Black Mirror, S7, Hotel Reverie (Netflix)

Hotel Reverie takes a fascinating high concept idea (‘what if you could actually escape into a film?’) and weaves an entertaining, surprisingly emotional tale out of it. The story follows actress Brandy Friday (played by Issa Rae) take part in a high-tech remake of Hotel Reverie, a 1940’s melodrama that is this world’s equivalent of Casablanca. A new technology allows her to enter into the space of the film and record it in real time as she plays against the virtual recreations of the original film’s characters. Awkwafina plays the woman in charge of the crew running this technology as they attempt to keep the narrative running on track with the original film despite Brandy’s real-time reactions to the world around her. The concept may seem hard to grasp but works quite flawlessly visually. The centre of interest in the story is when the virtual recreation of lead actress Dorothy (played by Emma Corrin) becomes sentient as a result of Brandy’s deviations from the original script. This leads to an existential crisis for Dorothy and a romance between the two as Brandy seeks to escape further into the film. The relationship creates an emotional hook that gives the story more weight beyond the core technological conceit. Movies are always about escapism, much as the act of watching this very story is, so to actually allow someone to escape into a film and make their own world with the characters within it is an ingenious idea.

Despite the longer 77 minute runtime, this is very well paced and engaging, often thanks to Corrin and Rae’s great chemistry and the revolving tension between keeping the film exactly as it was and Brandy’s desire to live in the film herself. It funnels into a moment of sudden pain for Brandy that sends the story hurtling towards a tragic yet hopeful end. The idea of a relationship between a sentient virtual character and a real person is fascinating, and invites reflection on ideas of post-humanism in such a technologically advanced world. Corrin is especially excellent in her portrayal of a confused yet disarmingly intelligent sentient being that isn’t quite human yet feels close enough to it that her connection with Brandy feels believable.

Through Brandy’s increasingly desperate and emotional actions, the story suggests that eventually films may not provide enough of an escape for us anymore. Our emotions as we watch a film are unreciprocated by the figures on screen, and so the only deeper escape would be to go into the film itself where you can make real connections with characters. It also serves as a fun, layered critique of the state of modern Hollywood filmmaking. Given the amount of films now pointlessly remade to profit off cultural nostalgia, the story invites us to question why audiences don’t seem to want any risks being taken with adapting beloved material for the modern day.

The story has a lot on its mind which prevents it from fully probing each idea as much as it could do, but it is nonetheless entertaining, thoughtful and surprisingly emotional by its conclusion. It is already of length but would be well worth adapting into a feature film.

Black Mirror, S7, Eulogy (Netflix)

An immensely moving, visually innovative tale of finding solace through memory, music and photography, Eulogy is the highlight of Black Mirror Season 7. This story centres on Phillip (played by Paul Giamatti) who discovers the news of the death of a woman he loved many many years ago. He is sent a package from a company named Eulogy that extracts memories from users so that an interactive funeral service can be built in which attendees collectively experience these uploaded memories of the deceased. To find the right memory, Phillip is guided by a digital assistant (played by Patsy Ferran) through various photos he has from his time with Carol, whom he shared a deep love with in the early 90s. The central conceit of the story is how Eulogy’s technology allows Phillip to literally step into the photos from his past, conjuring a very emotional response in how the past, once real but since made immortal and ephemeral in photography, suddenly becomes physical again. The more photos he journeys through, the more we discover the doomed journey of the relationship. Not only is the visualisation of the once two-dimensional photos as blurred 3D spaces fascinating, but it raises quite extraordinary questions about memory and technology’s capacity to reanimate the past in ways that transcend the physical trappings of our bodies.

The distance created by time means the details of the photos are often blurry, and reliant on Phillip’s remembering of details to find the right complete memory. His guide frequently asks about whether he knows any sonic cues that can fill in these blanks, raising a truly astute observation about the necessity of music in capturing the soul and emotion of a moment, and how music can transport us back through time to a singular moment. This idea is given its truest expression with a stunning diegetic piece of music that makes the ending land with the most consolingly bittersweet feeling, one reminiscent of many of the emotions of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. Giamatti is an excellent guide through Phillip’s painful memories, portraying so much regret and flawed humanity that wordlessly expresses the reason why this relationship didn’t end happily ever after. A later narrative reveal conjures a new level of emotion in how Phillip is suddenly made to interact with the present day consequences of his past actions.

