TV
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…
Alienatingly sweet and warm: BBC2's The Newsreader reviewed
When TV makes shows about TV, it rarely has a good word to say for itself. In the likes of…
Who are these pathologically liberal rozzers? Channel 4's Night Coppers reviewed
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
‘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
The Undeclared War has many of the traditional signifiers of a classy thriller: the assiduous letter-by-letter captioning of every location;…
On the brink of delivering something special: Sky's The Midwich Cuckoos reviewed
A youngish couple leave London and drive off excitedly to make a fresh start in more rural surroundings. They demonstrate…
The return of the implausibly more-ish Borgen
Borgen star Sidse Babett Knudsen talks to Jasper Rees about why, after a break of ten years, the implausibly more-ish series is returning for a fourth season
The nightmare of making films about poets
Craig Raine on the challenges of translating poets’ lives and work to the screen
A gentle soap opera with nudity and book chat: Conversations with Friends reviewed
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
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
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
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
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
The only impersonation I can do is my Jimmy Savile impersonation. This is not uncommon among people of my generation:…
If you want to avoid intrusive anachronisms on TV, you have to go foreign
The iron law of TV these days is that if you want to avoid series that are suffocatingly right-on the…
Relentless and shouty: BBC2's Then Barbara met Alan reviewed
BBC2’s one-off drama Then Barbara Met Alan(Monday) told the true story of how two disabled performers on the cabaret circuit…
Unhurried and accomplished whodunit: ITV's Holding reviewed
A couple of years ago, I happened to read Graham Norton’s third novel Home Stretch. Rather patronisingly, perhaps, I was…
What’ll happen next – or what’s happened so far – is anybody’s guess: The Ipcress File reviewed
ITV’s new version of The Ipcress File began with a close-up of a pair of black-rimmed glasses just like those…
Enthralling and unusual – even if you don't care about Kanye: Netflix's Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy reviewed
The most disappointing pop performance I’ve ever seen – and in the course of my 15-odd years as a music…
Amusing and entertaining – though not very taxing: Amazon Prime's Reacher reviewed
Jack Reacher is back on the screen and aficionados of the hugely successful Lee Child airport thrillers in which he…
The medical equivalent of The Responder: BBC1's This is Going to Hurt reviewed
According to the makers, This is Going to Hurt is intended as ‘a love letter to the national health service’.…
Horrifying but gripping: Netflix's The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman reviewed
It’s 1993 and you’re studying at a top agricultural college with a bright future ahead of you, perhaps in farming…
A dog’s breakfast but I’m rather enjoying it: Sky Atlantic's Yellowjackets reviewed
It has taken me a while to watch Yellowjacketsbecause I found the premise so offputting: in 1996 a plane carrying…
