‘Doc Martin,’ ‘Foyle’s War’ Leave Netflix; How US Viewers Can Still Watch

U.S. audiences who love British TV often turn to Netflix to catch their favorite series from across the pond, but they won’t be able to catch two major U.K. exports, “Foyle’s War” and “Doc Martin,” on the service anymore. Both shows have a new exclusive streaming home in the U.S — Acorn TV.

“Foyle’s War” is a beloved British detective drama that ran from 2002 to 2015. Of course, since it’s an English show, it’s a pretty short binge-watch. The series, which follows DCS Foyle (Michael Kitchen) as he investigates crimes during and after World War II, produced a whole 28 episodes during that eight-season and 13-year run.

“Doc Martin,” meanwhile, is still running with Season 9 expected to start in fall 2019. That means that there likely were some Netflix users in the middle of watching the series when it was taken off the platform earlier this month. The comedy follows a socially challenged doctor (Martin Clunes) who leaves London for a small town. It started in 2004 and has produced 62 episodes.

Acorn TV scored the exclusive U.S. streaming rights to both series. Anglophiles can access the Acorn TV library for $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year, and the streaming platform has much more than just “Foyle’s War” and “Doc Martin.” The streaming platform specializes in making international TV shows accessible to North American viewers, and their exclusive offerings are growing.

In August, the service will carry the exclusive U.S. premiere of “No Offence” Season 2, a female-driven police dramedy from Channel 4. Also premiering next month is “Mystery Road,” another U.S. premiere. This Australian detective drama stars Emmy, BAFTA and Golden Globe winner Judy Davis. Acorn TV will also have the exclusive U.S. premiere of an Italian language series called “Tangled Lies” about a single mother whose daughter goes missing.

Netflix has lost exclusive streaming rights to other big British hits in the past. “Doctor Who” left Netflix a couple years ago after scoring an exclusive deal with Amazon Prime, and “Downton Abbey” also left Netflix for Amazon in its early years. Even American hits like “30 Rock” and “Lost” have been taken off Netflix after Hulu nabbed the exclusive streaming rights. However, with hits like “Black Mirror,” “Peaky Blinders” and more, it certainly doesn’t seem like the giant company has to worry about losing British TV fans.