9 Shows for '80s and '90s PBS and Masterpiece Kids
From Rivals to cozy murder mysteries starring Brooke Shields and Alicia Silverstone, TV is reviving the PBS-Masterpiece childhoods many of us grew up with — just with more expletives and darker twists
Dearest Darlings of Dames Nation,
With Amadeus reimagined as a TV series and AcornTV rolling out cozy murder series starring our icons Brooke Shields and Alicia Silverstone, television across the board is reviving the PBS Masterpiece-filled childhoods many of us grew up with — albeit with more self-aware humor, darker twists, and lots of expletives.
I don’t know about you, but I looooove being pandered to this way.
An early episode of the 1990s-set drug cartel-targeting thriller Legends was unfolding at a brisk pace when one character’s costume combination of a Members Only jacket, gold chain, and nubbly sweater sent me scrambling to text Fawnia Soo Hoo (aka the mastermind behind GenX culture treasure trove Whatever, Nevermind) about it. We got to plotting right away, dreaming up a Two Bossy Dames x Whatever Nevermind mission to dive into the seven (well, ultimately it’s 9, as we love maximalism) PBS-adjacent shows we’re currently obsessed with. (Watch out for part deux of this collab coming this summer – we are already noodling around in a Google Doc together!)
The New Ms. Marples in Irish Blood and You’re Killing Me
Acorn TV has become the streamer for the bold female protagonists of our youth solving cozy crimes in far-flung locales that double as future travel inspiration despite the alarmingly high body count. It’s the proven formula we all know and love: a badass woman successful in her own field who applies her expert skills to becoming an ace amateur detective, recruits (or reluctantly tolerates) a younger sidekick for the generational banter, and maybe even enjoys a side romance with a hunky boxer, spy, or — reliably — the local law-enforcement foil. (See: Jane Seymour’s English prof-turned-Dublin PI solving mysteries-of-the-week in Harry Wild.)
In a kind of Clueless crossover in Irish Blood, Alicia Silverstone’s Fiona Fox kills at life (sorry) as one of LA’s top divorce attorneys — “the scariest kind of lawyer.” Fiona heads to the scenic Irish coast to find her estranged father, reconnect with her long-lost family, and uncover buried secrets — all while playing an American fish out of water with glimmers of Cher-like charm and humor. (Renewed for season two!)
Set in the Murder She Wrote-esque coastal hamlet of Founder’s Cove, You’re Killing Me follows bestselling novelist Allison Chandler (Brooke Shields) as she tackles ageism and murder. She teams with an aspiring writer/failed podcaster Andrea (Amalia Williamson) to trade Gen Z v. X quips and solve mysteries of the week. Murder-mystery mainstay Tom Cavanagh plays the Inspector Lestrade/Japp — and Allison’s possible love interest. -FSH
It Doesn’t Get More Gex-X Than Amadeus
No list of Masterpiece-coded shows for Gen X-ers is complete without at least one prestige costume drama — and the new Starz adaptation of Amadeus is Peak Gen-X.
I think the 1984 Amadeus starring Tom Hulce as Mozart and F. Murray Abraham as Salieri (with a very fresh-faced Cynthia Nixon as a mousy, weepy Mozart family housemaid) was the first grown-up movie I saw in a movie theatre, quite possibly with my grandmother. The new adaptation is a six-part limited series from Joe Barton, the creator of two of my favorites of the last five years, Giri/Haji (Duty/Shame) and Black Doves.
Will Sharpe takes another step towards massive stardom as Mozart, driving everyone mad with admiration of his gifts and vexation at his apparent refusal to take anything but his music seriously. As Salieri, Paul Bettany seethes professional jealousy and rage at God while never being able to shake his genuine love of Mozart’s work. Shout-out to Gabrielle Creevy (Black Doves) for her interpretation of Mozart’s wife Constanze, who seems to be the only person capable of seeing both men clearly. It’s sumptuous — they staged five operas for this! — dazzling (the costumes by Lisa Duncan!!!), and heartbreaking. -SB
Profanity and Gnarly Murders in Deadloch
Imagine the tried-and-true mismatched detective pairings of Dalziel and Pascoe or Inspector Morse and Lewis — only instead of the misty, moody English countryside, the backdrop is the misty isolation of Tasmania. And instead of two grumpy straight white men, the bickering protagonists are two queer women: by-the-book Senior Sergeant Dulcie Collins (Kate Box) and Eddie Redcliffe (Madeleine Sami), the impulsive, unpredictable detective with a filthy mouth and questionable hygiene, rivaling Gary Oldman’s Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses.
The second season dropped on Prime earlier this year, and I binged it so fast I was half-covering my eyes at some untimely demises (think: crocodiles) and cry-laughing at Eddie’s savage burns and often c-word-populated one-liners that I’m too shy to repeat but you can read them here. Well this one’s PG: Eddie: “Jason Statham!” with Dulcie’s exasperated, deadpan correction: “Trent Latham.” lol -FSH
The Chocolate & Peanut Butter Delights of Rivals and Legends
Set in 1986-87 and 1990-91 respectively, Rivals and Legends are telling two stories of the same era on parallel tracks. While there’s a bunch of cultural signifiers overlapping with music, politics, and some of the costuming, these series might as well be taking place on different planets. Rivals is bawdy and sun-drenched, studded with massive belts, jewelry, and shoulder pads, while Legends, is permanently overcast and grimy. Rivals poses questions such as “Who will gain control of a TV station, the bare-knuckled brawler Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant) or the suave, yet emotionally starved ex-Olympian Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell)?” It also boasts some of the hankiest panky you’ll see on television this year, including male full-frontal nudity, as a series set in the imaginary Cotswolds county of Rutshire should. (No one would ever accuse Dame Jilly Cooper of anything as boring as subtlety.)