The whole story feels a rather ingenious way to use the show’s signature focus on technology to tell a story that is resolutely human, and far more hopeful than the show’s bleaker reputation. In making the often hazy world of memory physical and present tense again through exploring photography’s transcending of time, Eulogy reaches a truly moving conclusion that made me overwhelmed in the best way. A paean to lost time and lost love, this is ultimately about how human memory is one of the most powerful things in the world. It is in the remembering that we are summoned back to the past, and in the memory we escape time to make any moment our emotionally felt present. Technology may advance, but it will never connect us to each other in the way memory always has.

Daredevil: Born Again (Disney Plus)

Following up the original Daredevil show with something that would satisfy was always going to be a challenge and, although I didn’t find this season to fully come together, there are many pieces here that show potential.

Daredevil: Born Again had a troublesome production and this can be felt when watching. For those unaware, the show’s original incarnation was stopped in the middle of filming and received an overhaul with a new team coming into film new materials. So, some tension is felt when watching, with it feeling like subplots fight and interrupt each other to be in the limelight, especially during the show’s middle portion which feels like it’s borderline aimless with its split focus. Granted, this is understandable given the situation and despite the pieces not fitting together I do like the individual pieces. For example, the plotline involving the superhero White Tiger is rooted in a court case which was a solid way to display more of Daredevil’s lawyer alter ego and do something not touched upon much in the original show. I also thought the Punisher subplot was a smart way to develop the character in our current political climate with how it tackles his messy legacy and police and far right misunderstandings of the character. Although I don’t think these pieces meshed together due to the creative overhaul, need for further development and the season’s tight nine-episode limit, I still find these pieces to be interesting ways to continue Daredevil.

There is one thing that runs strongly throughout this jumble which is the returning cast’s passion. Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio have a clear and present passion for playing Daredevil and Kingpin and their enthusiasm always brings me joy. They do a brilliant job at displaying inner conflict and their resistance against their violent impulses and their performances are key elements in bringing the inner darkness of their characters to the forefront. Although he gets significantly less screen-time, the highlight for me was Jon Bernthal’s return as the Punisher and he effortlessly displays the unflinching, bull-headed mindset and aggressive but also broken core of the Punisher.

The new creative team’s work has me excited for season two. Although I have problems with the show’s overall look with how high-res digital aesthetics combine with the grainy, film aesthetics added in post-production, the camera tricks tried by the new team in their episodes were really inventive. The most interesting thing tried was the weaponisation of aspect ratio shifts and dolly zooms to represent Daredevil’s heightened senses and the use of these filmmaking techniques was an extremely creative way to visualise a superpower. The position they leave the show in was great due to its clear establishment of an intense and darker tone compared to the rest of the season, which felt a bit all over the place tonally, and it giving the show a clear direction and statement to run on, involving state corruption and a rallying cry for justice.

Despite my issues, I’m looking forward to what comes next. With the show now having one distinct creative team and a clear direction, many of the good elements of this season can become great. However, this current season leaves a bit to be desired.

Severance S2 (Apple TV)

The long wait for Severance season two has allowed for expectations to compound and the number of viewers to rise. However, these factors clearly didn’t pressure Ben Stiller and Dan Erickson into making them pull their punches as they delivered a towering achievement in television with this darker and more esoteric season.

The path between questions and answers is more scattered this season which can make viewing borderline frustrating. Whilst in season one moving from mysteries to answers was like following relatively straightforward pathways, the routes in season two to reach answers were more like wading through a foggy forest with how information and solutions were scattered about and then followed up by a bombardment of completely separate mysteries to divert your attention and obscure your burning questions. This destabilising method of answering the viewer will vary in effectiveness from person to person however I loved it. It made viewing more arresting as it made me feel more involved by making me scrounge together the show’s subplots and information, giving this season a more puzzle-like quality which was incredibly fun. Plus, almost every question is definitively answered by the finale, so the show does ultimately provide satisfaction.

The cinematography is a core element in building Severance’s ominous atmosphere, especially with its heavy use of negative space in its framing which will force characters into halves, thirds or even quarters of a frame. This framing effectively created a sense of dissonance which enhanced the show’s themes of corporate isolation and further emersed me into the show’s oppressive atmosphere. This season also became more experimental, particularly in episode seven which adopts many unique stylistic techniques such as the movement between filmic and digital aesthetics and the use of different frame rate and playback speeds which was gorgeous to look at.

