Kenneth Branagh is basically the guy you see everywhere. One minute he’s wearing a mustache that has its own zip code as Hercule Poirot, and the next he’s directing a Marvel blockbuster or winning an Oscar for a black-and-white movie about his childhood. But if you think he's just a "movie guy" who happens to do the odd interview, you're missing the best stuff.
Honestly, the Kenneth Branagh TV shows catalog is where he actually does his most soul-baring work.
While the world was busy watching him play Hamlet on the big screen, Branagh was quietly building a television resume that spans over four decades. It’s not just a side hustle. For him, TV is where he goes to be gritty, messy, and—most importantly—vulnerable in a way that two hours in a cinema just doesn’t allow.
Why Wallander Changed Everything for British TV
If you haven’t seen the BBC version of Wallander, stop what you’re doing. No, seriously. Most people know Branagh for his high-energy, "theatrical" energy. But in Wallander, he’s the total opposite. He plays Kurt Wallander, a Swedish detective who looks like he hasn’t slept since 1994.
He’s rumpled. He’s depressed. He spends a lot of time staring at grey horizons.
What makes this one of the standout Kenneth Branagh TV shows isn't the crimes. It’s the way Branagh portrays a man who cares way too much. He’s an existentialist in a polyester suit. The show ran from 2008 to 2016, and by the final season, Branagh was tackling the character’s descent into early-onset Alzheimer’s. It was heartbreaking. You’ve got Tom Hiddleston in the earlier seasons too, playing a junior detective before he became a global superstar.
✨ Don't miss: Priyanka Chopra Latest Movies: Why Her 2026 Slate Is Riskier Than You Think
The cinematography is also weirdly beautiful—lots of shallow focus and strange angles. It doesn’t feel like a standard "cop show." It feels like a long, beautiful, sad poem about how hard it is to be a human being.
The Boris Johnson Transformation in This England
Kinda recently, Branagh did something that made everyone do a double-take. He played Boris Johnson in the Sky Atlantic miniseries This England (2022).
Now, look, playing a sitting (at the time) Prime Minister is a massive risk. You’re either going to be a caricature or you’re going to be too sympathetic. Branagh spent about three hours in the makeup chair every single day to get that specific, chaotic blonde hair and the heavy-set physicality.
The show covers the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a docudrama, so it mixes real footage with scripted scenes. Critics were split—some felt it was too soft on the politics—but almost everyone agreed that Branagh’s performance was mesmerising. He captured that weird mix of Shakespearean bluster and private loneliness that seems to define Johnson. It’s a stressful watch, but if you want to see a masterclass in prosthetics and vocal mimicry, this is it.
Don't Forget the Classics: Shackleton and Warm Springs
Before the "Prestige TV" era was even a thing, Branagh was crushing the miniseries game.
🔗 Read more: Why This Is How We Roll FGL Is Still The Song That Defines Modern Country
In 2002, he starred in Shackleton. It’s a two-parter about Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ill-fated Antarctic expedition. It’s brutal. They filmed in the Arctic, and you can see the actual frostbite-inducing cold on the actors' faces. Branagh plays Shackleton not as a perfect hero, but as a man who is kinda failing at life back home and only feels alive when he’s leading men through a frozen wasteland.
Then there’s Warm Springs (2005). He played Franklin D. Roosevelt. Specifically, the period where FDR was trying to find a "cure" for his polio in the Georgia backwoods. It’s a quiet, hopeful performance that won him an Emmy nomination. It’s easy to forget these older gems because they aren't always on the front page of Netflix, but they’re foundational.
Early Days: The Billy Plays and Fortunes of War
If you want to be a real Branagh hipster, you have to go back to the early 80s.
He got his big break in The Billy Plays, which were part of the BBC’s Play for Today series. He played Billy Martin, a young man growing up in a working-class Protestant family in Belfast during the Troubles. It’s raw. It’s authentic. It’s miles away from the posh Shakespearean image he’d later develop.
Then came Fortunes of War in 1987. This is legendary because it’s where he met Emma Thompson. They played a married couple caught up in the chaos of WWII as it swept across the Balkans. The chemistry is obviously real, and the production is massive—the kind of "lavish BBC drama" they just don’t make as often anymore.
💡 You might also like: The Real Story Behind I Can Do Bad All by Myself: From Stage to Screen
The Current State of Branagh on Screen (2026)
So, where is he now?
As of early 2026, Branagh has been leaning back into his first love: the stage. He’s currently headlining a massive season at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. He’s playing Prospero in The Tempest and Lopakhin in The Cherry Orchard.
But for those of us who prefer the small screen, there’s a lot to dig into. His recent work on Apple TV+, specifically the action-thriller Mayday where he stars alongside Ryan Reynolds, shows he’s still got that "big screen energy" even on a streaming platform.
Why His TV Work Still Matters
People usually associate Branagh with "theatre" or "Shakespeare," which can feel a bit intimidating or even stuffy. His TV work breaks that. It shows he’s a character actor at heart. Whether he’s a detective in Sweden or an explorer in the Antarctic, he uses the medium of television to slow down. He lets the camera sit on his face. He isn't projecting to the back of a theatre; he’s talking to you in your living room.
How to Watch These Today
Getting your hands on the full list of Kenneth Branagh TV shows can be a bit of a scavenger hunt depending on where you live:
- Wallander: Usually lives on BritBox or Prime Video.
- This England: Check Sky Atlantic or Now TV in the UK; often lands on Sundance Now or AMC+ in the US.
- Shackleton: Often available for digital purchase or on DVD (worth it for the behind-the-scenes).
- The Billy Plays: You might need to dig into the BBC iPlayer archives or specialized "Classic TV" streamers.
If you’re looking to dive into his work, start with Wallander Series 1. It’s the perfect entry point. It’s moody, it’s modern, and it’s arguably the best thing he’s ever done. From there, jump to Shackleton for the adventure, then finish with This England to see how he handles modern politics. You’ll realize pretty quickly that the "movie guy" is actually one of the best TV actors we’ve ever had.
To get the most out of your viewing, try watching Wallander during a rainy weekend—the atmosphere of the show matches a gloomy day perfectly. For This England, it helps to have a quick refresher on the 2020 news cycle, as the show moves fast and assumes you remember the daily headlines.