In tone, subject matter, and color palette, Legends is about as gray and gloomy as it gets. Can a ragtag group of officers from Her Majesty’s Customs Service identify the major players in and bring down Great Britain’s two largest heroin importers? The cast is packed with first rate “Hey, It’s That Guy!” talent, led by Steve Coogan (The Trip, 24 Hour Party People) and Douglas Hodge (The Great). They’re joined by the likes of Charlotte Ritchie (Ghosts, Call The Midwife), Tom Burke (The Lazarus Project) and Hayley Squires (The Night Manager) across a season that is basically an inversion of the classic heist plot.
It was a little too generously copagandistic for Fawnia1, but if, like me, you’re a sucker for under-resourced underdogs trying to maintain their humanity in long-term undercover work, all laced with bone-dry humor, give it a whirl. Rivals is frothing it up over on Disney+ and Legends is on Netflix. -SB
I feel like a bad ’80s fan for not watching Rivals, if not just for costume designer Ray Holman’s excellent work (and I love David Tennant). Must rectify immediately! -FSH Agreed!!! Everyone, please join me in very gently bullying / powerfully enthusing at Fawnia to watch Rivals! -SB
Gloomy Intrigue and Excellent Sweaters in Shetland
Like fellow Britbox shows Vera and Broadchurch, and Inspector Morse and A Touch of Frost before them, Shetland falls under the “tortured, grizzled detective investigates crimes where the sun never shines” umbrella. I’m especially into the last three seasons when Ashley Jensen’s DI Ruth Calder returns to her hometown of the remote Scottish island — with its rugged cliffs and crashing waters perfect to hide the bodies. (She replaces Sophie’s crush, the grieving Jimmy Perez, played by Douglas Henshall.) Ruth’s team-up with DS Alison “Tosh” McIntosh (Alison O’Donnell) brings a warmer, buddy cop partnership vibe to the longrunning series, while thankfully avoiding that “women-be-fighting” trope.
I also greatly enjoyed Jensen as the titular high-powered publicist-turned-PI in Agatha Raisin, a light, comedic cozy mystery set in the sunny Cotswolds, as well as her vibrant London-transplant wardrobe2. It’s almost as if the Shetland costume designer Leslie Abernathy did, too, since Ruth zhuzhes up her functional rain-ready gear with bright-colored scarves and a pretty on-point sweater game. -FSH
No Offence: Come For the Murder Solving, Stay For The Humor and Heart
No Offence is a perfect example of a UK specialty genre: a sturdy workplace drama focused on solving murders, which is also a found-family comedy. If David Simon (The Wire, Tremé) and Bill Lawrence (Shrinking, Ted Lasso) had a TV baby, it would be No Offence. Led by the indomitable, glamorous DI Viv Deering (Joanna Scanlan, Riot Women, Slow Horses), a team of resourceful homicide detectives at a fictional Manchester precinct tackle gnarly cases — a serial killer stalking young women with Down Syndrome, gangland disputes boiling over — with heart and humor.
Your favorite actor’s favorite actor Kate O’Flynn from My Lady Jane and Widow’s Bay pops up in each season as the eccentric and brilliant psychiatrist Dr. Peep (wherever the spirit of Charles Dickens resides, it’s seething with envy at that name). I’d have gladly watched a solid seven seasons, but No Offence’s entire three-season run is available on a bunch of streamers, including BritBox, Prime Video, and Pluto -SB
Punk Rock, Menopause, and Buried Secrets in Riot Women
Once upon a time — way back in 1977 — the life of a girl in Yorkshire was changed forever when she watched a series about an all-lady band, Rock Follies. That girl, Sally Wainwright grew up to become a television writer and auteur extraordinaire. Even if you haven’t seen her shows (we encourage you to stop depriving yourself of their excellence and narrative oomph), you know her work: Happy Valley, Gentleman Jack, Last Tango in Halifax, To Walk Invisible, and many more.
Wainwright’s latest opus is Riot Women, a frank, darkly funny, and unapologetically furious take on the trials and tribulations of menopause. If that’s not enough for you, the original songs are catchy as hell, and the friendships among her characters feel lived-in and real. Oh, and she’s woven a dark mystery in there, for good measure.
The first season ended on a cliffhanger and a second one is in the works, offering the perfect opportunity for the We Are Lady Parts crossover we have been dreaming of. A recording session with Muslim punk rock vanguard Sister Squire (Meera Syal, who also solved cozy mysteries in Mrs. Sidhu Investigates)? Yes, please!
Both of us have covered Riot Women — Fawnia interviewed Sally Wainwright at length in Whatever Nevermind, and Sophie wrote an appreciation of Wainwright’s diverse, West Yorkshire-focused oeuvre for one of her favorite outlets, Telly Visions. The piece is usually paywalled, but Sophie’s editor has very kindly de-paywalled it for the next week! It’s a great site for everyone who loves all of the British and British-ish PBS and PBS-adjacent series and movies out there.
-FSH + SB
Admittedly, I do love my cop shows — from Miami Vice to the current return of ’80s comfy detective series — but I just couldn’t get into this one. I ended up bingeing the Heat-meets-New Jack City-esque Nemesis instead. -FSH
Agatha Raisin costume designers: Nancy McKenna, Iain Macaulay, Sue Thomson, and Pam Downe.
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