Performance-wise, this season demanded more from its actors and everyone brought their A-game however the star performer is without a doubt Tramell Tillman as Mr Milchick. Tillman masterfully walks the line between the show’s cocktail of tones, one minute being a hilarious riot, the other exuding pure dread and intensity. Milchick’s company promotion this season also gave Tillman much more to chew on as an actor, with the character’s position not quite fitting in with his employees but also not with upper management either. Tillman excellently displays more of Milchick’s humanity here, showing the loneliness Milchick feels in this position and the realisation of the company’s lack of care for his individual identity, impressively binding the show’s themes of corporate isolation to his performance and character.

I also loved Theodore Shapiro’s score which feels like the show’s backbone. The score has a very foreboding sensibility to it in addition to a percussive melancholy which taps into the show’s exploration of depression from incomplete feeling lives. This makes Shapiro’s work feel integral, reinforcing the show’s ideas as well as being a key tone setter, particularly with the rising ominous texture to the score as the season progresses, building tension and urgency as the season approaches its nuclear crescendo.

As someone who has been intently waiting since season one’s devastating cliffhanger, I can confidently say Severance season two met my lofty expectations. Severance is now two for two in masterclass seasons of television, making it an absolute must watch for anyone.

Adolescence (Netflix)

Through four, hour long episodes, each their own extended single take, Adolescence touches on the state of Britain’s youth, modern masculinity, the impact of social media on young men’s self-worth, and on parenthood. It is a rather sobering watch, but is utterly compelling throughout. Every member of the cast is on top form, with Owen Cooper, Ashley Walters and Stephen Graham all delivering excellent performances. Graham’s work, as a father in pained incredulity at the events happening to his family, proves to be the show’s emotional core. Episode one is a barnstorming opening, guiding us through Jamie’s entire arrest process into a shocking revelation, all in one unbroken take. It is a feat to behold.

The middle two episodes detail the role social media has played in the formation of Jamie’s attitude towards women and the state of many young men right now. Clearly written by someone who does not fully understand the intricacies of online interactions, the discussions of how damaging these online spaces are for developing minds are told through adult characters also seeking to understand. The subject is approached with a sensitivity and open mindedness that means the show never comes across as talking down to its audience. Instead, it makes astute points that clearly deliver an indictment of what social media has done and is doing to young people.

The one shot conceit does much for the immersion of each episode. Episode three in particular becomes a deeply engrossing extended conversation, revealing endless layers as it progresses. However, this trick forces more believable groupings of characters together in the same space, limiting some of its ideas to narrower perspectives than I might like and preventing a broader interplay of the generational misunderstandings being discussed. The show is fantastic, but that limitation of setting in the middle episodes means it does not drill quite as deep as it could do.

Although consistently excellent, it is episode four that emerges as a singular masterwork. We see Jamie’s father, mother and sister try to live normal lives despite constant reminders of their son’s absence and his actions. It is the most technically ambitious of all the episodes in the range of locations and moods it captures in one take, but also the most emotionally harrowing, with a devastating emotional fallout. Graham comes into his own in a shattering story of the loss of innocence and a father’s perceived failure of his son. All three family members struggle in their own way, and all three performances are astonishing. A conversation shared between Graham and Christine Tremarco (as his wife) about how this all happened is utterly heartbreaking. The ending sees Graham reach levels of raw pain that very few actors have ever achieved. It is brutal and shattering, but the entire show is worth watching for that finale alone.

Even if I do not think it is flawless, this is an astonishing show in many ways. Incredible technical craft, emotionally harrowing and thoughtful in its look at modern youth and their parents, every episode is hard to look away from. At less than 4 hours in total runtime, it is impossible to skip. Gripping, heartbreaking television.

Apple Cider Vinegar (Netflix)

Apple Cider Vinegar concerns a real life, deeply obnoxious, insecure person; so insecure in fact that they lie about having brain cancer to gain popularity, build an online health advice empire, manipulate everyone they come across in life for their gain and reap every penny they can out of it. Belle Gibson is a character that is incredibly easy to hate, and the show does not dissuade our disgust towards her actions. Rather, it somehow drills enough under her skin that maybe we feel we can understand her. It does not ask for our empathy, but by diving into the life of someone so fake, it cuts through her lies to tell us the truth about her personality.

She is a woman whose compulsive, crippling need for attention is enabled by the arrival of social media proper at the start of the 2010s, a space where anyone can manipulate any story they tell into truth. It would be less likely to work without the ever fantastic Kaitlyn Dever who has continually impressed since her big arrival on the scene in Booksmart. Any moment she is on screen as Belle, her eyes tell a truth that her actions and words do not. She delivers a performance that subtly but powerfully draws attention to the fact that Belle herself is always putting on a performance. Her eyes appear to be performing separately from the rest of her body so as to tell us the truth and the lies simultaneously.

