TV

Style, wit and pace: Netflix’s Dept. Q reviewed

21 June 2025 9:00 am

Can you imagine how dull a TV detective series set in a realistic Scottish police station would be? Inspector Salma…

Channel 4’s Beth is a sad glimpse into the future of terrestrial TV

14 June 2025 9:00 am

On the face of it, Beth seemed that most old-fashioned of TV genres: the single play. In fact, Monday’s programme…

Excruciating: Sirens reviewed

7 June 2025 9:00 am

You had a narrow escape this week. I was about to urge you to watch Sirens, the latest iteration of…

Why is the BBC making stuff up about Jane Austen?

31 May 2025 9:00 am

Jane Austen: Rise of a Genius began by saying that ‘getting into her mind isn’t easy’ – something you’d never…

Those remaking Threads mustn’t soften the horror

31 May 2025 9:00 am

I was 11 years old when I saw the mushroom cloud go up but this wasn’t Hiroshima or Nagasaki in…

If you are of a certain age, you’ll really enjoy Tina Fey’s The Four Seasons

24 May 2025 9:00 am

The Four Seasons is one of those shows you notice in the ‘Top TV Programmes on Netflix’ section, see it’s…

Better than Hollywood: Netflix’s The Eternaut reviewed

17 May 2025 9:00 am

‘Next time you do a review, you’ve got to find something you like. You’ve been far too negative,’ said the…

Confection of sex, bad history and nonsense: Apple TV+’s Carême reviewed

10 May 2025 9:00 am

Antonin Carême was known as the ‘chef of kings and the king of chefs’. His patrons and employers included Talleyrand,…

How come the only Palestinians Louis Theroux met were non-violent sweeties?

3 May 2025 9:00 am

Louis Theroux: The Settlers was never likely to be a programme with much of a narrative arc – and so…

How fun is it being part of an Amazonian tribe?

5 April 2025 9:00 am

Tribe with Bruce Parry ran for three fondly remembered series in the mid-2000s. Now, upgraded to Tribe with Bruce Parry,…

Dope Thief is a cut above your usual inner-city crime-drama porn

29 March 2025 9:00 am

I really had no interest in watching Dope Thief. It’s another of those crime dramas set in a bleak-looking city…

Netflix’s Adolescence is seriously flawed

22 March 2025 9:00 am

Bradley Walsh: Egypt’s Cosmic Code may sound like a pitch by Alan Partridge – but, impressively, the programme itself manages…

I’m warming to Meghan Markle – only joking

15 March 2025 9:00 am

You know that urge when you’ve got friends coming for the weekend and you just have to spend the previous…

Anjelica Huston is comprehensively upstaged in the BBC’s new Agatha Christie

8 March 2025 9:00 am

Coincidentally, two of this week’s big new dramas began with a fourth wall-busting declaration of their narrative methods. At the…

I think I’ve found the perfect TV series

1 March 2025 9:00 am

Drops of God is one of those gems of purest ray serene that cable TV prefers to keep hidden in…

The White Lotus is off to a shaky start

22 February 2025 9:00 am

The White Lotus, now back for a third series, could perhaps be best described as Death in Paradise for posh…

Is work really more fun than fun?

15 February 2025 9:00 am

Wouldn’t it be marvellous if instead of going to work every day we could contract out the tedium to avatars…

Stately, sly and well-mannered: BBC1’s Miss Austen reviewed

8 February 2025 9:00 am

It is a truth universally acknowledged that lazy journalists begin every piece about Jane Austen with the words ‘It is…

Not a complete waste of time: Netflix’s La Palma reviewed

1 February 2025 9:00 am

Netflix is the television equivalent of pasta and ready-made pesto: a slightly desperate but acceptable enough stand-by when you’ve got…

What a sad thing Strictly Come Dancing has become

1 February 2025 9:00 am

Those of a violently masochistic disposition would have heartily enjoyed the Saturday matinée of the Strictly Come Dancing: Live Tour…

Irritating but watchable: American Primeval reviewed

18 January 2025 9:00 am

American Primeval should really be called Two Incredibly Annoying Women In The Wild West. Yes, the first title is more…

Playing Nice is beautifully done – but they miscalculated the opening scene

11 January 2025 9:00 am

There must have been a time when slow-burn psychological thrillers didn’t start with a scene of high drama followed by…

No one will convince me that Keira Knightley can fight: Black Doves reviewed

4 January 2025 9:00 am

If your heart sinks at the prospect of a thriller series starring Keira Knightley as a highly trained undercover agent…

Leavisites should stay away: Sky’s Bad Tidings reviewed

14 December 2024 9:00 am

Reviewing Sky’s The Heist before Christmas last year, I suggested that all feature-length festive television dramas begin with credits announcing…

Dune: Prophecy is much worse than you will believe possible

7 December 2024 9:00 am

Do you remember that nagging sense of mild disappointment as you sat through Dune 2? You’d been impressed by Dune:…