The 50 Greatest Television Dramas

The 50 Greatest Television Dramas 2007

1

Boasting an amazing selection of the most watched, most influential and most highly acclaimed programmes ever made, The 50 Greatest Television Dramas presents a long overdue assessment of the rich heritage television drama has to offer. Channel 4 invited over 200 of Britain's top television drama professionals – writers, directors, producers and commissioners – to take part in an exclusive poll to discover what they consider the finest dramas ever produced.

2007

Swingers

Swingers 2020

4.50

Observational documentary unlocking the doors of Britain's hidden swinging scene via access to one of the country's most popular swinging clubs and candid interviews with the club's founder, staff and clientele.

2020

Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel

Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel 1987

8.00

Anne Shirley, now a schoolteacher, has begun writing stories and collecting rejection slips. She acts as Diana's maid of honor, develops a relationship with Gilbert Blythe, and finds herself at Kingsport Ladies' College. But while Anne enjoys the battles and the friends she makes, she finds herself returning to Avonlea.

1987

Brexit: The Uncivil War

Brexit: The Uncivil War 2019

6.57

Political strategist Dominic Cummings leads a popular but controversial campaign to convince British voters to leave the European Union from 2015 up until the present day.

2019

Alice Through the Looking Glass

Alice Through the Looking Glass 1998

5.10

A modern adaptation of the classic children's story 'Alice through the Looking Glass', which continued on from the popular 'Alice in Wonderland' story. This time Alice is played by the mother, who falls asleep while reading the the bedtime story to her daughter. Walking through the Looking Glass, Alice finds herself in Chessland, a magical and fun world. There she meets the Red and White Queens, as well as many other amusing friends on her journey across the chessboard countryside onto become a crowned queen.

1998

George Michael: Freedom Uncut

George Michael: Freedom Uncut 2022

7.30

Freedom Uncut chronicles the tumultuous — yet creatively fruitful — period of George Michael’s life and career following the release of his 1987 solo debut, Faith, then through the creation and release of his 1990 follow-up Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1. Along with documenting his creative efforts during this period, the doc will also explore his relationship with Anselmo Feleppa — who died from AIDS-related complications — as well as the death of Michael’s mother.

2022

Help

Help 2021

7.10

Sarah seems to have found her calling working in a Liverpool care home where she has a special talent for connecting with the residents. Then, in March 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic hits.

2021

Caravaggio

Caravaggio 1986

6.10

A retelling of the life of the celebrated 17th-century Baroque painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio through his brilliant, nearly blasphemous paintings and his flirtations with the underworld.

1986

Meantime

Meantime 1983

6.70

A working-class family in London's East End is struggling to stay afloat during the recession under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's premiership. Only the mother Mavis is working; father Frank and the couple's two sons Colin, a timid, chronically shy individual and Mark, an outspoken, headstrong young man, are on the dole. This situation is contrasted by the presence of Mavis's sister Barbara, and her husband John, whose financial and social loftiness appears to be a comfortable facade over the unspoken soreness of a lackluster marriage.

1983

Hookers, Hustlers, Pimps and Their Johns

Hookers, Hustlers, Pimps and Their Johns 1993

4.80

British filmmaker Beeban Kidron ventures onto the mean streets of the South Bronx and other New York locales to examine the lives of those involved in the city's thriving sex industry.

1993

Longford

Longford 2006

6.60

A portrait of Lord Longford, a tireless British campaigner whose controversial beliefs often resulted in furious political debate and personal conflict.

2006

Those Glory Glory Days

Those Glory Glory Days 1983

4.60

Girls growing up in 1960-61 London develop a passion for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, the first British team in the 20th century to win the English league and FA Cup "double". Twenty years later, one of the girls tracks down players of the '60-'61 Spurs for a documentary.

1983

The Dead

The Dead 1987

6.83

After a convivial holiday dinner party, things begin to unravel when a husband and wife address some prickly issues concerning their marriage.

1987

Mo

Mo 2010

6.25

A docudrama about the life of the former UK Secretary of state for Northern Ireland, Mo Mowlam.

2010

Sunday

Sunday 2002

7.40

Sunday tells the story of an infamous day in Derry, North of Ireland and how the events of that day were subsequently covered up by the British Government of the time. On Sunday 30th January 1972 a peaceful civil rights march against internment (imprisonment without trial), organised by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) ended with 13 marchers shot dead and 15 wounded. It became known throughout the world as Bloody Sunday. Told primarily from the perspective of the Derry community, juxtaposed with the British Army/state's preparations and reaction to the day, Sunday communicates the forensic and emotional truth of what happened

2002

George Michael: Freedom

George Michael: Freedom 2017

7.43

This documentary covers the span of George Michael's entire career, concentrating on the formative period in the late Grammy® Award winner’s life and career, leading up to and following the making of his acclaimed, best-selling album “Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1” and his subsequent, infamous High Court battle with his record label that followed, while also becoming poignantly personal about the death of his late partner and first love, Anselmo Feleppa.

2017

I Hired a Contract Killer

I Hired a Contract Killer 1990

6.90

After losing his job and realizing that he is alone in the world, a businessman opts to voluntarily end his life. Lacking courage, he hires a contract killer to do the job. Then, while awaiting his demise, he meets a woman and promptly falls in love.

1990

Complicit

Complicit 2013

5.50

An MI5 officer's attempts to foil a possible terrorist plot are undermined by bureaucracy and moral dilemmas. Will he make the world a safer place or be complicit in making a tense situation even worse?

2013