20 best shows like The 39 Steps (1935)

Danny is a gregarious, hedonistic romantic who gets drawn into the dangerous world of British espionage in this contemporary, emotional thriller. He falls for the anti-social but enigmatic Alex, both from opposite worlds, and they soon realise they’re perfect for each other. But when Alex suddenly disappears, Danny is utterly ill-equipped to take on his complex and codified world. Young, innocent and adrift he needs to decide whether he’s prepared to fight for the truth?

In Victorian London, a gang of troubled street teens are manipulated into solving crimes for the sinister Doctor Watson and his mysterious business partner, the elusive Sherlock Holmes. As the crimes take on a horrifying supernatural edge and a dark power emerges, it'll be up to the Irregulars to come together to save not only London but the entire world.

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

In Victorian England, the young and beautiful Alice tells a tale of a strange new land that exists on the other side of a rabbit hole. Thinking Alice insane, her doctors aim to make her forget everything. While Alice is ready to put it all behind her, she knows this world is real. In the nick of time, the Knave of Hearts and the White Rabbit save her from a doomed fate. Together, the trio tumble down the rabbit hole to Wonderland, where nothing is impossible.

When strange young misfit Kim Noakes was just a little girl, her father died in murky circumstances and her mother Tina whisked her away to a remote rural life of seclusion and bizarre survival techniques. Now all grown up, Kim sets out into the real world for the first time to begin a secret mission of honouring her father’s memory.

A contemporary and culturally resonant drama about a young programmer, Elliot, who suffers from a debilitating anti-social disorder and decides that he can only connect to people by hacking them. He wields his skills as a weapon to protect the people that he cares about. Elliot will find himself in the intersection between a cybersecurity firm he works for and the underworld organizations that are recruiting him to bring down corporate America.

Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from the 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. Torchwood follows the exploits of a small team of alien hunters, who make up the Cardiff branch of the fictional Torchwood Institute, which deals mainly with incidents involving extraterrestrials.

On the surface William Travers is a picture of success. An accomplished criminal barrister happily living with his wife in rural Suffolk. However, Travers is still recovering from a traumatic series of events that have shaken his belief in the legal system.Reluctantly, he is drawn into a case that involves his old friend Martin Newall who faces conspiracy and murder charges while at the same time being investigated by a vicious and vengeful detective DS Mark Wenborn.

Ten strangers, drawn away from their normal lives to an isolated rock off the Devon coast. But as the mismatched group waits for the arrival of the hosts -- the improbably named Mr. and Mrs. U.N. Owen -- the weather sours and they find themselves cut off from civilization. Very soon, the guests, each struggling with their conscience, will start to die -- one by one, according to the rules of the nursery rhyme 'Ten Little Soldier Boys' -- a rhyme that hangs in every room of the house and ends with the most terrifying words of all: '... and then there were none.

A medical student who becomes a zombie joins a Coroner's Office in order to gain access to the brains she must reluctantly eat so that she can maintain her humanity. But every brain she eats, she also inherits their memories and must now solve their deaths with help from the Medical examiner and a police detective.

A sexy, suspense-driven legal thriller about a group of ambitious law students and their brilliant, mysterious criminal defense professor. They become entangled in a murder plot and will shake the entire university and change the course of their lives.

The plot follows detectives Karl Roebuck and Elise Wasserman working together to find a serial killer who left the upper-half body of a French politician and the lower-half of a British prostitute in the Channel Tunnel, at the midpoint between France and the UK. They later learn that the killer—who comes to be nicknamed the "Truth Terrorist"—is on a moral crusade to highlight many social problems, terrorising both countries in the process

Former British soldier Jonathan Pine navigates the shadowy recesses of Whitehall and Washington where an unholy alliance operates between the intelligence community and the secret arms trade. To infiltrate the inner circle of lethal arms dealer Richard Onslow Roper, Pine must himself become a criminal.

A young H.G. Wells time travels to modern day New York City in pursuit of the charismatic—yet secretly psychopathic—Dr. John Stevenson, better known as "Jack the Ripper," following the doctor's brazen escape from the Victorian London authorities.

When a pizza delivery driver is shot dead in south London, a tenacious detective goes after the people traffickers behind his murder and unravels a conspiracy that goes to the top.

Exile is a British psychological thriller television series dealing with the topic of Alzheimer's disease against a background of corruption. It stars John Simm and Jim Broadbent and was broadcast on BBC One. The series received varyingly positive reviews.John Simm received a BAFTA nomination for his role as Tom Ronstadt, as did the director John Alexander.

A grieving mother is accused of identifying online the man she believes killed her son. But is he really a notorious child murderer or a tragic victim of mistaken identity?

In London, the life of Jean, a troubled crime scene cleaner, is turned upside down when his outlaw brother Martin crash lands into his world, entangling them in the deadly dynamics of organized crime.

In a Kentucky orphanage in the 1950s, a young girl discovers an astonishing talent for chess while struggling with addiction.

Seven noble families fight for control of the mythical land of Westeros. Friction between the houses leads to full-scale war. All while a very ancient evil awakens in the farthest north. Amidst the war, a neglected military order of misfits, the Night's Watch, is all that stands between the realms of men and icy horrors beyond.

