5 Cozy Shows Like 'All Creatures Great & Small' To Curl Up With
All Creatures Great and Small is the perfect cozy show to help get PBS fans through the doldrums of January and February. Between the rolling green dales, the endlessly adorable animals of all shapes and sizes, and the low stakes drama, it's the perfect visually calming series to let oneself forget whatever terrible thing is happening this time. But All Creatures isn't the only comforting series out of the U.K. One could argue that British TV practically specializes in the mellow genre. From creating the concept of the "cozy competition series" with The Great British Baking Show to restful romances like Bridgerton, there is plenty of TV to curl up with snug as a bug in a rug.
Here's a rundown of some of the best comfy series to relax to in the early spring.
Call The Midwife
The coziest medical drama on TV, Call The Midwife is the perfect British blend of period piece and comforting cryfest. The nuns of Nonnatus House and the midwives who work there are angels on Earth, delivering babies, saving lives, and showing off the best of 1950s and 60s culture as the show evolves through the decade-plus it's been on the air. Best of all, it's based on a real story, so it's got that PBS-certified stamp of "educational" to boot.
The upcoming Season 11 Call The Midwife will be available on PBS Passport starting Sunday, March 20, with episodes arriving a week before broadcast. Season 10 is available to members on PBS Passport before the season transfers to Netflix at the end of the month, joining Seasons 1-9.
The Larkins
A remake of the 1990s era TV series The Darling Buds of May and based on the H. E. Bates of the same name, The Larkins is the perfect cheery comedy centered around Pop and Ma Larkin and their six children, living in rural 1950s Kent. Like All Creatures, this is a low-stakes type of show, where the drama isn't as important as the long shots of quaint British life in a time before the internet and the warmth of the family's relationships.
The Larkins Season 1 is streaming on Acorn TV, along with the Christmas special. Season 2 is expected later this year.
Murder in Provence
In the world of cheerfully sun-dappled murder mysteries, it's hard to beat the south of France for either the vistas or the food, and Murder In Provence has both. Based on M.L. Longworth's Verlaque & Bonnet series, Antoine Verlaque, Investigating Judge, and his on-and-off girlfriend, law professor Marine Bonnet, drink wine, soak in the atmosphere and solve a couple of crimes in beautiful Aix-en Provence. A most welcoming crime series to join the pantheon this year.
Murder in Provence Season 1 is streaming on BritBox, and hopefully will be picked up for Season 2 after its debut in the U.K. later this spring.
Little Women
In terms of homey classics, there's no beating Little Women. No, not that Little Women with Winona Ryder, or the other Little Women with Florence Pugh. (Or the one with Katherine Hepburn or the one with Elizabeth Taylor.) This is the latest BBC version to be made, with Dame Angela Lansbury as Aunt March and Emily Watson as Marmee, and four cheerful girls trying to get through the American Civil War in a time of uncertainty.
Both halves of the 2017 BBC Little Women miniseries are streaming on PBS Passport.
The Great Pottery Throwdown
Everyone knows The Great British Baking Show, but not everyone knows about the two official spin-offs. The more obvious of the two, The Great British Sewing Bee, somehow still hasn't made it over here, but The Great Pottery Throwdown has. The show is what it says on the tin — it's GBBO for ceramics. But don't knock it until you've watched it; by the time the makes go from the drying room to the kiln, you'll be invested.
The Great Pottery Throwdown Seasons 1-4 are streaming on HBO Max, with Season 5 expected to arrive this spring.