The show smartly takes in the impact of these lies in two other narrative strands. Firstly, the struggles of another online health guru who actually fights with cancer as she tries to build her own business. Secondly, those of a journalist and his cancer-fighting wife and how their disagreements over Belle’s online presence split them apart, driving him to pursue a story that will tear Belle down. The show jumps across time rather intensely to take in all these interweaving stories across roughly five years, and the first half struggles to give each story enough breathing space due to how quickly it moves between them.

However, it is in the second half when the events and characters of each strand start to link together more closely that the show hits its stride. As the toll of Belle’s lies really start to have tangibly-felt consequences, an engaging momentum builds as we hurtle towards the inevitable disintegration of her world. The show also frequently employs VFX to place Belle’s online world in her physical environment. This device feels a little overused, but effectively summarises how her head is forever stuck inside her phone, as she near totally neglects her duties towards her partner and son, both clearly struggling with how little she seems to care about them.

Even if at times the show can be a little overbearing stylistically, this effect is intentional, making the obnoxiousness of people like Belle (who now litter social media) absolutely evident. Its finale glosses over a lot of details rather quickly, but this tidiness is exactly what makes seeing the comeuppance of a woman this detestable so satisfying.

Big Boys S3 (Channel Four)

Jack Rooke got back to his laptop to continue the story of Big Boys with the shows third instalment in 2025.

Big Boys has always been good, and always presents itself as a show written by someone born and bred in the beating heart of the UK, with an intricate understanding of its working classes and kitschy popular culture. Season Three carries on in this vein and is littered with the same working-class characters and working-class popular culture references. Rylan even makes an appearance.

As well as knowing the pop culture religion of the ordinary people of Britain, Rooke has an uncanny ability to present nostalgia for the 2010s in his sitcom. It’s nostalgia and a throwback for an era we forgot had any distinctive features. But when you’re reminded of the level of cringe that the spoken-word poetry movement generated – you remember how different a time 2015 actually was.

There are some incredibly hilarious comedy performances in Big Boys. Harriet Webb who plays Cousin Shannon probably provides the best of them. In a show that bears homage to the stupid, hilarious and eccentric ways working-class British people sometimes think, Webb is allowed to thrive. Some of her one liners are delivered masterfully and her upset at missing her “Q2” deadline to launch: “Shanalanagans Party Planners LTD Incorporated” is laugh out loud.

Season Three of Big Boys even plays with genre and form when the writer of the show appears in the finale - as himself. The entire series is underpinned by the real life tragedy of Rooke’s best friend Danny (played by Jon Pointing) taking his own life. What emerges when Rook confronts this sadness, is a real celebration of his friend and the brief time they spent together. The pathos of the show is authentic and balances out the slapstick and zany humour well.

The real success of Big Boys is that it has what every good sit-com has: a group of characters and character dynamics that you root for, believe in, and come to love.

American Primeval (Netflix)

10 years on, the bear attack in The Revenant is still recalled as one of the most brutal moments in TV and Film. With this in mind, when Revenant writer Mark L Smith’s American Primeval landed on Netflix at the start of the year, audiences might have expected more brutality. They might not have expected quite this level of it, though. 

American Primeval is one of the bleakest, most traumatic and violent things on Netflix. There are ruthless depictions of mass murders. Children are killed, women are sexually assaulted, and men are scalped. Dark and severe twists block out any ray of light that temporarily emerges from the show. Performances from the actors read as people who were genuinely stressed and terrified. We all know the frontier was a lawless and savage place, American Primeval remains committed to an unflinching depiction of it.

Due to its persistent brutality, American Primeval has faced criticism as misery porn. It is true that one scene of characters running away from murder bleeds into the next scene of characters running away from murder for all six episodes of the series. The action is comically savage at times, to the point where the shows creators could be found guilty of gratuitousness. But despite the stress and brutality and violence, American Primeval still emerges as a high quality, highly watchable drama.

The seismic inciting incident of American Primeval is a sequence based on the real-life events of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. It was a moment in history where the persecuted Mormons of the American frontier used violence to protect their self-proclaimed Zion. We see the massacre of a travelling wagon train at the hands of the Mormons in (of course) brutal detail. But the events are used well to trigger an enticing murder mystery strand within the series. The audience know it was the Mormons that killed the men, women and children of the wagon train. We crave everyone finding out the truth and them being brought to justice for what they did. 

