From the rugged hills of the Calder Valley to the cobblestones of York, Yorkshire has always been the ultimate backdrop for brilliant television. Our landscapes don’t just provide a setting; they practically act as a main character.
If you’re looking for your next boxset obsession, you don’t have to look far. Here are the very best dramas filmed and set right here in Yorkshire that you can stream in full tonight.
What are the best TV dramas set in Yorkshire?
The top TV dramas set and filmed in Yorkshire include Happy Valley, All Creatures Great and Small, Time (Season 2), Gentleman Jack, and A Woman of Substance. These highly-rated series are all available on major UK streaming platforms like BBC iPlayer, My5, and Channel 4.
Happy Valley
Where to watch: BBC iPlayer
Sally Wainwright’s multi-BAFTA-winning masterpiece is easily one of the greatest British crime dramas ever made. It is an absolute must-watch, and definitely one of those shows that is well worth revisiting even if you have seen it before. Sarah Lancashire delivers an incredible performance as the fiercely resilient Sergeant Catherine Cawood, and it goes without saying that James Norton is characteristically fantastic as the monstrous Tommy Lee Royce. It’s raw, intense, and profoundly Yorkshire.
All Creatures Great and Small
Where to watch: My5
If you need an antidote to the chaos of modern life, this gorgeous adaptation of James Herriot’s beloved veterinary books is absolute perfection. The modern-day series is filmed heavily on location in the stunning village of Grassington, just a stone’s throw from Skipton. Once you have seen the show, the area is well worth a visit to see the beautiful cobbled market square transformed into the fictional town of Darrowby. It feels like a warm hug in television form.
Time (Season 2)
Where to watch: BBC iPlayer
While Jimmy McGovern’s first season took place in a men’s facility, the phenomenal second season shifts focus to a fictional women’s prison, with filming taking place heavily across Leeds and the wider Yorkshire region. Starring Jodie Whittaker and Bella Ramsey, it is a brutal, deeply moving look at the penal system that will stay with you long after the credits roll.
I absolutely love period dramas, and even more so when they are set so close to home. There is something incredibly special about watching a gripping story unfold while getting a real insight into Yorkshire’s fascinating past. These next two choices do exactly that:
Gentleman Jack
Where to watch: BBC iPlayer
Another masterpiece from the pen of Sally Wainwright, this period drama brings the incredible real history of Anne Lister to life. Often described as the “first modern lesbian,” Lister was a 19th-century Halifax landowner, industrialist, and scholar who famously defied societal norms by dressing entirely in black and operating in the male-dominated world of coal mining. Suranne Jones gives a powerhouse performance based directly on Lister’s secret, five-million-word diaries, which were written in a complex code of algebraic symbols and ancient Greek to hide her romantic relationships with women.
The series was largely filmed at her actual ancestral home, Shibden Hall, which is a magnificent, half-timbered manor house dating back to 1420. Anne heavily renovated the property herself in the 1830s, adding the distinct Gothic library tower and building a “wilderness garden” on the grounds to impress her eventual wife, the local heiress Ann Walker. It’s a fiercely brilliant piece of history, and the hall and its surrounding parklands are completely open to the public to visit.
A Woman of Substance (2026)
Where to watch: Channel 4
If you remember the iconic 1984 TV adaptation starring Liam Neeson, you will love this brand-new, eight-part Channel 4 reboot. Based on Leeds-born author Barbara Taylor Bradford’s legendary novel, it charts the magnificent, multi-decade rise of Emma Harte from a penniless maid in 1911 to a formidable business mogul in the 1970s.
This brilliant new version stars Vera’s Brenda Blethyn alongside Jessica Reynolds, and it features a spectacular local connection for us. In a wonderful nod to the original 80s series, the production crew returned right to our doorstep to film, using the gorgeous Grade I-listed Broughton Hall near Skipton to stand in as the grand Fairley Hall. Watching Emma’s story unfold against the backdrop of a grand estate so close to home gives a fantastic, deeply personal insight into Yorkshire’s past. It’s a sweeping classic tale of ambition, resilience, and ultimate revenge.
Bonus Pick: The Other Bennet Sister
Where to watch: BBC iPlayer
While this Pride and Prejudice spin-off isn’t set in Yorkshire, it earns a major bonus spot on our list thanks to its brilliant star, Ella Bruccoleri. A proud North Yorkshire native, Bruccoleri grew up in a self-described “Brontë family” and brings that classic northern grit to her performance as Mary Bennet, the historically overlooked middle sister.
The ten-part drama follows Mary as she steps out of her sisters’ shadows, leaves Longbourn behind, and finds herself caught up in a chaotic Regency love triangle. It is witty, incredibly charming, and was one of the biggest hits on television earlier this year. Best of all, if you fall in love with it like the rest of the country did, the BBC has just confirmed it will be returning to our screens for a special three-part Christmas special later this year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I watch Yorkshire dramas for free?
You can stream the best Yorkshire TV dramas for free on UK public service streaming apps, including BBC iPlayer (for Happy Valley, Time, The Other Bennet Sister, and Gentleman Jack), My5 (for All Creatures Great and Small), and Channel 4 (for A Woman of Substance).
Where was Happy Valley filmed?
Happy Valley was filmed extensively on location throughout the Calder Valley in West Yorkshire. Key filming locations include Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Sowerby Bridge, Halifax, and Huddersfield.
What is the most famous TV show set in Yorkshire?
While classic series like Heartbeat and Emmerdale are iconic, Happy Valley and All Creatures Great and Small are widely regarded as modern Yorkshire’s most critically acclaimed and globally successful TV dramas.
