20 best shows like Dean Spanley (2008)

Inside No. 9 invites viewers into many very different No. 9s, where the ordinary and mundane rub shoulders with the extraordinary and macabre. From a grand country house where a game of 'sardines' leads to some chilling revelations in a wardrobe; to a very oddly haunted house; to a blood-soaked actor's dressing room in London's West End; to the flat of an apparently happy primary school teacher who becomes the victim of a good deed; these unpredictable tales feature high comedy and claustrophobic horror by turns.

Robyn, the sharp and witty publicity maven, is an expert at her craft but a complete self-saboteur when it comes to her personal life. Robyn’s work as a crisis PR strategist is fast-paced and unpredictable, as she counsels high-profile personalities in entertainment, fashion and sports.

A teen navigates the complexities of high school, family and her sexuality while dealing with new superpowers. Based on Charles Forsman's graphic novel.

The central premise of Being Human is that various types of supernatural beings exist alongside human beings, with varying degrees of menace; that three of these supernatural beings are opting to live amongst human beings rather than apart from them; and that these three characters are attempting (as much as is possible) to live ordinary human lives despite the pressures and dangers of their situations. They are constantly threatened with exposure or persecution, with pressure from other supernatural creatures, and with problems caused by their attempts to deal with their own natures.

Marnie is not OK. She's had x-rated thoughts for the last 3672 days and she doesn't know why or what they mean. When she jumps on a coach to London, she doesn't know a soul, not even herself, but in the city she will build a new life.

The citizens of the small British town of Pagford fight for the spot on the parish council after Barry Fairbrother dies.

Estranged foster-brothers Stephen and Andrew vie to take over the family business following the death of their father.

When five young outsiders on Community Service get caught in a strange storm, they discover that they have developed superpowers.

Mr. Sloane's titular character is a buttoned-down 1960's man in crisis. Between his failed attempts at marriage, career success and even suicide, it's fair to say that 1969 isn't shaping up to be Watford-dweller Mr. Sloane's year. But with a potential job opportunity on the horizon and the phone number of a prospective new love interest following a chance encounter in his local hardware store, could Mr Sloane's luck be about to change?

Tony had a perfect life. But after his wife Lisa suddenly dies, Tony changes. After contemplating taking his own life, he decides instead to live long enough to punish the world by saying and doing whatever he likes from now on.

Coming-of-age drama about lovable rogues Conor and Jock as they navigate their awkward teenage years, hatching plans and adventures to help distract from their tough home lives and their inability to stay out of trouble at school.

Inexperienced Otis channels his sex therapist mom when he teams up with rebellious Maeve to set up an underground sex therapy clinic at school.

Set in the small hamlet of Lark Rise and the wealthier neighbouring market town, Candleford, the series chronicles the daily lives of farm-workers, craftsmen and gentry at the end of the 19th Century. Lark Rise to Candleford is a love letter to a vanished corner of rural England and a heart-warming drama series teeming with wit, wisdom and romance.

It's the late 1960s, homosexuality has only just been legalised and Jeremy Thorpe, the leader of the Liberal party, has a secret he's desperate to hide.

London's police force is in need of a public image revamp. And Chief Constable Richard Miller has found just the woman to do it...American visionary from the world of new media Liz Garvey, sets out to revolutionise the force's PR department just as an outbreak of violence erupts.

This mockumentary goes behind the microphone of Kurupt FM - the second most popular pirate radio station in West London, receiving up to eight texts per show and playing the finest in UK garage and drum 'n' bass. Co-founded by the MC Sniper and DJ Beats in 2002, the station has now built up a following of over a hundred people and has attracted the attention of the BBC who are making a documentary about the lives of those behind Kurupt FM

A group of six students about to embark on the most exciting period of their lives so far: university!

Paul Pennyfeather is an inoffensive divinity student at Oxford University in the 1920s who is wrongly dismissed for indecent exposure having been made the victim of a prank by The Bollinger Club.

A young doctor who has graduated at the top of his class from the Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry is thrust out into an isolated and impoverished country side as the village's only doctor. As he learns to adapt to his new lifestyle, he develops a morphine addiction to stay his sanity while realizing what being a doctor in the real world means.

