It's a bank holiday special edition.
Here are all the shows you should be binging on during the upcoming break.
Hello,
Welcome to the Worth Watching newsletter.
As the bank holiday weekend is just around the corner (and as bank holidays consist of making plans and doing only a third of them, followed by feeling existential dread in front of the television), here are some shows worth looking at this weekend.
Woodstock: Three Days that Defined a Generation (BBC iPlayer) - A documentary that tells you the story of a festival that went so completely out of control it somehow worked. You’ll spend the entirety of it comparing it to Fyre Festival.
Simon Amstell: Set Free (Netflix - out today) - The comedian does a great set about therapy and monogamy. Includes this line I have been thinking about for ages: “To wish for the past to be different is just another form of self-hate.”
Jade: The Reality Star who Changed Britain (All 4) - This is a fantastic profile on not just the reality show star’s life, but also the country she lived in the late 00s. And it is interesting to see a channel looking back at a difficult episode of its history.
Peaky Blinders (BBC iPlayer) - You have to catch up on all the episodes of this drama before it starts on BBC One this Sunday, otherwise it won’t make any sense. Trust me on this. New episodes aren’t entirely accessible to new viewers.
This Way Up (All 4) - A wonderfully tender and thoughtful comedy written and starring Aisling Bea (and starring Sharon Horgan). All episodes are available.
Succession (Now TV) - The second season of the billionaire media / family of nightmares drama is here. I recommend starting with season one, blasting your way through it until you get addicted and then sticking with it.
Hot Property (BBC iPlayer) - A dating show that you think would be shit, but is actually great. It would be nothing without its host, Yung Filly.
Michael Palin in North Korea (Channel 5) - If you missed this travelogue last year, make sure you give it a shot. There is no better travel presenter on television than Palin, and you feel at times you are seeing a truer reflection of what it must be like to live in a brutalist totalitarian regime. A book by Palin is out next month.
Gemma Collins: Diva Forever (ITVBe) - An oddly compelling documentary, which follows the reality show host. You spend the entire time second guessing how authentic it is supposed to be and in a way that is part of its charm.
And the other best shows this year: Chernobyl (Now TV), When They See Us (Netflix), Black Mirror’s Smithereens (Netflix), Fleabag (BBC iPlayer). Oh and Asma Khan episode of Chef’s Table on Netflix.
Back with more nonsense next week. If you want more stuff about TV from me, there’s the latest episode of BBC Radio 5 Live’s “Must Watch” podcast. I also wrote for The Telegraph this week about whether Big Brother could come back (it probably won’t).
If you have any suggestions of great shows you want to include, just respond to this email and I’ll include it next week. We all can’t watch it all, you know.
*whispers* Oh, Bake Off is back next week. They revealed their line-up this morning. If you know me, it is an understatement to say that I like this show. I always once tried to bake all the technical challenges and was so bad I still get asked if I faked the whole thing (I didn’t).
When I was at BuzzFeed I used to be their Bake Off correspondent. I am not writing for BuzzFeed any more, but I will still be writing about this goddamn show, you better believe me. I can’t stop. This show is oxygen to me.
Scotty x