Succession works because the writers don’t care about the boring business storylines
I have a theory that many great artists’ strength is a product of their weakness. The flaw of the relentlessly…
What a gloriously easy living Chris Rock makes from his comedy
Chris Rock was paid $20 million for his 70-minute Netflix special, so by my reckoning his riff on whether or…
In defence of the fabrications of reality TV
My new favourite tennis player, just ahead of Novak Djokovic, is Nick Kyrgios. Up until recently I’d barely heard of…
What I love about Netflix’s Kleo is that it’s so damned German
I was almost tempted not to watch Kleo because it sounded like so many things I’d seen before: beautiful ex-Stasi…
Classy but constrained by its video game origins: Sky’s The Last of Us reviewed
The Last of Us is widely being hailed as the best video game adaptation ever. Maybe. But it’s still a…
Heist drama with a novelty spin that isn’t very novel: Netflix’s Kaleidoscope reviewed
Kaleidoscope is a fairly routine eight-part heist drama with a supposed novelty spin: apart from the beginning and the end,…
A Turkish dystopia that eludes western censors: Netflix’s Hot Skull reviewed
A strange new virus has infected half the world but the cure is worse than the disease: authoritarian tyranny, in…
The Recruit might be the worst show on Netflix
The Top Gun series received generous support from the US Navy because it was such an effective recruitment tool. I…
Fascinating, plausible ideas undermined by Netflix: Ancient Apocalypse reviewed
Graham Hancock’s Ancient Apocalypse has been described by the Guardian as ‘the most dangerous show on Netflix’. What? More dangerous…
Repellent: Paramount+’s Tulsa King reviewed
TV currently abounds with ‘I thought they were dead’ revival projects: series in which your favourite 1980s movie stars are…
Riveting: Netflix’s The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself reviewed
Gratingly edgy soundtrack, stomach-churning gore, torture, witchcraft, sadism and an indigestible title. The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself sounds…
A Soviet version of Martin Parr: Adam Curtis’s Russia 1985-1999 –TraumaZone reviewed
Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone – even the title makes you want to scream – is Adam Curtis’s Metal Machine Music: the…
An enjoyable new Ageing Dad drama: Disney+'s The Old Man reviewed
We men all think we’ve still got it, even when we’re well past 50 and young women look straight through…
The makers of Fauda have another hit on their hands: Sky Atlantic's Munich Games reviewed
You’d have to pay me an awful lot more than I get for this column to review Monster: The Jeffrey…
Shaping up nicely for some truly epic bloodletting: House of the Dragon reviewed
House of the Dragon got off to a pretty uninspirational start, I thought: no major characters brought to a shocking…
Identity politics is in retreat in Hollywood
‘Diversity is woven into the very soul of the story.’ If those words of praise from a rave review in…
Fascinating but flat: Amazon Prime's Thirteen Lives reviewed
About ten minutes in to Thirteen Lives, Boy came in and asked me whether it was any good. I said:…
The making of The Godfather was almost as dramatic as the film: Paramount+'s The Offer reviewed
It’s hard to imagine in the wake of GoodFellas, The Sopranos and Gomorrah but there was a time, not so…
Why we should all be dropping acid
Many years ago a man on the end of my cigarette stole my soul. Mr Migarette (for such was his…
A thrilling, pacy, well-acted drama: Amazon Prime's The Terminal List reviewed
‘The Terminal List is… a dated and drably made eight-part military thriller that offers little intrigue or excitement,’ says the…
The sad decline of my one-time favourites
I don’t think it’s my imagination: it really is getting harder and harder to find anything worth watching on TV.…
Ricky Gervais is an achingly conventional Millennial posing as a naughty maverick
Just how edgy and dangerous is Ricky Gervais? There is no one more edgy and dangerous, we learn from no…
Oddly unconvincing: Apple TV+'s The Essex Serpent reviewed
Having now watched it to the end, I would say that Slow Horses (Apple TV+) is by far the best…
The best TV spy drama since Smiley’s People: Apple TV+'s Slow Horses reviewed
How thriller writers must miss the Cold War! Early John le Carré and Len Deighton had it easy when trying…
If you're tired of Netflix's agendas, turn to BritBox's new Agatha Christie
Netflix’s share price has collapsed and a major factor, people are saying, is its relentless pushing of agendas. I think…
