Hello,
Welcome to Worth Watching, the newsletter with all the good TV recommendations.
The Great Celebrity Stand Up for Cancer Bake Off(All 4) - Probably the least surprising TV show recommendation coming from me, but you should watch the new celebrity series for Louis Theroux alone. He opened the episode as if it was one of his own BBC Two documentaries (“I had secured access by posing as one of the celebrity contestants, after hearing rumours that this mild seeming light entertainment format has a little known dark side.”) The entire episode felt as if Theroux was trying to see how far he could push it, with a showstopper that included him being nude on a lilo. If you’re still not convinced, here is a photo of him lying in front of an oven like Selasi once famously did.
If you want to read more about it, I have weekly Celebrity Bake Off column in iNews.
Race Across The World (BBC Two, iPlayer) - It might seem ironic to be recommending a travel competition show considering where we are right now, but you’ll enjoy this show because of the characters more than anything else. The most recent series, which started last weekend and continues this Sunday at 8pm, sees teams of two race across Latin America without being able to use a plane, on a budget that equates to the cost of an airfare. The first series (on iPlayer now), is just so good and deserves to be watched in one big go. The race starts in Greenwich in London, ending in Singapore.
I interviewed the people who film the show for The Guardian. The most astonishing thing is that a two members from the production team do the 25,000km journey before anyone actually starts filming, just to ensure that people can actually do it.
My Left Nut (BBC Three, iPlayer) - When you start watching this BBC Three comedy about a teenager who realises that he has an enlarged testicle, you will assume that this will be a cheap rehash of The Inbetweeners. What you won’t expect is how it morphs into a tender, heartfelt drama about grief and anxiety, and how your family will stick by you through the bad parts as much as the good.
What you might not know from watching it is that the drama is based on a true story. At its core is the relationship between Mick (who is based on the show’s writer Michael Patrick) and his mother. It’s very much a love letter, in a way. And at a screening last month, Michael’s mother was in the audience ❤️💕
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Usually, I would use this email to highlight other good TV shows that have been on recently, but with the news being making us all feel uneasy, here’s a list of timeless shows that can help distract you from it for a bit, or to accompany you through it.
The West Wing - Hopeful, timeless and re-watchable even if you’ve finished it recently. Nothing beats the Big Block of Cheese Day.
Sex Education (Netflix) - The second season builds on what made the first series so good. It’s confident, funny and surprisingly deep.
I Am Not Okay With This (Netflix / The End of the F**king World (All4) - Two different shows, but I like to think they exist within the same universe. They both manage tough topics, but with a soft quirkiness and a cinematic style you will properly appreciate.
Line of Duty (BBC iPlayer) - If you have been putting off watching episodes from the very beginning, now is the time. Series one is watchable, two is engrossing, series three they throw the bloody sink in. There’s nothing else on television like it.
Parks and Recreation (Sky Comedy and Now TV) - People going out of their way to help each other. It doesn’t get any better than that.
When I posted a this list of shows on Twitter I got a lot of great recommendations back. They include: Arrested Development(series 1-3), Curb Your Enthusiasm(especially series 10), Green Wing, Schitt’s Creek, Grace and Frankie, Everything’s Going to be Okay, The Night Of, The Thick of It, Dawson’s Creek, Succession, Mum, Peep Show, Six Feet Under, Scandal, This Country, Babylon Berlin, Unforgotten, Ozark, Breaking Bad, The Good Place, Inside No 9, Life on Marsand 30 Rock.
A reason why I love television so much is that it is a real fixer, it just doesn’t care how your day went. But also make sure that you find a way for television to *work* for you. Follow the latest guidance and pop into the headlines, but you do not need to watch the constant supply of breaking news if it does not make you feel good.
Let me know if there’s any show you have missed, or any show that you have gotten into recently, and it’ll feature in the next newsletter. The BBC Sounds Must Watch podcast is continuing each and every Monday with the latest TV recommendations. We’ll be watching a lot of TV shows in the weeks ahead, that’s for sure.
All my love and thanks so much for reading,
Scotty / @scottygb