Are you looking for an escape from doomscrolling, the ever-upsetting “news”, and dark, violent, gratuitously sexual and (most annoyingly) politically driven shows on TV? Then I have a show recommendation for you and your family: PBS’s All Creatures Great and Small.

During the pandemic, PBS aired a remake of the All Creatures Great and Small series and it is, in a word, fabulous. The show centers around a veterinary practice in rural England during the 1930s through the 1950s. This version of the show is a prequel based on the book series by James Herriot and details his real-life experiences as a veterinarian in Yorkshire, England. The scenery is breathtaking, the costume, hair and makeup design are stunning and the set design is cottagecore perfection. Each episode ends on a happy (but still believable) note, the language is clean and the animals are adorable and charming. In short, it is the perfect family television show. My family and I were hooked as soon as we watched the first episode back in 2020 and we watched all five seasons as they aired.

Recently, I read that season six was being released, so we started watching again. Six years later, the show does not disappoint. My children, husband and I are still entertained by the non-controversial story lines and the breathtaking views of the English countryside.

While my family and I love the show for all of the aforementioned reasons, besides its light-hearted story lines, I am most drawn to the series for its beautiful aesthetic, which I will break down here.

The show creates one of the coziest atmospheres on television. In the Skeldale House kitchen, rustic brown wood furnishings are surrounded by delicately patterned wall paper and sage green chair railing and molding. The old fashioned (and also sage green) teapot always makes an appearance, as do dainty cups and saucers as Mrs. Hall, the housekeeper and cook, serves breakfast. Watching the characters chat over their morning tea makes me want to climb through the screen and join them. The evening scenes usually involve the characters sitting in cozy, fluffy chairs by a fireplace, dogs lying at their feet while they chat over small glasses of sherry. I’ve never had sherry in my life, but they make drinking it look so delicious. It’s all very snug and inviting.

In addition to the amazing sets, most of the fashion on the show is beautiful and comfortable-seemingly contradictory terms, but not so on this series. Oftentimes, male and female characters are wearing sweaters, tweed pants or skirts or even more comfy, a pair of corduroys and boots, but on this show each item is a work of art. Warm browns, blues, greens and greys make up the colors in their corduroy collections. The women’s sweaters on the show are simply gorgeous – Muted pink, slate blue, burgundy, soft green and pale yellow are just some of the beautiful colors used to create the pieces, many with slightly puffed or pleated shoulders, adding a touch of femininity to the look. If any manufacturers are reading this, please bring back these styles of sweaters (in all natural fibers) please!

The characters’ hairstyles and makeup are also stunning. Rosy lips and cheeks paired with minimal eye makeup is so flattering and so easy to replicate at home in about five minutes. Of course the actresses on the show are attractive, which helps immensely, but even so, the natural look is just so refreshing to see.

Lastly, if you don’t want to visit rural England after watching this show, you’ll never want to go. The entire show is like a tourism ad in the best way. When the characters are traveling, we are treated to aerial views of rolling green hills and low stone walls dotted with cozy cottages and quaint farms. It doesn’t hurt that the car on the show that the main characters drive is an emerald green vintage Rover 75. Watching the characters drive that beautiful car over such a stunning landscape is like going on vacation. I can actually feel my blood pressure going down as I watch them drive over the hills and dales.

All Creatures Great and Small certainly lives up to its Masterpiece classification. I would be hard pressed to find a better show for the family on TV (unless maybe it was another Masterpiece series). So tonight, gather around your TV (perhaps in your coziest cardigan and with a cup of herbal tea in a beautiful ceramic mug) and tune into an episode of All Creatures Great and Small. You and your cortisol level will be glad you did.