Everything Coming to BritBox & AcornTV in January 2026

The streaming landscape has been challenging to navigate over the last decade. With the massive proliferation of subscription options, it can feel impossible to find anything to watch while spending twice what a cable bill used to run. However, there are silver linings; the most visible being the average consumer’s ability to access global series that they previously did not know existed.

For Anglophiles, the new world order has radically changed the availability of British and European television in the United States. The larger streaming services (Netflix, Paramount, Peacock, etc.) tend to treat British titles as one of many options alongside Latin American, South Asian, and other “foreign language” offerings. However, BritBox (owned by the BBC) and AMC Networks’ AcornTV have tripled down on focusing on the niche once occupied solely by PBS.

As we roll into 2026, both BritBox and AcornTV are coming off banner years. BritBox has benefited from its consolidated BBC ownership, securing some of the year’s biggest U.K. hits. AcornTV has taken the opposite tack, doubling down on original programming that blends American, Canadian, and British culture into the platonic ideals of cozy crime mysteries. As 2026 kicks off, we’re breaking these niche offerings out from the rest of the pack in our monthly rundowns as their lists of monthly debuts continue to spike. Let’s review everything coming to the dedicated niche British streaming services in January 2026.

Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale Season 2

One of my least favorite aspects of the AMC Network streaming services is their tendency to debut shows at the end of the month, which means two major shows premiered between Christmas and New Year’s in 2025. First up, Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale Season 2, where Elaine Cassidy and Hazel Doupe return as the mother/daughter team of witches, who start Season 2 in hiding in Scotland. However, it’s not long before things take a turn, bringing back Stephanie Levi-John as DCI Maggie Knight into their orbit. Season 2 debuted on Christmas Day 2025 on AMC+, will premiere a second episode on New Year’s Eve, and follow with new episodes through the rest of January on Wednesdays.

Wolf

AMC+ also scooped up one of the biggest U.K. horror series from 2025, Wolf. Starring Sacha Dhawan (Doctor Who), Iwan Rheon (Game of Thrones), and Ukweli Roach (Annika), this all-star series follows Roach as DI Jack Caffery, a cop obsessed with his brother’s death, who crosses paths with the wealthy Anchor-Ferrers, who have many secrets to hide. The series debuted on Tuesday, December 30, 2025, and will continue with new episodes on Tuesdays through the beginning of February.

The Graham Norton Show Season 33

One of the few excuses BBC America has for retaining its moniker: The Graham Norton Show Season 33 continues into 2026 with episodes resuming Friday, January 2. The series streams on AMC+ and on AMC Network’s newest niche streamer, AllReality, which few people know exists yet, so it’s not clear whether that counts.

My Life is Murder Season 5

Meanwhile, AcornTV is coming in hot for 2026 with the hit that started it all, My Life is Murder. The New Zealand-set cozy crime series stars Lucy Lawless as Alexa Crowe, a cop who retires from her precinct in Sydney to become a private detective at home with her bestie, played by Ebony Vagulans. Season 5 will feature shady aquariums, elite cheer squads, creepy dolls, and deadly island getaways. Season 5 debuts Monday, January 5, 2026, only on AcornTV and will continue with one episode a week into mid-February.

Hidden Assets Season 3

It’s been more than two years since the oddball European Mafia thriller Hidden Assets debuted Season 2 with Nora-Jane Noone as lead detective DS Claire Wallace, replacing Season 1’s DS Emer Berry (Angeline Ball). Noone returns for Season 3 with long-time show stalwarts Cathy Belton as Norah Dillon and Aaron Monaghan as DS Sean Prendergast. Season 3 debuts Monday, January 13, 2026, exclusively on Acorn TV and will stream new episodes through the end of February.

Gangs of London Season 3

Gangs of London’s third season was a ratings smash for Sky over in the U.K.; unfortunately, for reasons I do not understand, AMC+ continues to hoard the show for itself instead of sharing it with AcornTV and Sundance Now. Even relegated to a lesser-watched service, Season 3 returns with Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, Joe Cole, Michelle Fairley, and Lucian Msamati once again wrestling for control of London’s underground. Gangs of London debuts Thursday, January 15, 20206, with new episodes every Thursday through the beginning of March.

