Looking for some great shows to dig into this month? GBH Passport is where you should be looking, and below are some top selections from Ron Bachman, Senior Director of Programming, and Devin Karambelas, Programming Manager. The member benefit that provides you with extended access to an on-demand library of quality public television programming, GBH Passport features current and past seasons of PBS and GBH shows — including drama, science, history, and the arts. Watch anytime on GBH.org or on the PBS App.

As an added treat for Valentine's Day, below you will find food and drink suggestions with each series for the perfect date night. Enjoy!

Emma


If there’s one thing the BBC knows how to do, it’s Jane Austen. This very fine adaptation from Sandy Welch (North and South, Jane Eyre) updates the story of the precocious, amateur matchmaker for modern audiences with the signature Austen touches: the stately homes, sumptuous gowns, lively music and oh, those sideburns. Romola Garai as Emma is a captivating presence, and Jonny Lee Miller’s turn as Mr. Knightley is as swashbuckling as they come. Fun fact: when this series premiered in 2009, Emma had not been serialized for TV since 1972. Binge this in Passport starting February 7 and compare it to the more recent 2020 film by Autumn de Wilde starring Anna Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit) in the eponymous role. —Devin

Suggested pairing: A fruity Singapore Sling cocktail. This recipe replaces the garishly sweet flavors of the original with bright citrus flavors.

Watch the trailer:

A Very British Romance With Lucy Worsley


February may fall in the depths of winter, but at least it’s got Valentine’s Day going for it. And in the midst of a pandemic, there’s no better time to cherish the ones we love. So cuddle up with your sweetheart and follow Lucy Worsley through the seductive history of British romance, uncovering the social, political and cultural forces that shaped ideals of romantic love during the Georgian era — including the enduring and beloved novels of Jane Austen. —Ron

Suggested pairing: Chocolate lava cakes. You know what they say about true love — it's what's inside that counts.

Watch a preview:

Stream A Very British Romance With Lucy Worsly on GBH Passport

Seaside Hotel

Dying for a vacation? Give this light, breezy Danish series from Walter’s Choice a try. With a “Downton Abbey on the North Sea” vibe, Seaside Hotel follows a Jutland Coast hotel’s regular guests from Copenhagen, its local staff, and the daily dramas that engulf them. At the center is Fie (Rosalinde Myer), a local girl who is hired as a chambermaid but clearly destined for bigger things as she becomes party to the hotel’s secrets. The ensemble cast is superb — if you’re a fan of fellow Scandi series The Killing and Borgen, you will absolutely recognize some cast members — and the backdrop is guaranteed to trigger wanderlust. The series is in its seventh season in Denmark, where it’s a smash hit. You can stream Season 1 on Passport and the first six seasons on the PBS MASTERPIECE channel on Amazon Prime. —Devin

Suggested pairing: Potato gnocchi with butter, sage, and chives. Light and fluffy pillows of perfect pasta dressed in rich layers of butter and fresh herbs? Sounds like a MASTERPIECE show to us!

Watch a preview:

The Long Song


British Jamaican writer Andrea Levy’s prize-winning novel comes to television in this three-part adaptation set in early colonial-era Jamaica, in the final years of slavery on the island and the transition to freedom thereafter. The story is told from perspective of July (Tamara Lawrance), a slave on a British sugarcane plantation owned by Caroline Mortimer (Hayley Atwell), into whose hands it falls upon the death of her husband. Beautifully acted, the series tackles its tough subject matter unflinchingly, providing, in the words of one critic, “a moving reminder of the cruelty of slavery.” The series rolls out weekly on Passport (and TV) starting January 31, but if you wait until February 14, you can watch it all in one go. —Ron

Suggested pairing: A fruity shrub. Refreshing, sweet, and tart, these endlessly-adaptable cocktails have been around for centuries and are the perfect way to end of a long day.

Watch a preview:

Stream The Long Song now on GBH Passport

To Walk Invisible: The Brontë Sisters


Shot against the sublime backdrop of the Yorkshire moors, Sally Wainwright’s (Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax) biopic of the mysterious Brontë family is a strikingly different kind of costume drama. The film focuses on the three extraordinary years in which sisters Charlotte, Emily and Anne set out to publish the books that would make them household names, while confronting their brother Branwell’s brutal addictions and decline. Perhaps it was out of their sheltered and occasionally painful home life that the sisters’ genius flourished, Wainwright seems to wonder. In any case, it’s thrilling to watch the Brontë sisters develop their literary talents, like “superheroes discovering their powers for the first time” as a Guardian reviewer put it. No wonder the New York Times included it on its Best TV of 2017 list when this beautiful, beguiling drama first aired on PBS Masterpiece. This is your chance to stream it before it leaves Passport on March 25. —Devin

Suggested pairing: Sweet and spicy chocolate chews. The spice is in the details when it comes to these traditionally sweet confections.

Watch a preview:

Stream To Walk Invisible: The Brontë Sisters now on GBH Passport

View more selections for February and beyond in the GBH Passport collection.