With this in mind, the other thing that American Primeval does quite masterfully is weave together multiple story strands and multiple character factions. You have the Native Americans, the Mormons, the American Government officials, and a central band of misfits united by the purpose of getting Sara (Betty Gilpin) and her son across the brutal West to their family in Crook Springs. The way all of these factions intersect and bump into each other feels adept and considered throughout the entire series. Something that isn’t easy to accomplish in an ensemble series like this. 

The brutality of American Primeval is exhibited by each and every one of the factions and races mentioned above. Mark L Smith seems to believe in the mantra that the line between good and evil doesn’t run between states and nations, but through the heart of every person. Natives, Mormons and Government officials alike are capable of vicious acts in American Primeval. Above all, the series makes you reflect on the irreversible atrocities that underscore the formation of the United States.  

SAS Rogue Heroes S2 (BBC)

2025 was ushered in with a raft of new TV shows, and there’s no doubt that the men of the UK were most looking forward to the second instalment of SAS Rogue Heroes, whose first series aired in 2022 to popular and critical acclaim.

Season 2 is definitely good. In a time of retracting TV show budgets and risk aversion from channels, it really does feel like proper prestige television with no expense spared on locations, stunts and SFX. It’s so gory and explosive that it feels more like a high budget Netflix show than a British creation on the BBC – perhaps a testament to the power and sway that Steven Knight holds in the industry (Maria, a feature film written by him, starring Angelina Jolie, was released in the UK in the same week).

Rogue Heroes S2 has an Inglorious Basterds feel to it. It follows a band of outlaws whose insanity has been harnessed for the good of the Allied war effort. Sardonic titles pop up underscored by electric guitars to introduce us to certain characters and moments, like they do for characters like Hugo Stiglitz in Tarantino’s movie. Jock McDiarmid (Mark Rowley) is made in the swashbuckling, fearless mode of Eli Roth’s Donny Donowitz. References to Inglorious Basterds is another thing that makes this show feel blockbuster rather than small scale.

The themes that Steven Knight is preoccupied with as a writer run heavily through this series. Peaky Blinders is concerned with toxic, unhinged men who will make war if it doesn’t find them, and Rogue Heroes marches along on this same well-trodden ground.

Jack O’Connell’s Paddy Mayne reminds you of Tommy Shelby: an ultimately broken man whose mental detachment make him an efficient killer and fearless man of action. He’s got a screw loose, but it’s working for him.

War induced PTSD ran through Peaky Blinders and it becomes a major theme in the second half of this series of Rogue Heroes, explored through the character of Reg Seekings (Theo Barklem-Biggs). There are some genuinely harrowing moments in series 2, namely watching a young Italian boy being blown up and be disembowelled.

This second series of Rogue Heroes is in part a great watch because it makes use of so many fascinating war tropes such as PTSD and insanity dressed up as bravery. This could also be levelled as a criticism against the series which didn’t really give you any fresh takes on any of these ideas. The PTSD storyline, in particular, felt like a collection of moments and scenes we had seen before. There was no new angle.

But things we’ve seen before isn’t always a bad thing and the show is genuinely so fun, so energetic and so enjoyable it’s easy to forgive it’s use of film and TV war tropes. SAS Rogue Heroes is a programme that reminds you of a time when TV was expensive, daring and bonkers. A time when TV was really good.

Baby Reindeer

Available on Netflix

It’s a little late for me to be waxing lyrical about Baby Reindeer, given that it bagged six Emmys at the end of last week. Alas, it’d be wrong of me not to after finally getting round to watching the Netflix sensation. 

This seven-part adaptation of Richard Gadd’s award-winning one-man show, based on his own experience of being harassed by a female stalker, deserves all of the acclaim that has been bestowed upon it. As well as being one of the most nerve-racking viewing experiences I’ve endured for some time, it is an incredibly layered show that examines its subject matter in a painstaking amount of detail.    

Jessica Gunning’s outstanding performance as Martha, Gadd’s disturbed pursuer, ensures that viewers can fully empathise with the ordeal of being stalked. However, it is Baby Reindeer’s thoughtful analysis of the trauma that shapes its central characters that elevates it. To speak too much of that would risk spoiling the show for the few readers who have yet to see it, but Gadd’s writing is certainly impressive, especially given that it is his own real-life anguish that is mostly being documented.  