Within the walls of an interrogation room and with time running out, London investigators go after three suspects, each accused of a grievous crime.

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.

Following an emotional breakup, tough but tender FBI super-agent Will Chase (codename: “Whiskey Cavalier”) is assigned to work with badass CIA operative Frankie Trowbridge (codename: “Fiery Tribune”). Together, they lead an inter-agency team of flawed, funny and heroic spies who periodically save the world (and each other) while navigating the rocky roads of friendship, romance and office politics.

Following a raft of shootings in an English market town, the crimes are retold in a nonlinear narrative structure through the eyes of a journalist and the tragedies' victims.

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.

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.

The one adored as the mother is not the real parent. The people living here together are not actual siblings. The Gracefield House is where orphaned children live. An irreplaceable home where 38 siblings and Mom live happy lives, even with no blood relations. However, their everyday life suddenly came to an abrupt end one day...

Country vicar Merrily Watkins just happens to be one of the few women priests working as an exorcist. When a man is found murdered by crucifixion, the police, aware of her knowledge of the paranormal underworld, turn to the Vicar for assistance. Before long Merilly is convinced Satanists are behind the crime and the investigation takes them into a very dark and dangerous world.

A family’s lives are irreparably disrupted when the 14-year-old son is accused of murdering a fellow classmate.

The early days of a young Endeavour Morse, whose experiences as a detective constable with the Oxford City Police will ultimately shape his future.

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

A young 17th-century witch time travels to the future to save the man she loves, but first must adjust to present-day Cartagena and defeat a dark rival.

Zen is a British television mini series produced by Left Bank Pictures for the BBC, co-produced with WGBH Boston for its Masterpiece anthology series, Mediaset and ZDF. It stars Rufus Sewell and Caterina Murino and is based on the Aurelio Zen detective novels by Michael Dibdin. The series was filmed on location in Italy, but the dialogue is in English. The series, which comprises three 90-minute films, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sunday evenings from 2 January 2011 on BBC One. The three films were based on the books Vendetta, Cabal and Ratking.

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

The murder of a young boy in a small coastal town brings a media frenzy, which threatens to tear the community apart.

Most girls waking up without any memory and meeting a serial killer would panic, but not Rachel. In fact, far from being her biggest problem, killer Zack might just prove a convenient resource when it comes to finding a way out of the building in which they're both trapped!

The origin story of Bruce Wayne's legendary butler, Alfred Pennyworth, a former British SAS soldier who forms a security company and goes to work with Thomas Wayne, Bruce's billionaire father, in 1960s London.

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.

Comedy drama following a mismatched pair of police officers who disagree on everything with their partner, from policing to their personal life.

To escape reality 17-year-old Leila turns to a secret virtual paradise. Her real journey begins when this digital Eden turns dark.

A chilling and bloody legal thriller that explores the line between law and justice. Will Burton, a talented junior barrister of peerless intellect and winning charm, specialises in spiriting people out of tight legal corners. He is in high demand as he has never lost a case. But when his talents acquit the notorious prime suspect in an horrific murder trial, that brilliance comes back to bite him with unexpected and chilling results, not to mention a shocking twist.

Iwatani Naofumi was summoned into a parallel world along with 3 other people to become the world's Heroes. Each of the heroes respectively equipped with their own legendary equipment when summoned, Naofumi received the Legendary Shield as his weapon. Due to Naofumi's lack of charisma and experience he's labeled as the weakest, only to end up betrayed, falsely accused, and robbed by on the third day of adventure. Shunned by everyone from the king to peasants, Naofumi's thoughts were filled with nothing but vengeance and hatred. Thus, his destiny in a parallel World begins...

After waking in a park with total amnesia — and surrounded by dead bodies, all wearing latex gloves — a young woman must fight to uncover her past, and resume her position at the head of Britain’s most secret (supernatural) service before the traitors who stole her memory can finish what they started.

Chasing Shadows' follows a team of special operatives who are tracking down serial killers.

Father Brown is based on G. K. Chesterton's detective stories about a Catholic priest who doubles as an amateur detective in order to try and solve mysteries.

When soldier Shaun Emery's conviction for a murder in Afghanistan is overturned due to flawed video evidence, he returns to life as a free man with his young daughter. But when damning CCTV footage from a night out in London comes to light, Shaun's life takes a shocking turn and he must soon fight for his freedom once again.

A troubled war veteran is assigned to protect a controversial politician who may be the target of a terror plot.

Three-part crime thriller. When detective Marcus Farrow looks into a seemingly forgotten case, he has no idea of the chaos and heartache that will soon follow. He is found at the scene of a murder, and with all the evidence pointing towards him, he is arrested and charged.

Nessa Stein, the daughter of a Zionist arms procurer who as a child witnessed his assassination. Now an adult, Nessa inherits her father's company and changes course from supplying arms to laying data cabling networks between Israel and the West Bank. Her efforts to reconcile the Israelis and Palestinians lands her an appointment to the House of Lords and creates an international political maelstrom.

Based on a true story that spanned more than 30 years in which a young man was charged and convicted of brutally murdering his mother. Each episode is structured around an interrogation taken directly from the real police case files, with the goal of turning the viewer into a detective.