• Photo courtesy of BBC
• Ben Wishaw and Dominc West

Last year, it seemed most of America tumbled hard for Downton Abbey, but I found another British small-screen import more to my tastes. The Hour — a six-hour mini-series about a fledging TV news team in 1956 — packed plenty into its short run: the tug-of-war between reporters and power brokers; romance (illicit and otherwise); wry comedy; international affairs (the Suez Canal crisis); and the omnipresent paranoia of the Cold War. The Hour was part Mad Men, part Newsroom, part John le Carre novel and part history lesson — and yes, at times, it was as confusing to follow as that all sounds.

But I like a challenge and I'll watch good actors like Romola Garai, Ben Wishaw and Dominic West in anything.

Season 2 starts Wed., Nov. 28; it airs at 9 p.m. on the BBC America cable channel. You can set your DVR to record Season 1, which airs prior to the premiere of Season 2. It's also available on DVD.