PBS has such a powerhouse lineup in January that we weren’t able to find a place for Antiques Roadshow when narrowing the choices down to three … and that’s one of the top shows on the Public Broadcast System! PBS has endured for decades by giving viewers programming options that the broadcast and cable channels wouldn’t. And that’s still true even in the streaming era.
Our picks for the three PBS shows you should watch in January include two British dramas returning for their fifth seasons, as well as the 11th season of another breakout hit.
There’s still plenty of time to catch the other new shows on PBS in January. You can even go back and revisit the great PBS shows to watch in December as well. Here are our three recommendations.
When you’re done here, check out the best new movies to stream this week, as well as the best shows on Netflix, the best shows on Hulu, the best new shows on Max, the best shows on Amazon Prime Video, and the best shows on Disney+.
Miss Scarlet
Until recently, this show was called Miss Scarlet and the Duke, but Stuart Martin left the series, and his character, William Wellington, was written out of the show. This month, the newly renamed Miss Scarlet returns for its fifth season as Eliza Scarlet (Kate Phillips) feels the need to prove her abilities as a private investigator once again now that the Duke is gone.
Detective Inspector Alexander Blake (Tom Durant-Pritchard) is a new arrival at Scotland Yard, and he’s also Eliza’s best way to keep herself in the loop with the London police. However, Eliza’s interactions with Alexander soon go beyond professional interest, and it forces her to make decisions about what she really wants out of her life.
Watch Miss Scarlet on PBS.
All Creatures Great and Small
All Creatures Great and Small is practically a British institution, and the modern revival series is back for a fifth season in January. This show started out in the late 1930s, as James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) joined a veterinary practice at Skeldale House alongside Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West) and his younger brother, Tristan Farnon (Callum Woodhouse).
Season 5 begins as the onset of World War II forces James to go to RAF Abingdon, even while his wife, Helen (Rachel Shenton), is left behind to take care of their baby son. Tristan is also back at Skeldale after an extended absence, but his place may have been usurped by Richard Carmody (James Anthony-Rose). And as the war progresses, tensions at Skeldale may continue to rise.
Watch All Creatures Great and Small on PBS.
Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Beyond your immediate family, do you know who you really are or where you came from? Some families are better at keeping track of their lineage than others. But as Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. demonstrates, there’s always the potential for surprising revelations when you look back at your family’s history.
For 10 seasons, Gates has invited celebrity guests on to his program as he and his team present them with a detailed report about their family trees and even some distant relatives. Finding Your Roots season 11 will feature actors Kristen Bell, Laurence Fishburne, Debra Messing, Michael Imperioli, Melanie Lynskey, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Lea Salonga, Amanda Seyfried, Dax Shepard, and Sharon Stone, among other guests who are ready to learn more about themselves.
Watch Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. on PBS.