Masterpiece's Indian Summers is being sold as Downton Abbey set in India. I am not so sure about that, but the first episode was an interesting mix of family dynamics, politics, and clear class separations. The first season includes 10 episodes and another four seasons are already planned. Here is a little more from Masterpiece:
Set in a subtropical paradise during the twilight era of the British Empire, Indian Summers explores the collision of the ruling class English with their Indian subjects, and the intricate game of power, politics, and passion that ensues. Julie Walters (Harry Potter, Oscar® nominee for Billy Elliot and Educating Rita) stars as Cynthia Coffin, the glamorous doyenne of an English social club, and is joined by Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Jemima West, Nikesh Patel, Roshan Seth, and Lillete Dubey.
Told from both the English and Indian perspectives, the drama of Indian Summers unfolds as illicit agreements, romance, and revolution abound. Though the English socialites are having the time of their lives in Simla, the local Indians have started to call for national independence, a path which is quickly rendering the world’s greatest empire helpless. As pressure builds, the two sides alternately clash and merge in a passionate and dangerous game.
The Widower is not as sunny a show as Indian Summers though based on a true story. Here is a little more on the series from PBS (and a review from The Hollywood Reporter):
The Widower is the 3-part true story of Malcolm Webster — an infamous wife-killer who marries, and then attempts to kill, a succession of woman to mask his debts and cash in on their life insurance policies. Webster, a nurse by profession, is on the surface, a perfect gentleman. Well-spoken, personable and oozing with charm, he marries first wife, Claire Morris, in 1993. However, a year after her dream wedding, Claire is dead — the apparent victim of a tragic road accident. What no one knows at the time is that Webster has spent the entire marriage plying his unsuspecting wife with sedatives. He aims to keep her in a constant state of fatigue and drowsiness to prevent her from questioning his wild spending habits or mounting debts. But with his debtors closing in on him, he decides to silence his wife once and for all by killing her in a staged car accident that will pay him a life insurance policy that will resolve his financial difficulties.
Finally, Home Fires is another Masterpiece series, this one in England before and during World War II, that also includes one of the stars from Downton Abbey. A second season is already in the works. Here is more from PBS (and a review from the Wall Street Journal):
At the heart of a rural English village on the verge of the Second World War, a diverse group of women with personal struggles, conflicting views and a shared mission forge a community that will inspire their finest hour. Samantha Bond (Downton Abbey) and Francesca Annis (Reckless, Cranford) head an ensemble cast in the moving wartime drama, Home Fires.
In August 1939, war with Germany is all but certain. While citizens of the isolated village of Great Paxford each face the prospect of war in their own way, all agree that they must do everything they can to hold their village—and their nation—together. But when the value of the largely social group, The Women's Institute, is called into question, forward-thinking Frances Barden (Samantha Bond) and snobbish Joyce Cameron (Francesca Annis) clash over the fate of the Institute and the roles its members can play, far from the front.
So you have plenty of great shows to watch during this very busy season, or put them aside for a quiet winter evening.
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