Keen Eddie is an American action, comedy-drama television series that aired in 2003 on the Fox Network. The series follows a brash NYPD detective who goes to London when one of his cases goes sour and remains to work with New Scotland Yard. The basic premise of the show bears a close resemblance to the popular 1980s British series Dempsey & Makepeace, the only notable difference being that the female partner has been replaced by a female housemate. Stylistically, the series derived inspiration from British feature films by Guy Ritchie, such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. The soundtrack and incidental music for the first episode was provided by British techno duo Orbital. Daniel Ash of Love and Rockets scored the rest of the series.The series was scheduled to premiere during the 2002–2003 television season, but was postponed and premiered in summer 2003. The series was then moved to Thursdays with its seventh episode to help improve its ratings, but Fox canceled the series due to its low ratings of 5.1 million viewers.The American cable network Bravo picked up the series to begin airing in January 2004, including the six episodes never aired on Fox. All thirteen episodes of the series were released on DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment on September 7, 2004. Unfortunately, the original score was replaced due to music licensing issues.

It is the year 1967. After five happy years of marriage in New York with Alberto and their young son, Anna Ribera returns to Spain to take her project Velvet to the next level. She and Alberto had been managing all things Velvet from across the ocean and, together with their best friends and partners, had made a name for Velvet as the number one address in the world of fashion and innovation. Now they decide to take the next step and turn their reputation into a franchise, first at home, then abroad. The first step is opening shop in the other great Spanish city, Barcelona, on its world famous promenade, the Passeig de Gracia. There, the second Velvet Fashion Store is about to open its gates, managed by Ana's good friend Clara who had made it up the career ladder from seamstress to directorial assistant in the Madrid Velvet years.

Meg, Nicky and Usman's lives all revolve around their obsession for the massively popular fantasy game "Kingdom Scrolls" – a mystical, magical and most importantly virtual world of wizards and wyverns. But when gaming n00b Russell bumbles into their team, the group find themselves increasingly forced to deal with the real world.

This scripted anthology series mashes up wildly different genres to tell suspenseful stories with funny, imaginative twists. Each episode turns familiar tropes inside out to create a curated and eclectic collection of stories filled with equal parts nostalgia and modern satire.

A grieving teen finds an unexpected connection with two classmates at her new high school after they all land in the same Shoplifters Anonymous group.

The series follows 14-year-old Emma Alonso, as she moves to Miami and her life turns upside-down. Not only does she discover that she is a witch, she also has a crush on the boy next door, Daniel. But Daniel’s ex-girlfriend Maddie, who is an 'evil witch' and leader of the school clique the 'Panthers', is still willing to fight for the boy she loves.

Some of literature's most terrifying characters, including Dr. Frankenstein, Dorian Gray, and iconic figures from the novel Dracula are lurking in the darkest corners of Victorian London. Penny Dreadful is a frightening psychological thriller that weaves together these classic horror origin stories into a new adult drama.

Katherine's a single mom juggling her career, her tween daughter, her relationship with her boyfriend — and pondering getting pregnant with her ex.

Follows a best-selling author of a self-help book series who is secretly hiding her separation from her husband as she starts to navigate her life as a single woman in her 40's in Los Angeles. She starts to side with and take advice more from her divorced friends rather than her married ones and it leads her to some unexpected and life-changing experiences.

Four adults nearing 40, living under the same roof, struggle to keep their relationships and their individual dreams alive.

The story of a double-glazing showroom in Essex in the 80s, led by charismatic Vincent Swan, and his unscrupulous sales team, Brian Fitzpatrick and Martin Lavender.

One day while returning home to stay with his widowed twin sister and her daughter, Kevin Finn, a self-centered man whose life brings him more trouble than he bargained for, is recruited by a celestial being named Yvette, who enlists Kevin with a new purpose in his life, which is to save the world.

In Edwardian England, George and his partner Amy attempt to defy society and start a life together as they face the escalating terror of an alien invasion, fighting for their lives against an enemy beyond their comprehension.

A middle-aged man recently ditched by his long-term girlfriend, ‘Karl’ lives with his elderly Auntie and his closest companion is his doppelgänger alter ego.

Witty, heartfelt and unique interlinked stories covering different aspects of LGBT life, featuring the most exciting emerging talent.

The three-part series centres on the close and often fraught relationship between sisters Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf, and Vanessa’s sexually complicated alliance with gay artist Duncan Grant as they, and their group of like-minded friends, navigate their way through love, sex and artistic life through the first half of the 20th century.

