Top 7 TV Shows Set in Liverpool - Helping English Learners Understand the Scouse Accent
People who learn British English as a second language often learn pronunciation by listening to London or Southern accents. These accents are often clear, easy to follow and easy to understand. However travelling further North or West in the UK, local accents and dialect changes rapidly. This makes it hard for non-fluent speakers to understand exactly what natives of different cities are saying. This is especially true of the Scouse accent (or Liverpudlian). Scouse is a Northern dialect which is incredibly different from the Southern English accent.
Many people who learn English online find that British TV shows are perfect to show how regional accents pronounce words differently. This allows them to understand what is being said (see our guide of 7 Tips to Improve your English Speaking!)
We’ve collected 7 of the best British TV shows set in Liverpool. Each features a cast of Liverpudlian actors speaking with the Scouse accent. This will help non-native English learners understand the sounds of the local dialect, as well as the culture.
Brookside
A classic British soap opera which aired for an astounding 21 years. Brookside is set in a housing estate on the outskirts of Liverpool, England. With a spider-web of gripping storylines, this is a great show to binge in order to understand the Scouse accent.
Brookside features controversial and taboo storylines with the aim of drawing attention to realistic issued faced across the country, such as discrimination, domestic abuse and addiction. Furthermore, what makes this program stand out is that it was the first soap to significantly tackle many of these controversial topics. Subsequently, many other high-rating soaps like EastEnders eventually following Brookside’s lead.
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The John Bishop Show
Liverpudlian actor, comedian and presenter John Bishop’s current variety / chat show, The John Bishop Show, features a mix of entertainment news, comedy and celebrity guests. It includes musicians, actors and stand up comedians from across the British TV and film industries.
This TV show is great for non-native English speakers who are learning how to understand British regional accents. Not only does the host speak with a Scouse accent, but each week different celebrity guests will feature, demonstrating different British accents to discover and learn to understand. Also learners will be taught about current British culture, entertainment and news highlights.
Bread
Bread is an acclaimed comedy series from the late 1980s following the lives of a Catholic, working-class family in Liverpool. Alongside hosting a range of Liverpudlian actors demonstrating good examples of the Scouse accent, Bread’s working class atmosphere also reveals English slang terms which non-native English speakers might like to learn.
The most obvious of these slang terms is the show’s titling word, ‘Bread’, which translates to ‘money’. This classic comedy series bases its plot around an unemployed family with a talent for making money.
The Responder
A TV show created by a former British police officer, The Responder is a fictionalised crime drama series set in Liverpool.
First broadcast in 2022, this show follows a demoted police inspector working night shifts in the heart of Liverpool. He’s a man who wants to be kind but fails to be, unable to escape the trauma of his past.
As a police drama, The Responder features many adult storylines such as drug dealing and abusive relationships. The characters and themes in this series are certain to grab your attention and help with understand Northern English accents faster!
Help
Help is a 2021 TV film set in a Liverpool care home, following the story of a nurse attending to an Alzheimers patient. Filmed in Liverpool, this fictional drama deals with the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic upon the National Health Service.
Help’s cast of actors come from across the UK, with regional accents in the TV show ranging from Scouse to Mancunian (see our list of Top 7 TV Shows with Manchester Accents). This in turn offers you the chance to learn and compare pronunciation from different places in Northern England.
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This Is England ‘86
A spin off from the British cult film, This Is England, the 2010 mini-series This Is England ‘86 takes place in an unidentified Northern town. Subsequently, it features native accents from a wide range of Northern regions, including Scouse.
While the original film followed the skinhead scene of the early 1980s and its political links to the white nationalist movement, this TV spin off bases its story around an alternative UK subculture – the mod rockers.
The This Is England franchise is a fantastic place for English learners to start learning about the roots of UK subcultures. This franchise also includes many scenes about racism, discrimination, and threats posed towards immigrants by UK hate groups.
Boys From The Blackstuff
Airing for only one series in 1982, Boys From The Blackstuff is a comedy drama set in Thatcher era Britain.
Written by a native Liverpudlian and set in his home city, this bittersweet series is described as both heartfelt and gut-wrenching. It looks at the highs and lows of life in a working class family facing the realities of unemployment.
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