August 2025; we backburnered it because, despite her role in Gavin & Stacey, Sheridan Smith is not a major British actor in the U.S. (Think of her as a bit like the British version of Lacey Chabert.) Here’s the synopsis:

The drama follows the tragic, moving, and deeply inspiring journey of the Ming family after the murder of their beloved 22-year-old daughter, Julie. In the wake of multiple police failings, her mother, Ann, relentlessly pressures the authorities to uncover the truth and ensure the man responsible is brought to justice - despite initially seeming he will get away with murder. In her steadfast and indomitable style, Ann takes on the entire justice system - challenging the Crown Prosecution Service, the Law Commission, prominent defence barristers in television debates, the Government, the Lord Chancellor, the Attorney General, and two Home Secretaries - as she bravely ‘fought the law.’

Smith plays Ann Ming, the real-life mother in the story; the series is adapted from Ming’s own book, For the Love of Julie. She co-stars alongside Andrew Lancel (Unforgotten) and Rufus Jones (Hijack), among others. The series already aired in the U.K. in the second half of 2025; we’ll see if it ever shows up here.

Gone

Another late-November 2025 commission that premiered on ITV in the first week of March 2026, Gone is a thriller from the mind of George Kay (Lupin) starring Eve Myles (Torchwood) as Detective Annie Cassidy and David Morrissey (Sherwood) as the local school Headmaster Michael Polly, who is the main suspect in her latest case. Here’s the synopsis:

Set against the backdrop of a prestigious private school, a foreboding forest, and the quiet sprawl of Bristol, Gone is a chilling mystery focusing on local Headmaster Michael Polly, who becomes the prime suspect in his wife Sarah’s disappearance. An upstanding member of the community, Michael Polly is inscrutable and values order and precision in his work. Until that is, he encounters super-bright, gutsy Detective Annie Cassidy, and a compulsive game of cat and mouse begins as she chips away at his veneer in search of the truth.

Kay penned all six episodes, with director Richard Laxton (Mrs Wilson) helming all installments. Gone also stars Emma Appleton (The Killing Kind) as Michael and Sara’s daughter, Alana, who teaches at the same academy that her father oversees.

The Blame

The Blame is the last of the August 2025 commissions from ITV that we skipped over at the time because it was so obviously heading this way. (I admit to being slightly confused that it hasn’t already been picked up.) A brand new mystery series from Quay Street (the folks behind Netflix’s Harlan Coben series, most of Russell T. Davies’s non-Doctor Who shows, and hit series After the Flood), the new series is based on the debut novel of the same name by Charlotte Langley. Here’s the synopsis:

The series begins when the body of teenage figure skater Sophie Madsen is discovered, sending shockwaves through the town of Wakestead. As DI Crane and DI Radley dig deeper, what starts as a tragic death spirals into a tangled web of lies, institutional cover-ups, and moral compromise. As the clock ticks and trust fractures, Crane must navigate both a murder investigation and the treacherous politics inside her own team.

The series stars Fool Me Once’s Michelle Keegan as DI Emma Crane, Douglas Booth (And Then There Were None) as DI Tom Radley, and Ian Hart (The Last Kingdom) as boss DCI Kenneth Walker in a brand-new bid to create a police procedural that will run for decades.

One Night

Last but not least, I admit this one is a cheat, as ITV did not originally produce this show. Paramount+ commissioned it during its brief heyday in 2022, before it was swallowed by the Ellisons and turned into American State Television. One Night was the first series Jodie Whittaker starred in after exiting Doctor Who. However, the slow Paramount collapse meant it only aired down under on the streaming service’s Australian arm. Here’s the synopsis:

Simone has harboured secret hopes of becoming a novelist, but most of her haphazard attempts have been shoved into her bottom drawer. Now, at the age of 40, she has finally written the one story she could never get out of her mind, and her debut manuscript has become an unexpected overnight success. But it soon becomes apparent that the devastating story the book tells doesn’t exclusively belong to her. At the heart of Simone’s novel is a tragedy that also happened to Tess and Hat, her two childhood best friends. As it becomes harder to prise fact from fiction, one person’s memory and story from another’s, the book threatens to derail all their friendships, bringing old traumas to the surface of the small coastal community where they grew up, and stirring its perpetrators, who want to make it all go away.

Starring Whittaker, Nicole da Silva (Wentworth), and Yael Stone (Orange Is the New Black), the series, despite rave reviews upon its 2023 debut, has remained in limbo since. That’s why we were very excited in July 2025, when ITV announced it was scooping up the rights to broadcast it. While that still hasn’t quite been enough to convince BritBox or PBS to pick the show up, it’s a reminder never to give up hope. Perhaps One Night will finally stream in the U.S... one day.

(We occasionally use affiliate links in our posts to help keep cat food on the floor)