Bedlam was a British supernatural drama television series created by David Allison, Neil Jones and Chris Parker. It first aired on 7 February 2011 on Sky Living and Sky Living HD. The series finale was aired on 15 March 2011. In December 2011, it was announced that a second series had been commissioned for airing in Spring 2012 with an updated cast. Series 2 began airing in June 2012 with Lacey Turner taking the lead as a suspended paramedic who can see dead people. On 13 November 2012 Jack Roth who plays Max in the series revealed that Bedlam may return for Series 3 and that a decision on the shows future is to be made around Christmas 2012. On 11 March 2013 Roth announced on Twitter that Bedlam would not be returning for a third series.

A critical and often humorous look at the upper class, tracking the protagonist’s harrowing odyssey from a deeply traumatic childhood through adult substance abuse and, ultimately, toward recovery.

The story of a group of inspirational women in a rural Cheshire community with the shadow of World War II casting a dark cloud over their lives. As the conflict takes hold and separates the women from their husbands, fathers, sons and brothers, the characters find themselves under increasing and extraordinary pressures in a rapidly fragmenting world. By banding together as the Great Paxford Women’s Institute, they help maintain the nation’s fabric in its darkest hour, and discover inner resources that will change their lives forever.

The Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan is a wonderfully large and blended family. They give us an honest and often hilarious look into the sometimes warm, sometimes twisted, embrace of the modern family.

A dysfunctional family of superheroes comes together to solve the mystery of their father's death, the threat of the apocalypse and more.

Nothing delights Emma more than meddling in the love lives of others. But when she takes protege Harriet Smith under her wing, her plans can only end in disaster...

Ex-cop and recovering alcoholic Hank Dolworth partners with his best friend, former criminal Britt Pollack, in an unlicensed private investigation business. The series is set in Ocean Beach, San Diego, California, although it is portrayed as a distinct town, with Dolworth having once been a member of the fictional Ocean Beach Police Department.

The lives and loves of a 1930s Yorkshire town explored in a passionate tale of politics in small places. South Riding charts the story of Sarah Burton's homecoming to Yorkshire in 1934 after twenty years teaching in London and the Empire. After a fiery interview with a conservative interview panel, outspoken Sarah takes up her first headmistress-ship at Kiplington High School for Girls, determined to demonstrate to her new pupils that the future is theirs for the taking.

When the news is announced that a comet is on an unavoidable collision course with Earth, the most hilarious and unexpected chain of events imaginable is set in motion.

Each episode transports the audience to worlds of wonder through the lens of today’s most imaginative filmmakers, directors and writers. A reimagining of the original anthology series by Steven Spielberg.

The story of a young group of siblings pretty much abandoned by their parents, surviving by their wits - and humor - on a rough Manchester council estate. Whilst they won't admit it, they need help and find it in Steve, a young middle class lad who falls for Fiona, the oldest sibling, and increasingly finds himself drawn to this unconventional and unique family. Anarchic family life seen through the eyes of an exceptionally bright fifteen year old, who struggles to come of age in the context of his belligerent father, closeted brother, psychotic sister and internet porn star neighbors.

Enlightened follows the story of Amy, a self-destructive executive, who, after a very public breakdown and a subsequent philosophical awakening in rehabilitation, tries to get her life back together.

Off the grid and miles from civilization, Little Otter Family Camp has summer fun for everyone. Parents decompress over gin and tonics while their kids run wild, and teenage counselors fall in and out of love.Mackenzie Granger is the camp owner and director. Still reeling from her recent divorce, Mackenzie is ready for a fresh start. She is running things on her own for the first time and scrambling to keep the cash-strapped Little Otter from going under.

The lives, loves and highs and lows of four members of the Women's Land Army working at the Hoxley Estate during World War II.

Robin Hood is a British television programme, produced by independent production company Tiger Aspect Productions for BBC One, with co-funding from the BBC America cable television channel in the United States. Based on the traditional stories of legendary English folk hero Robin Hood, the programme started on 7 October 2006. Series two commenced broadcasting on 6 October 2007 with the final two episodes on 29 December 2007. Series three began airing on 28 March 2009 for a thirteen episode run. The series was axed by the BBC after series three following the departure of multiple characters, including lead actor Jonas Armstrong.