With Weronika Tofilska and and Josephine Bornebusch also providing astute direction, Baby Reindeer is undoubtedly one of the year’s most essential shows, an utterly absorbing affair that forces you to look beyond its surface level and consider the malignant forces which compel people to behave desperately. While its premise elicits memories of films such as Rob Reiner’s Misery, this is a decidedly more complex affair that rightfully puts both Gunning and Gadd on the map.

Colin from Accounts (Season 2)

Available on BBC iPlayer

If you loved the first season of Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall’s hit series as much as I did, then you’d be forgiven for approaching its long-awaited return with an equal amount of excitement and trepidation. The ‘difficult second album’ is a curse that has befallen many shows over the years, and it’s therefore only natural to fear that a similar fate might befall Colin from Accounts.

Thankfully, Dyer and Brammall deftly navigate any potential pitfalls and deliver a sophomore season that is, at the very least, equally as impressive as its predecessor. While Gordon (Brammall) and Ashley (Dyer) are every bit as neurotic as they were previously, this season sees their relationship evolve as it transitions from the choppy waters of the so-called ‘honeymoon phase’ to some of life’s more profound milestones.

Once again, the strength of Colin from Accounts lies in its appreciation of the complexity of human relationships, be they romantic, platonic, familial, or human-canine. There are moments in this second season which are almost shockingly heartrending - particularly those that focus on grief - and there are others, such as Kevin Bacon’s unexpected cameo, that are side-splittingly funny, a juxtaposition which neatly demonstrate the show’s understanding of the absurdity of life. 

With another expertly delivered cliffhanger ending in the bag, it would seem that there is plenty of life left in this most unexpected of televisual triumphs and, on this evidence, there’ll be no need for nerves next time around.

Terminator Zero

Available on Netflix

The Terminator franchise has laid dormant since 2015’s Genisys, a film that was atrocious enough to be considered the death knell for James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd’s once great series. Thankfully, Netflix’s burgeoning propensity for creating stellar anime series has breathed life into a tale that feels uniquely suited to our times, given its prophetic focus on the rise of artificial intelligence and the potential existential threat it poses to humanity. 

Developed by Mattson Tomlin, Terminator Zero is free of the baggage associated with its live action predecessors (namely, Arnold Schwarzenegger and his iconic-but-wearisome catchphrases) but nonetheless serves as an adroit continuation of their legacies. Tomlin’s focus is predominantly on technology and how its differing usages elicit contrasting emotional reactions from those who are confronted by it. Similarly, the series posits the question of whether it is actually us who pose a greater threat to the planet than our robot counterparts, eliciting memories of the early seasons of Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s Westworld while doing so.

Like much of Netflix’s recent anime series, the show is also gorgeously animated and well performed by a voice cast that includes a number of household names. Although its connection to prior Terminator films means that some of its plot points occasionally feel rehashed, the new terrain the show inhabits, coupled with its well-considered narrative, means this is a highly rewarding watch for long-term fans and newbies alike.

Mary & George

Available on NOW TV and Sky Atlantic

D.C. Moore’s delightfully lewd Mary & George provides plenty of the political machinations that were absent from the third and final season of The Great, another show we recently reviewed which examines an outsider’s improbable rise to power. That being said, the ascension of Mary Villiers and her son George to the inner circle of the Jacobean monarch James VI and I is a decidedly crasser tale than that of Catherine the Great, which perhaps renders the comparison null and void.

Nonetheless, history buffs are sure to either revel or recoil at Moore’s creative adaptation of Benjamin Wooley’s book The King’s Assassin, which recounts how the titular characters of this series manipulated their King to enhance their standing within society. In the case of George, here played by The Idea of You heart-throb Nicholas Galitzine, this entailed an illicit affair with James that allegedly played a determining role in him becoming the 1st Duke of Buckingham. 

However, the driving force behind that quasi-coup was Mary, who is brought to life via a typically show-stealing turn from Julianne Moore. The presence of the Academy Award-winning actor definitely gives Mary & George a prestige drama vibe that it perhaps would not otherwise have, although there are some superb performers amongst its supporting cast, including Tony Curran, Mark O’Halloran, Adrian Rawlins, and the always excellent Niamh Algar. 

Admittedly, the incessant bonking and backstabbing that characterises Mary & George does begin to feel a tad repetitive by the time we reach its endpoint, but it always remains an aesthetic triumph and one of the most well-acted shows of the year.

