Strike a “Pose” - this show has it all
“The OA: Part 2” and “Race Across the World” are also worth a peek this week.
Hello,
Let me cut to the chase.
Pose (BBC Two and iPlayer / Thursday 9pm) - Pose is brilliant and absolutely worth your time. The drama focuses on the ‘80s Drag Ball scene in Harlem, New York and competing ‘Houses’ of dancers and performers.
I’ll leave it to Blanca (MJ Rodriguez), one of the core characters to explain what the Drag Balls are about. She says this in the series opener: “Balls are a gathering of people who are not welcome together anywhere else, a celebration of a life that the rest of the world deem worthy of celebration. We are not going to be walking the red carpet of the Oscars, but this is our moment to be a star.”
Pose has been praised for its inclusion of transgender characters and queer people of colour, but it also deserves praise for its energy, passion and purpose. The first episode’s opening ten minutes, where we see a House break out of a museum holding bags of stolen Royal costumes, is one of the exciting and lovingly ridiculous show starts I have ever seen. It is a joy.
And at its heart, Pose is about family, but not necessarily your own family. It’s the family that accepts you if yours doesn’t accept you for who you are.
Well done for BBC Two for putting Pose front and centre in the schedules.
The OA: Part 2 (Netflix / out on Friday) - Just to say that the second part of this mind-bending series returns this Friday. It is stunning. It stretches your imagination and even manages to make you think about your own mortality without making you depressed. Much harder than you think to achieve. There’s just a buzz and a feeling of hope and warmth in The OA that so many shows just don’t have (Pose also does).
What is airing on Friday is the second part. Don’t start with it. I interviewed Jason Issacs on the 5 Live Must Watch podcast this week, who stars in The OA and even he suggests not bothering to watch this season without watching season one first. So, get stuck in part one and then get stuck in this.
Race Across the World (BBC iPlayer) - Five groups of people race from London to Singapore without using a plane and without being able to use their mobile. Why? Because “we don’t know what real travel is like” / “we are spending our entire life DM’ing people we fancy on Instagram etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc”.
The whole concept lacks a bit of authenticity as each racing team is accompanied with an entire film crew, so random members of the public are obviously helping them more than if they were really doing this, but ignore that and just embrace the fun.
By the way, I am going to fly the next time I go on holiday. This show hasn’t inspired me at all. I’m very attached to my routine of going to Wagamamas at Heathrow Terminal 5 every time I fly (BREAKING NEWS: I am single).
A reminder that these shows are still on and are worth a watch…
Fleabag (BBC iPlayer from 10am every Monday), Celeb Bake Off (Channel 4, Tuesdays 8pm), This Time with Alan Partridge (BBC One, 9.30pm), Derry Girls (Channel 4, Tuesdays 9.15pm). Also, the latest season of Queer Eye (Netflix) was out last Friday.
Also, you still have time to watch Line of Duty before the new series starts on BBC One. You can blast through it on BBC iPlayer and Netflix. You won’t regret it. It’s back in 13 days (2 eps a day, you’re good).
Here is not is worth watching this week…
The Disappearance of Madeline McCann (Netflix) - This depressing documentary about the disappearance Madeline McCann is not worth your time. It just isn’t. In amongst the hundreds of expensive reconstructions and endless drone shots there are some interesting thoughts expressed about the sensationalist tabloid media coverage that followed the three-year-old’s disappearance in Praia da Luz in 2003. However these sentiments are so far into this series (episode four), it isn’t worth the time to get there.
It’s one of those shows where you constantly look at the cursor on your screen to see how far you are in it. They could have made a doc in a third of the time.
Your recommendations - Last week I asked if you had any shows that you were loving at the moment. Thanks for your replies. Here’s some shows you could dip into:
Dogs (Netflix) recommended by Lydia - “Really beautifully shot and tales of not just dogs (although that’d be fine IMO!) 🐾”
Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators (BBC iPlayer) recommended by Savan - "I've watched the entire run and found it quite enjoyable. I'm glad the BBC decided to put the box set on the iPlayer so people can binge watch.”
Secret City (Netflix) recommended by Roz - “It's a political/journo thriller with Anna Torv and the great Jacki Weaver. I enjoyed the twists and turns and Aussie setting. It makes a change from the US.” It was also recommended by Robert: “It’s basically the Australian version of House of Cards but so much better. Properly gripping.”
If you have any shows that you think are worth watching, just respond to this message.
Also, let me know what shows are absolutely trash that you love too. I am very invested in this subject. I was in Belgium over the weekend and a couple of mates who live there are *obsessed* with Geordie Shore and Charlotte Crosby. Never expected it.
Final thing: The Monday email is a free newsletter (and always will be). However, Substack make it possible for you to subscribe to paid newsletters too, to help financially support the people who make them. So, if there was a second newsletter each week from me (that you could pay a little bit for per month), what would you like it to consist of? More recommendations? A long-winded rant? Interviews? What TV thing do you think we all need?
Let me know your thoughts, even ones like “I won’t pay, sorry Scott, JUST STOP GOING TO WAGAMAMAS AT HEATHROW AIRPORT.” Simply respond to this email.
Hope you have a good week.
Scotty x