London’s Gangsters

Sundance Now has started leaning into bringing over trashy British documentaries, perhaps in hopes of replicating Netflix’s success with them. It’s highly unlikely to work. Still, it does mean the network can sidecar with AMC+ and the new All Reality streaming service with London’s Gangsters, a two-part docuseries on real-life gang kingpins Reggie and Ronnie Kray, who ran the London underground scene throughout the 1960s. Series debuts Thursday, January 22, 2026, with both episodes.

Planet Earth: Kingdom

BBC America’s most valuable asset remains its longstanding contract with BBC Nature to air all major David Attenborough documentaries in the U.S. Unsurprisingly, with the man himself marking his own centenary this year, there has been a significant spate of them in the last couple of years. The latest installment, Planet Earth: Kingdom, focuses on the remote and fertile river valley in Zambia, following four species as they try to survive. The series premieres on BBC America and streams on AMC+ starting Saturday, January 24, 2026, and runs through March.

Nightsleeper

BritBox has also adopted the practice of liminal-week releases, which works in the U.K., where everyone takes two weeks off at the end of the year, but less well here in the States. Most of what’s on offer is various Christmas specials: Motherland, Death in Paradise, Beyond Paradise, Mrs. Browns Boys, and so on. But BritBox also chose to debut the 2024 thriller Nightsleeper, starring Joe Cole and Alexandra Roach. All six episodes arrived on Boxing Day 2025, so feel free to go binge when you have the time.

Gardeners’ World Winter Special 2025

Monty Don fans, this one’s for you. We all love the cozy plant show Gardener’s World, and its winter specials are always a joy to watch this time of year. All four episodes arrive on New Year’s Eve 2025, so if you need a break from the fireworks around the world as the planet rotates, BritBox has you covered.

Shetland Season 10

Turning to January proper, BritBox has apparently decided to join the U.K. New Year’s Day tradition of major debuts, likely emboldened by the success of Netflix’s Harlan Ellison mysteries. In 2026, the streaming service will premiere Season 10 of the fan-favorite cozy crime series Shetland. The series has long since departed from the Ann Cleeves source material it was based on, especially since Ashley Jensen took over as lead. She and co-star Alison O’Donnell will kick off the new season investigating murder in Lunniswick. The series will continue with one episode a week on Thursdays through mid-February.

The Game

We’ll be mourning the end of Grantchester later in 2026, when it concludes with Season 11; however, the good news is that Robson Green is now free to take on more limited series. His opening salvo to break away from the Geordie Keating Pigeonhole he’s currently sitting in is The Game. The Channel 5 drama stars Jason Watkins as a retired cop still obsessed with the serial killer he failed to capture after a year-long hunt; Green plays the man who moves next door, who may or may not be the quarry he’s been seeking all these years. The four-part series debuts Thursday, January 8, 2026, with one episode a week through the end of the month.

Riot Women Season 1

BritBox’s biggest get for January, hands down, is the new Sally Wainwright series Riot Women, the story of five middle-aged women who form a punk band to rage against the machine. (I like to think of it as We Are Middle-Aged Ladyparts.) Initially slated to air in the U.K. and the U.S. simultaneously in October 2025, the U.S. debut was delayed until mid-winter, likely in hopes of piggybacking off the PBS Sunday night lineup, which kicks off the same week. Between the Wainwright factor and the cast, an all-star lineup of Joanna Scanlan, Lorraine Ashbourne, Rosalie Craig, Tamsin Greig, Amelia Bullmore, Taj Atwal, Natalia Tena, Peter Davison, Claire Skinner, and Anne Reid, this could be the hit BritBox needs to finally break through. The series kicks off with a double-episode premiere on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, with one episode per week to follow through the end of February.