1. Pure
This brand new drama comedy series is currently airing weekly on Channel 4 (and has been received really well!), but if you’re a binge watcher, you can plough through the entire series in one sitting on All 4.
Pure follows 24-year-old Marnie, who moves from Scotland to London to try and get to the bottom of her struggle with mental illness, which causes her to have very graphic and sexual visualisations of basically everybody around her. When she attends an anonymous support group for people suffering with sex addiction, she realises that she’s nothing like those people, and eventually learns that she’s dealing with a lesser-known form of OCD.
2. Derry Girls (duh)
If you haven’t watched Derry Girls yet, it’s about time to get around to it. Even Americans are up to date on it now, and eagerly awaiting the second season (which should be out at some stage next month!!!!).
If you’ve already seen it, why not watch it again? It’s gas, and with episodes clocking in well under 30 mins each, you could probably watch all six episodes in less than three hours.
3. Spencer, Vogue and Baby Too
If you’re a fan of Vogue Williams, you can watch her and Spencer Matthews grapple with parenthood in their three-part series on All 4, whenever you like.
4. The Bisexual
After spending years identifying to friends as a lesbian, Leila realises that she’s been living a lie. This series follows her as she struggles to be true to herself and open up about her bisexuality.
5. 30 Rock (Series 1-7)
Bet you had no idea that every episode of 30 Rock was on All 4. Netflix who?
6. Kiri
If you were a fan of Happy Valley, or just Sarah Lancashire in general, you’ll enjoy this acclaimed four-part crime drama set in Bristol. It centres on the abduction of a young girl named Kiri Akindele, who lived with her foster parents Jim and Alice and their teenage son, Si. Jim and Alice have been fostering Kiri for five years, since she was aged four, and they’re set to adopt her, things take a very dark turn when everything completely falls apart.
7. My Mad Fat Diary (Series 1 – 3)
If you have never seen this series, you’re SERIOUSLY missing out. Look at those capital letters. We really mean it.
Following a 16-year-old girl called Rae who is struggling with body image and mental health issues, My Mad Fat Diary is equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking, touching and devastating. After spending four months in a psychiatric hospital, Rae’s eager to get out and make up for lost time – finding love, having sex for the first time and making new friends. However, the way that others treat her because of her weight (and the way she treats herself too, tbh), as well as her trouble with binge-eating disorder proves to be a major obstacle in all of this.
8. Catastrophe (Series 1 – 3)
By now, you’ve definitely heard about Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney’s comedy (which is about to come to an end very soon), but have you ever actually sat down to watch it? There’s your weekend sorted.
9. Chewing Gum
This comedy series follows the strictly religious, Beyoncé obsessed 24-year-old that is Tracey Gordon, as she finds out that there’s far more to the world than she realises, and oh boy, does it take her a long time to adapt. This show went down quite well, and even featured rapper Stormzy.
10. The State
This four-part drama follows the experiences of four young British men and women who have become ISIS recruits. They begin new lives in Syria and are soon confronted with the harsh realities of the Islamic State. The story is based on director Peter Kosminsky’s research and firsthand accounts gathered over the course of a year.
11. Born To Kill
A four-part psychological drama about a seemingly model teenager with hidden psychological issues. When a new girl starts at his school, some alarming behaviours are triggered, and it’s not helped by the situation going on in his home life.
Documentaries/Factual TV shows
12. The Clinton Affair
Over three episodes, American politicians look back over the scandals that plagued Bill Clinton during the presidential campaign in Washington, and during Clinton’s time in the White House.
13. Posh Neighbours at War
Documentary following rich people who have nothing better to do with their time or money than starting legal disputes with neighbours. From the woman who painted her Kensington home in bright red stripes to back garden operas and noisy Hampstead gardeners, this documentary lifts the lid on upmarket neighbourly disputes and makes you think, “Well, at least I’m not that bad.”
14. Steph & Dom: Can Cannabis Save Our Son?
Gogglebox’s Steph and Dom are great entertainers, but behind the laughs, there’s a very serious ongoing issue in their lives. Their 18-year-old son has severe epilepsy, which causes up to a hundred seizures a day – any one of which could potentially be fatal. This documentary follows them as they look into the possible relief their son could be granted through access to medical cannabis.
15. Gaycation
Ellen Page travels the world, meeting LGBTQ people in numerous countries and checking out the gay scene (or lack thereof) in countries like Japan, Brazil, Jamaica and the United States. While the show deals with light-hearted aspects of LGBTQ life, and the bounds we have taken in recent years, it also looks at the problems that still affect the lives of many LGBTQ people, like violence and homophobia.
16. Married to a Paedophile
Every week, there are over 100 women in the UK who learn that their husbands aren’t all they seem, as police charge more and more men for possession of child images. This programme provides an insight into affected families’ lives.
17. 12 Year Old Lifer
An extraordinary insight into a murder that gripped and baffled America, and led to a 12-year-old boy being sentenced to 30 years in jail. After this documentary was made, at the age of 19, this young man was freed from prison after serving just seven years of his sentence.
18. The Supervet
Who doesn’t love a bit of Noel Fitzpatrick? There are 80 episodes of his show on All 4.
19. A Very British Brothel
A look behind the scenes at a Sheffield massage parlour, which meets the sex workers who work there and some of their clients, as well as the mother and daughter who run the business together.
20. Crocodile Tears
A look at some of the shocking crimes that people who have appealed for information on have actually committed themselves. From the Philpott case to the murder of Tia Sharp.
21. The £1 Houses: Britain’s Cheapest Street
A series looking at the families who bought houses in a Liverpool neighbourhood for just £1, in an initiative by the council to make the area suitable to live in after years of dereliction. The people who’ve spent £1 on a house spend much more money putting their homes back together again, only to have them vandalised, stolen from and witness shootings on their doorstep.
22. The Bizarre Fetish Handbook
What is All 4 even for, if not watching shocking documentaries about weird fetishes? From people who participate in pagan rituals in the bedroom to those who want to be crawled on by insects, this is the weird stuff you’ll be telling your pals about at pre-drinks.
23. Would You Take in a Stranger?
This documentary meets three young people who need emergency accommodation and the three families who have agreed to give them a home for the night.