The Responder (Season 2)

Available on BBC iPlayer

The second season of Tony Schumacher’s dark police drama The Responder sees the former Merseyside Police officer continue to tackle some challenging themes, albeit in broad strokes. 

Martin Freeman once again impresses as the series’ morally compromised protagonist Chris, although his character is frustratingly impossible to differentiate from the angry, self-destructive iteration we grew used to in its debut outing. Therein lies the problem for Schumacher’s show, which admirably attempts to shine a light on the hardships endured by Liverpool’s working class while also being the sort of high octane, unpredictable thriller that typically draws in large audiences.

Without doubt, The Responder is most interesting when it is focused on the former. Subsequently, the most absorbing character arcs in this season are those of Rachel (Adelayo Adebayo) and Marco (Josh Finan). Adebayo’s depiction of a young woman coming to terms with her experience of domestic abuse is often powerful, while Finan delivers a promising turn as an unequipped single parent that is desperately trying to kick his bad habits to the curb. Sadly, such depth is seldom seen and much of the show is focused on Chris’ implausible one-man crusade to save the city’s unfortunates from the machinations of its drug-dealing antagonists.  

If you’re anything like me, you’ll find The Responder’s frequent, logic-defying plot holes hard to ignore, but those that can will doubtlessly be entertained by a show that is, at the very least, impeccably performed. 

Batman: Caped Crusader

Available on Amazon Prime

If, like me, you were a 90s kid and have fond memories of watching Batman: The Animated Series while growing up, you’ll more than likely enjoy the Caped Crusader’s latest small screen outing, which sees Bruce Timm make a triumphant return to the format that made him a household name among nerds the world over. With J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions and The Batman director Matt Reeves also involved, Batman: Caped Crusader feels as if it has been certified fresh before its opening credits have even stopped rolling.  

Thankfully, that notion holds true throughout the majority of this debut season’s 10 episodes, which offer a noir-inspired take on Batman that is not dissimilar to the live-action version that the aforementioned Reeves introduced in 2022, albeit one that is understandably nowhere near as violent. Although Hamish Linklater’s performance as the Dark Knight is a little nondescript, the quality of the animation, coupled with the show’s serialised storytelling and mostly mature themes, ensure this is a rewardingly nostalgic watch that crucially leaves you wanting more.

The Great (Season 3)

Available on Channel 4

The third and final season of Tony McNamara’s adaptation of his own play about the life and times of Catherine the Great is beset with the same issues that made its sophomore outing only a fitfully entertaining watch. While Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult continue to serve up two stellar leading performances, their supporting cast are hindered by a sluggish story arc that means their character’s motivations are scarcely any different from what they were at the show’s onset. This is problematic and means The Great’s swansong is mostly a rehash of its greatest hits, that being a sardonic and, for the most part, wildly inaccurate recounting of history.

While this season mostly has the misfortune of being a political satire that is devoid of any genuinely unforeseen machinations, it does contain a shocking character death in the build-up to its final act. To reveal the identity of the felled individual would be to spoil the surprise, but it does leave a rather noticeable void that is only partly filled by a dexterous turn from Fanning, who seemingly grows in stature while everything around her wilts.

McNamara’s work with Yorgos Lanthimos on both The Favourite and Poor Things is ample evidence of his writing prowess, but here he sadly fails to evolve what was once an intriguing and humorous tale.

Abbott Elementary (Season 3)

Available on Disney+

The third season of Quinta Brunson’s sweet-hearted hit is perhaps the first time it has shown signs of being fatigued, with some of its episodes feeling like a tad repetitive. Likewise, some of Abbott Elementary’s genial characters could be construed as being underdeveloped at this point in the show’s lifespan, with the quips of fan favourite Ava (Janelle James) not hitting as hard this time around.

Still, at its essence, this remains an easy show to love. Brunson undeniably possesses the gift that all great comedy writers have, that being the ability to make her audience laugh and cry in equal measure. Only viewers with a heart made of granite could deny the uncomplicated appeal of an episode such as ‘Mother’s Day’, where Gregory (Tyler James Williams) and Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph) bond over their grief for their late mothers, or the charming silliness of the penultimate ‘Smith Playground’. 

That is because Brunson is fundamentally telling a story about ordinary, hard-working people that get a kick out of helping pave a better future for their students. In a world that often seems exhaustingly cynical, it’s an easy story to buy into. That’s without mentioning the series’ explosive finale, which finally delivers on something the show has been teasing from its very beginning.

