10 Seriously Overlooked British TV Shows
3. Cadfael
Starring Sir Derek Jacobi as the crusader-turned-monk sleuth in this 12th century set drama, Cadfael fuses crime mystery, medieval historical drama, and a civil war setting for a fully realised and ever-intriguing series.
Based on The Cadfael Chronicles, novels written by Ellis Peters, the titular Cadfael investigates murders and other such mysteries surrounding the goings on of Shrewsbury, amidst ongoing civil conflict between King Stephen and the Empress Maud (a period known as 'the Anarchy').
Filmed largely in Hungary due to Shrewsbury's abbey no longer being present, Cadfael has the full depth of story and character that novel adaptions can benefit from as well as fairly impressive production values to boot. For anyone longer for far more satisfying medieval type intrigue following the cultural demise of Game of Thrones, they need look no further than Cadfael to see how it should be done.
Cadfael is one of those shows that gets a bit lost when essaying the landscape of British TV. It often seems to be largely dismissed as just another odd genre mystery show; I assure, with Jacobi's shakespearean kudos as evidence, it is far more than that.