Pond-Bridging British Telly

Sundays on SDPB are for brewing a cuppa, turning of the ringer, and indulging in some Anglo-escapism.

Masterpiece Flesh and Blood

SDPB1: Sundays at 8pm (7 MT) In this unconventional thriller, the lives of three siblings are disrupted when their recently widowed mother (Francesca Annis) declares she’s in love with a new man (Stephen Rea). The older woman’s budding romance provokes suspicion among her adult children and their inquisitive next-door neighbor (Imelda Staunton), and a detective (David Bamber) investigates whether an unfortunate incident was an accident or a heinous crime.

COBRA

SDPB1: Sundays at 9pm (8 MT) As a major crisis threatens the stability of the UK, Prime Minister Robert Sutherland and his close team assemble the emergency committee COBRA (Cabinet Office Briefing Room A) in an effort to combat the situation. Comprised of leading contingency planners and senior politicians, the team works round-the-clock to stave off disaster in this breathtaking political drama.

The Trouble with Maggie Cole

SDPB1: Sunday, October 18 & 25, 7pm (6 MT) Dawn French (French & Saunders, Vicar of Dibley) returns as Maggie, a busybody local historian, heritage gift shop owner and selfappointed oracle of Thurlbury, a close-knit coastal community.

Masterpiece Roadkill

SDPB1: Sunday, Nov. 1, 8pm (7 MT) Hugh Laurie (House, Veep) stars as a scheming politician in this taut drama scripted by two-time Academy Award® nominee David Hare (The Hours, The Reader). Laurie plays Peter Laurence, a self-made former furniture salesman who has risen to the heights of the British government thanks to a natural gift for populism, and a forceful nature, all while excelling at walking the tightrope of Machiavellian party politics. As Roadkill opens, he has just won a libel suit against reporter Charmian Pepper (played by Sarah Greene, Normal People), who accused him of accepting payments to help privatize the National Health Service. Saved from being “roadkill” by his legal team, Peter stays in the good graces of the devious prime minister Dawn Ellison (Helen McCrory, Peaky Blinders), who fears his popularity but is aware of the abundant skeletons, both public and private, in his closet.