Everything British Worth Streaming in April 2026

When we decided to break out British debuts on mainstream American streaming services into a separate list from the niche streamers, it wasn't only because the niche market had solidified to the point of deserving its own category. It's also because, after a decade and a half of leaning on various British networks to help fatten their offerings, most American mainstream services are finally moving away from it.

Ten years ago, in 2016, Netflix had a full roster of BBC 2 programming, bringing over new seasons on the regular; now, most of those shows are on BritBox, Acorn TV, and PBS. Hulu was a repository of BBC 3 shows, to the point that the two streaming services started regularly co-producing. Now those BBC 3 co-productions are heading to YouTube, and Hulu is making plans with ITV to bring over the leftover second-tier series that niche streaming services are passing on. HBO Max gave up trying to best HBO on British shows, and now obediently streams whatever the network it was named for has in stock; even Peacock isn't automatically signing on for everything sister network Sky produces.

The good news is that this reduced roster makes it much easier to track what premieres on the mainstream services. (It's also great for everyone's wallets, since there will be long stretches where there's nothing worth the subscription fee.) So let's run down all the British – and a few European – titles coming to our shores on the major streaming services for April 2026.

Criminal Record Season 2

Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo return for Criminal Record Season 2, going toe-to-toe once more as a pair of cops who find themselves on opposite ends of how to do their jobs. Their combustible professional relationship became the lens through which the series explored systemic racism, police corruption, and generational conflict in the workplace. Season 1 ended with DCI Daniel Hegarty (Capaldi) exposed for corruption; Season 2 will bring him back to pair up with DS June Lenker (Jumbo) on a brand new case.

Criminal Record Season 2 will premiere on Apple TV on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, and runs through mid-June.

Half-Man

We were not big fans of Richard Gadd's Baby Reindeer, and it brings us no joy to inform you that, thanks to HBO Max's insistence on competing with Netflix, we must suffer more of his accidentally too-revealing work. Half Man follows Ruben (Gadd) and Niall (Jamie Bell), two friends with a volatile, decades-long relationship that claims to be an exploration of rage and dysfunctional manhood. At least I think we can all agree that whatever arrives will definitely fall under the category of "dysfunctional."

Half Man will premiere on Thursday, April 23, 2026, on HBO and HBO Max and air/stream through the end of May.

The Law According to Lidia Poët Season 3

Netflix only has three series worth watching in April, starting with the third and final season of the much-slept-on The Law According to Lidia Poët. Loosely based on the life of Italy's first female lawyer, it stars Matilda De Angelis (The Undoing) as the titular Lidia, who takes a job at her brother's law firm following her public disbarment. Her clients are almost always women, and the show's cases tend to focus on female experiences and perspectives in ways that far too many in the procedural space don't bother with.

All episodes of The Law According to Lidia Poët Season 3 will premiere on Netflix on Wednesday, April 15, 2026.

A Gorilla Story: Told By David Attenborough

PBS may be making the biggest deal over Sir David Attenborough's centenary, but Netflix is right there with them. Ahead of Earth Day and the Naturalist's 100th birthday on May 8, it will premiere the documentary film A Gorilla Story: Told By David Attenborough, an intimate look at one of his most famous relationships with an animal – his 1978 encounter with baby gorilla Pablo during the filming of his seminal Life on Earth. 

A Gorilla Story: Told By David Attenborough will debut on Netflix on Friday, April 17, 2026, as part of the streaming service's slate of Earth Day programs.

Unchosen

Based on the real-life experiences of former cult members, Unchosen is a star-studded drama inspired by British Christian fundamentalist cults like the "Jesus Fellowship Church," better known as "The Jesus Army." Molly Windsor, Asa Butterfield, Fra Fee, Christopher Eccleston, and Siobhan Finneran star in the six-episode limited series.

All episodes of Unchosen will debut on Netflix on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.

The Miniature Wife

We regret that no one recorded Lacy's scream of horror when she realized The Miniature Wife's title wasn't metaphorical. (We humbly ask you to use your imagination and know that whatever you end up picturing, it was way funnier.) Based on a short story by Manuel Gonzales, the comedy-drama is basically Honey, I Shrunk My Spouse. The Sky-Peacock co-production is a British-American hybrid of a show starring the U.K's Matthew Macfadyen and American Elizabeth Banks as the lead couple. Unfortunately, no one will play the solo cups.

All episodes of The Miniature Wife premiere Thursday, April 9, 2026, on Peacock.

The House of the Spirits

The first-ever TV adaptation of the best-selling intergenerational saga The House of the Spirits heads to Prime Video at the end of April. The eight-part adaptation is based on Isabel Allende's best-selling novel, spanning several generations of women's lives in an unnamed country clearly based on post-colonial Chile, mixing magical realism with social upheaval and political turmoil. As the first-ever screen adaptation of Allende's work, it's worth checking out.

The House of the Spirits will stream on Prime Video starting Wednesday, April 29, 2026, and will be released in three batches through mid-May.

Big Mood Season 2

Big Mood is back! The Tubi sleeper hit starring Nicola Coughlan and Lydia West as besties Maggie and Eddie returns after the two have spent a year apart, no contact. But when a mutual friend's wedding puts them back in the same space, Eddie is shocked to discover she's been wholesale replaced by Maggie's new best friend, creepily positive "spiritual healer" Whitney (Hannah Onslow). The hijinks only get more out of control from there.

Big Mood Season 2 debuts with all six episodes on Tubi on Thursday, April 16, 2026.

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