Published: October 16, 2024 — It’s time to get cosy and sink into your favourite TV. Whether you want to relax with a comforting series, discover a new cosy classic, or explore the wilderness from the comfort of your living room, we’ve got you covered.

Grab a nice hot chocolate, get cosy on the sofa and get ready to enjoy a boxset of the very best comfort TV.

Cosy Drama TV

With every episode available on BBC iPlayer, these are the shows you can sink into as the days get a little shorter.

From unmissable period dramas and classic fantasy series, to cosy crime capers and nostalgic dramas from the iPlayer archive, you’re almost spoilt for choice…

Pride and Prejudice

The award-winning 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic Regency romance, starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.

If you fancy another Austen classic, there’s also the 2008 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility on BBC iPlayer with Hattie Morahan, Charity Wakefield, David Morrissey, and Dominic Cooper.

• Watch Pride and Prejudice on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b009016x/pride-and-prejudice

• Watch Sense and Sensibility on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b008pcyd/sense-and-sensibility

Merlin

Fantasy period drama based on the King Arthur legend. Young wizard Merlin (Colin Morgan), arrives in Camelot to find magic outlawed, its practice punishable by death.

There’s lots more to enjoy from the iPlayer archive. In the mood for another brilliant fantasy series from the 00s? Why not try Robin Hood for more wisecracks, romance, and swashbuckling adventures in the fight for good.

• Watch Merlin on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00dq8tn/merlin-series-1-1-the-dragons-call

• Watch Robin Hood on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0074fyv/robin-hood-series-1-1-will-you-tolerate-this

Last Tango in Halifax

Romantic comedy drama series. Alan and Celia, both widowed and in their seventies, rekindle a passionate relationship that fate stole from them over sixty years ago. Enjoy the Bafta-winning series from Sally Wainwright as we follow the surprising and uplifting journey of Celia and Alan. Also starring Sarah Lancashire, Nicola Walker, Tony Gardner, Dean Andrews and Ronni Ancona.

For another heart-warming drama, head to the Scottish highlands with Monarch of the Glen. Based on Compton Mackenzie’s novels, Archie MacDonald becomes the laird of a huge, decaying family estate in the Cairngorms.

• Watch Last Tango In Halifax on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b03h4107/last-tango-in-halifax

• Watch Monarch of the Glen on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p00tky0j/monarch-of-the-glen?seriesId=p00tky22

Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators

Quirky, crime-fighting fun with Mark Benton and Jo Joyner.

The series follows an unlikely pair of private investigators, hardboiled ex-cop Frank Hathaway (Benton), and warm-hearted ex-hairdresser Lu Shakespeare (Joyner), as they work the cobbled streets of Stratford-upon-Avon, solving thrilling cases and murders most foul.

Did you know? Shakespeare & Hathaway will return for a new series, add to your iPlayer Watchlist now: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b09trrn9/shakespeare-hathaway-private-investigators

• Watch Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b09trrn9/shakespeare-hathaway-private-investigators

• Read more – Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators recommissioned for series five: https://bit.ly/3XF5Ucy

Wolf Hall

Historical drama chronicling the rise of Thomas Cromwell, the son of a humble blacksmith who became King Henry VIII’s chief minister, as he navigated the corridors of power in the Tudor court.

Featuring Academy Award winner Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell, with Emmy Award winner Damian Lewis as King Henry VIII, alongside Academy Award nominee Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Wolsey. Wolf Hall will return, add to your iPlayer Watchlist now.

• Watch Wolf Hall on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002473m/wolf-hall

Call the Midwife

A heart-warming tale of life in London’s hard-up East End. Midwives welcome new lives in the changing times of the 50s and 60s.

• Watch Call the Midwife on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p0118t80/call-the-midwife

Christie Collection

You’ll find a collection of Christie classics on BBC iPlayer.

Enjoy star-studded adaptations of gripping stories from the best-selling author of all time.

Murder Is Easy – Nothing is what is seems in a deceptively sleepy English village: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m001tw5s/murder-is-easy

And Then There Were None – Ten strangers find themselves cut off from civilisation on an isolated rock off the Devon coast. Agatha Christie mystery with Aidan Turner, Charles Dance and Miranda Richardson: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b06v2v52/and-then-there-were-none

Ordeal by Innocence – Heiress Rachel Argyll is murdered at her family estate. Eighteen months later, the identity of the murderer is thrown in doubt. An Agatha Christie mystery starring Bill Nighy: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b09ytrgg/ordeal-by-innocence

The Pale Horse – When a young woman is murdered, a mysterious list of names is discovered. Who wrote the list, and what does it mean? An Agatha Christie mystery starring Rufus Sewell: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m000f9xw/the-pale-horse

The ABC Murders – It’s 1933, and an older and greyer Hercule Poirot has fallen out of the public eye. When he receives anonymous letters threatening murder, he must take matters into his own hands. Adaptation with John Malkovich and Rupert Grint: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b0bxbvtl/the-abc-murders

The Witness for the Prosecution – A man is accused of killing his lover in order to inherit her wealth. An Agatha Christie mystery starring Toby Jones, Kim Cattrall and Andrea Riseborough: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p0gzt5wp/the-witness-for-the-prosecution

There’s also a new three-part adaptation of the classic mystery novel on the way!

• Read more: BBC unveils first-look at Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero: https://bit.ly/3Bv91wv

Sister Boniface Mysteries

A cosy series with Lorna Watson starring as TV’s favourite Vespa driving, crime-solving, Catholic nun.

From the makers of Father Brown (that’s the internationally popular crime drama with Mark Williams), Sister Boniface is the police’s secret weapon in fighting crime. And, just in case you were wondering, you can also watch Father Brown on BBC iPlayer.

• Watch the Sister Boniface Mysteries on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002265b/sister-boniface-mysteries

• Watch Father Brown on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b03pmw4m/father-brown
• Read more: Father Brown is back! Filming has begun on series 12 of the internationally successful drama: https://bit.ly/3W6x7Wy

Beyond Paradise

An idyllic Death in Paradise spin-off set against the backdrops of Devon and Cornwall. DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall) and his fiancée Martha Lloyd (Sally Bretton) head to the not-so-sleepy town of Shipton Abbott as they embark on their new life.

• You can also enjoy over 100 episodes of Death in Paradise on BBC iPlayer” https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b01pvmf6/death-in-paradise

• Watch Beyond Paradise on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m001jg5h/beyond-paradise

• Read more: Filming begins on Beyond Paradise series three: https://bit.ly/4dCQuvT