Television

Well-meaning thriller with moments of implausibility: BBC1's Crossfire reviewed

24 September 2022 9:00 am

Crossfire was a three-part drama in more ways than one. Running every night from Tuesday to Thursday, it brought together…

The political cunning of Elizabeth II: BBC1's The Longest Reign – The Queen and Her People reviewed

17 September 2022 9:00 am

In all the tributes to Her late Majesty’s constancy, dignity, wisdom and devotion to duty, not enough has been said…

Will you be able to get through the ponderous aphorisms without giggling? The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power reviewed

10 September 2022 9:00 am

Amazon’s much-heralded Tolkien prequel The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power began by answering a question that has…

Shaping up nicely for some truly epic bloodletting: House of the Dragon reviewed

3 September 2022 9:00 am

House of the Dragon got off to a pretty uninspirational start, I thought: no major characters brought to a shocking…

The fiasco of Operation Yewtree: C4's The Accused – National Treasures on Trial reviewed

27 August 2022 9:00 am

At 4.38 a.m., one morning in October 2013, the radio presenter Paul Gambaccini was understandably asleep when the doorbell rang.…

Identity politics is in retreat in Hollywood

20 August 2022 9:00 am

‘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

13 August 2022 9:00 am

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

6 August 2022 9:00 am

It’s hard to imagine in the wake of GoodFellas, The Sopranos and Gomorrah but there was a time, not so…

Alienatingly sweet and warm: BBC2's The Newsreader reviewed

30 July 2022 9:00 am

When TV makes shows about TV, it rarely has a good word to say for itself. In the likes of…

Why we should all be dropping acid

23 July 2022 9:00 am

Many years ago a man on the end of my cigarette stole my soul. Mr Migarette (for such was his…

Who are these pathologically liberal rozzers? Channel 4's Night Coppers reviewed

16 July 2022 9:00 am

Grizzled police officers of the old school should probably avoid Channel 4’s Night Coppers for reasons of blood pressure. Like…

A thrilling, pacy, well-acted drama: Amazon Prime's The Terminal List reviewed

9 July 2022 9:00 am

‘The Terminal List is… a dated and drably made eight-part military thriller that offers little intrigue or excitement,’ says the…

A very classy thriller indeed: C4's The Undeclared War reviewed

2 July 2022 9:00 am

The Undeclared War has many of the traditional signifiers of a classy thriller: the assiduous letter-by-letter captioning of every location;…

The sad decline of my one-time favourites

25 June 2022 9:00 am

I don’t think it’s my imagination: it really is getting harder and harder to find anything worth watching on TV.…

A masterclass in evenhandedness: James Graham’s Sherwood reviewed

18 June 2022 9:00 am

James Graham has made his considerable name writing political-based dramas of a highly unusual type: non-polemical ones. And this certainly…

Ricky Gervais is an achingly conventional Millennial posing as a naughty maverick

11 June 2022 9:00 am

Just how edgy and dangerous is Ricky Gervais? There is no one more edgy and dangerous, we learn from no…

On the brink of delivering something special: Sky's The Midwich Cuckoos reviewed

4 June 2022 9:00 am

A youngish couple leave London and drive off excitedly to make a fresh start in more rural surroundings. They demonstrate…

Oddly unconvincing: Apple TV+'s The Essex Serpent reviewed

28 May 2022 9:00 am

Having now watched it to the end, I would say that Slow Horses (Apple TV+) is by far the best…

A gentle soap opera with nudity and book chat: Conversations with Friends reviewed

21 May 2022 9:00 am

It’s official: television has a new genre. Its features include leisurely half-hour episodes, plenty of literary chat, several scenes set…

The best TV spy drama since Smiley’s People: Apple TV+'s Slow Horses reviewed

14 May 2022 9:00 am

How thriller writers must miss the Cold War! Early John le Carré and Len Deighton had it easy when trying…

Lacks the bite and bracing malevolence of Call My Agent!: Amazon's Ten Percent reviewed

7 May 2022 9:00 am

In theory, it should be a perfect match. John Morton – the man behind the brilliantly assured sitcom W1A which…

If you're tired of Netflix's agendas, turn to BritBox's new Agatha Christie

30 April 2022 9:00 am

Netflix’s share price has collapsed and a major factor, people are saying, is its relentless pushing of agendas. I think…

The chief characteristic so far has been nervousness: Chivalry reviewed

23 April 2022 9:00 am

Chivalry – written by and starring Sarah Solemani and Steve Coogan – is a comedy drama about post-#MeToo Hollywood life.…

How did he even fool the Duke of Edinburgh? Netflix’s Jimmy Savile – A British Horror Story reviewed

16 April 2022 9:00 am

The only impersonation I can do is my Jimmy Savile impersonation. This is not uncommon among people of my generation:…

An impeccably rule-observing programme from the BBC: Art That Made Us reviewed

9 April 2022 9:00 am

Art That Made Us is an ambitious new series, firmly in the ‘history of something in a load of different…