Looking for the next great BBC genre series? This could be it.

While many of us may lament that quality genre shows in the United States have become few and far between these days, the good news is that across the pond, there are a wealth of great genre shows waiting to be discovered.

One of the most intriguing of the latest offerings is the BBC’s The Fades.  Part teen angst drama, part supernatural/fantasy thriller, the series is brain child of Skins writer Jack Thorne.  It centers on a young outcast boy  Paul whose only refuge from bullying at school and at the hands of his popular twin sister Anna  is his best friend, fellow outcast and geek Mac.  Everything changes when Paul witnesses a strange man named Neil  fighting off a group of supernatural nasties in an abandoned shopping center. Neil is surprised that Paul can see these ghosts, called “Fades,” encouraging him to embrace his destiny by joining a clandestine group called the Angelics, tasked with keeping the supernatural threat at bay. Before long, Neil realizes the boy is special, and that he may be the key to preventing the apocalypse that Paul keeps seeing in his dreams.

The series recently completed a run on BBC America in the United States and is now available on Blu-Ray and DVD.

At six episodes, the first season wisely sticks mainly to the mythology of the series with each episode building on the characters and universe, culminating in a fascinating, compelling season finale.  There is the usual measure of teen angst in the show, but like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the angst sections actually underline and highlight the supernatural storyline unfolding on screen.

The Blu-Ray verison was provided for review by BBC America and it looks and sounds fantastic.  The Fades looks great in HD and there are enough extras to make it worth picking up if you already watched the series unfold during its recent six week run.  The deleted scenes packed onto the two disc set add some interesting twists and turns to the episodes and enhance the overall viewing experience.

But be warned–this series may not be for the faint of heart (or younger viewers).  It’s dark, gothic and scary at times.

If you missed the show, it’s definitely worth a look.   The six-episode run means you can have a marathon and enjoy this great new series over a weekend.  It’s dark, gripping and addictive.