Supacell

Available on Netflix

The latest project from Rapman, the British rapper turned writer-director, attempts to tackle the superhero fatigue that has coincided with the marked decline in the quality of DC and Marvel’s cinematic output. Its ingenious premise centres on five unrelated and seemingly ordinary South Londoners who discover that they have superhuman abilities on account of their respective family’s history of sickle cell disease, an ailment which is common among people of African origin. Before long, they are teaming up à la the Avengers to thwart a shady organisation that is seeking to control them and others like them. 

Whether Supacell entirely achieves its perceived mission statement is a matter of personal taste. Personally, I enjoyed the show most when it focused on the respective arcs of its five main characters, which are all grounded in believable motivations and characterised by strong performances from a relatively obscure cast. There’s also a lot to admire about the way in which Rapman embraces his project’s geographical setting through a strong soundtrack and supporting roles for peers such as Digga D and Ghetts, the latter of whom is particularly impressive as one of the show’s chief antagonists.

However, like so many of its genre bedfellows, Supacell grows less and less interesting the more it embraces its fantastical elements. In particular, its finale is brimming with the sort of nonsensical character choices that are so synonymous with superhero properties, not to mention a whole bunch of garish CGI effects. 

Still, the strong performances of its cast - especially that of Tosin Cole - and relatively modest runtime of six one-hour episodes suggests there is mileage for at least another season, which would be a great achievement for one of the UK’s most promising storytellers.

Iwájú

Available on Disney+

This intriguing animated series is the result of a collaboration between Walt Disney Animation Studios and Kugali Media. The latter is a British-based company founded by African artists, who deviated from their original mission statement of ‘kicking Disney’s arse’ to co-create this charming tale about Tola (Simisola Gbadamosi) and Kole (Siji Soetan), two friends living on opposite sides of the wealth divide in a futuristic iteration of Lagos.

Although ostensibly a children’s show, Iwájú has enough of a social conscience to resonate with older and younger viewers alike. The wealth inequality that is sadly commonplace in countries such as Nigeria is shown cleverly not just through the respective arcs of Tola and Kole, but also the series’ antagonist Bode (Femi Branch) and Lagos’ contrasting mainland and island areas. Also of note is the show’s admirable use of the Yoruba language, which lends it its name of ‘the future’.    

While the pacing of Iwájú’s narrative isn’t exactly a break from convention, the effervescence of its overall vibe and the innovative nature of the creative partnership that brought it life distinguishes it as something of a brave new frontier for short-form storytelling.

The Bear (Season 3)

Available on Disney+

Few shows have pervaded public consciousness as quickly as Christopher Storer’s The Bear, with its exquisite performances and razor-sharp dialogue making it easy for audiences to emotionally invest in the trials and tribulations of the chaotic Berzatto family. Subsequently, expectations are high for this third season, which was reportedly filmed back-to-back with its pending fourth installment.

It’s surprising to find that Storer has made the ballsy decision of concocting a third course that is perhaps best likened to Radiohead’s Kid A, an album which saw the English rockers follow a career-defining and radio-friendly album with 50 minutes of experimental and, in some cases, lyricless tracks. While that proved to be a creative decision that gave the band greater creative license in the long term, it left plenty of listeners scratching their heads and alienated some of their earlier fans.

Whether The Bear treads a similar path remains to be seen, but there is an undeniably different feel to this season, which begins with the challenging ‘Tomorrow’, an abstract collage of Carmen’s formative years as a chef. As well as showcasing Storer’s increasing willingness to tinker with the structural convention of his show, this opener makes it abundantly clear that Carmen and, by extension, Jeremy Allen White remains its most vital component.      

The issue with that is that it’s debatable whether Carmen’s relentless and self-destructive quest for culinary perfection is The Bear’s most interesting narrative through line. It’s certainly easier to root for less self-absorbed characters like Marcus (Lionel Boyce), Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), whose respective arcs are frustratingly sidelined for the most part. That and the fact that the two standout episodes of this season (‘Napkins’ and ‘Ice Chips’) are Carmen-free-zones might suggest an awkward future lies ahead.

Nonetheless, when The Bear is good it remains one of the best series around. The aforementioned episodes (particularly the latter, which features an outstanding guest appearance from Jamie Lee Curtis) genuinely made me weep, and see Storer continue his penchant for admirably probing the human condition. Subsequently, viewers will find it easy enough to persevere through the more meandering elements of this season, although virtually all will be expecting a greater dramatic pay-off next time around.