20 best shows like The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (2001)

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.

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.

A chronicle of four friends during a decade in which everything changed, including the rise of AIDS.

In a world where everyone is striving for what is not worth having, no one is more determined to climb to the heights of English society than Becky Sharp.

Set in 1996 in Lincolnshire, the show tells the tragic and humorous story of a very troubled young girl Rae, who has just left a psychiatric hospital, where she has spent four months after attempting suicide, begins to reconnect with her best friend Chloe and her group, who are unaware of Rae's mental health and body image problems, believing she was in France for the past four months.

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

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.

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 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.

Having grown up in a world of manufactured happiness, Lucy, the cynical teenage daughter of a idealistic theme park princess mom, wants to get out and experience something real. When Ian, the new park owner's son, arrives and sweeps her off her feet, Lucy is left wondering if fairy tale endings do exist after all. But when a scandalous secret turns her life upside down, she learns Happyland is far from a walk in the park.

Fortysomething is a 2003 British comedy-drama series, starring and directed by Hugh Laurie as Paul Slippery, a doctor facing a mid-life crisis. His wife Estelle is starting a new career as a headhunter. His three sons, Rory, a student at the fictitious University of Reigate, Daniel and Edwin, are sex-obsessed. Meanwhile, Paul appears to hear the inner thoughts of others.Other important characters include Paul's colleague and nemesis, Dr. Ronnie Pilfrey, and Estelle's new employer, Gwendolen Hartley.The series was written by Nigel Williams based on his 1999 novel of the same name. The six episodes of the series were broadcast on ITV. Although a ratings failure on first transmission, leading to it being moved to an off-peak timeslot midway through the run, the appearance of several actors who went on to greater fame has subsequently led the series to sell well on DVD.

Frank Hathaway, a hardboiled private investigator, and his rookie sidekick Lu Shakespeare form the unlikeliest of partnerships as they investigate the secrets of rural Warwickshire's residents.

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.

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

The heartwarming and humorous adventures of a young country vet in the Yorkshire Dales in the 1930s. A remake of the 1978 series.

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

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.

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.

Adult drama that delves inside the porn industry from the perspective of poster girl Jolene Dollar, who juggles her on-set persona with motherhood and home life.

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...

A wealthy London housewife is forced to return to her hometown in Australia, where she's forced to confront her past and the reasons that caused her to leave years ago.

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.

Memphis Beat is an American drama series that debuted on TNT on June 22, 2010 and ended on August 16, 2011. Memphis Beat was officially canceled on October 14, 2011.

Inspector John Marlott investigates a series of crimes in 19th Century London, which may have been committed by a scientist intent on re-animating the dead.

Everything changes when Alex Rider learns that his uncle Ian has actually been killed in the line of duty as a British spy. The normal teen is approached by the head of The Department and pressured to help investigate his uncle's death. Alex reluctantly assumes a new identity and goes undercover in a remote boarding school called Point Blanc.

Widely celebrated as Alan Bennett's masterpieces, his multi-award-winning Talking Heads return to BBC One. Filmed during lockdown under social distancing guidelines, a new generation of Britain's finest actors star in 10 of Bennett's classic scripts, alongside two brand new Talking Heads penned by the acclaimed writer last year.

A glimpse into the outrageous lives of Jane, Kat and Sutton, who are working at the nation's top women's magazine, Scarlet, while navigating their careers, identities and individual voices.

Four Republican senators share the same D.C. house rental, and face re-election battles, looming indictments, and parties -- all with a sense of humor.

In 1935, financially strapped widow Louisa Durrell, whose life has fallen apart, decides to move from England, with her four children (three sons, one daughter), to the island of Corfu, Greece. Once there, the family moves into a dilapidated old house that has no electricity and that is crumbling apart. But life on Corfu is cheap, it's an earthly paradise, and the Durrells proceed to forge their new existence, with all its challenges, adventures, and forming relationships.

Comedy-drama series set in the fictional Central Asian Republic of Tazbekistan where newly arrived British Ambassador Keith Davies is set the task of trying to secure a £2 billion helicopter contract for the United Kingdom.

Adaptation of PD James's bestselling homage to Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth and Darcy, now six years married, are preparing for their annual ball when festivities are brought to an abrupt halt.

An LA family with serious boundary issues have their past and future unravel when a dramatic admission causes everyone's secrets to spill out.

Fermanagh, Irish countryside, 1885. On her 23rd birthday, Beth, who lives on a remote farm with Billy Winters, her tyrannical stepfather, whom she can barely stand, prepares to flee from such a suffocating life with the help of the seductive Liam Ward, without being aware that her decision will unearth deeply buried secrets a long time ago.

Recovering addict and comedian Mae tries to control the addictive behaviors and intense romanticism that permeate every facet of her life. Life is further complicated by a new and all-consuming relationship with her new girlfriend George.

Set in 1820 against the forbidding backdrop of windswept Cornish moors, the story follows the journey of young and spirited Mary who is forced to live with her Aunt Patience after the death of her mother. Mary arrives at the isolated Jamaica Inn to discover her Aunt is a shell of the carefree woman she remembers from her childhood, and instead finds a drudge who is firmly under the spell of her domineering husband Joss. The Inn has no guests - the rooms are locked and kept for storage - but it soon becomes clear that it’s a cover, as Joss is the leader of a smuggling ring, and Jamaica Inn the hub of his ‘free’ trade.

Four friends who become multi-millionaires when they sell their video game company for a clean £246 million and overnight, the four friends are transformed from "people who play games" to "serious players in the game..." - or are they?

A group of friends from Boston who feel stuck in life experience an unexpected wake-up call after one of their friend dies unexpectedly.

Follow Sugar into the underbelly of Victorian London seething with vitality, sexuality, ambition and emotion.

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.

Powerful historical drama series, based on the lives of real people, telling the story of young 19th-century apprentices taking their lives into their own hands for the first time.

A comedy that follows three Chicago EMTs who despite their narcissistic and self-destructive personalities are uniquely qualified to save lives.

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.

When Miri Matteson returns home after eighteen years, can she integrate back into her old life? With a terrible event from her past hanging over her, it won’t be easy.

Set during the final days of slavery in 19th century Jamaica, we follow the trials, tribulations and survival of plantation slave July and her odious mistress Caroline.

Tired of the constant comments on her relationship status, perpetually single Johanne starts a 24-day hunt for a boyfriend to bring home for Christmas.

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

In crowded and expensive London, cash-strapped couple Gemma and Kieran open their small apartment to a third person. Somehow, their new addition, Ray, makes the flat seem bigger, not smaller. Gradually, many things become easier, nicer and better with an extra pair of hands.

A wild ride through the lives of a group of high school friends stumbling through the mine field of adolescence... and stepping on most of the mines as they go.

Dates is a British television romantic drama series created by Bryan Elsley, who also created Skins, which first aired on Channel 4 on 10 June 2013, at 22:00, as part of its "Mating Season" programming, illustrating a series of first dates between online dating service users. The show's target audience is "ABC1".