Watch Netflix's "The Umbrella Academy," BBC's "Anthony" and Sky Documentaries' "Spielberg"
It's your newsletter - on the hottest day of the year so far.
Hello,
Welcome to the Worth Watching newsletter.
Here are some shows that I think are worth your time at the moment.
The Umbrella Academy (Netflix) - Until now, superhero series haven’t done that well on Netflix. Marvel’s Iron Fist, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage were all cancelled by the streamer in the past year; it seemed that the genre (as a TV show anyway) had begun to run out of steam. So it has been a real surprise that The Umbrella Academy, a Netflix comic adaptation about a family full of adopted and rather troubled superheroes, has done so well for them. Netflix cited that 45 million households watched the first series (whilst not mentioning how many people watched it all the way through) and it also boasts a sizeable online fandom. To me, it’s felt like the first time since Stranger Things that Netflix has had a such a surefire hit on their hands.
Whilst there was much acclaim for the first season, I found the pacing clunky and a little off, simply because there was a lot of characters and a lot of feelings. It took until episode eight or nine for the plot to really get going. So with all of that in mind, it's a real surprise that season two starts as well as it does. It feel as if they have taken into consideration everything that didn’t work with season one and have started from scratch. There are new storylines, a new apocalyptic threat, the characters are even teleported to an entirely new decade. The first episode also has an opening sequence that will knock your socks off.
The one question, and one that I cannot answer, is whether you should start with season one and get over the hump, or whether you should skip all of season one and just get on with starting season two. Depends if you have the time, I suppose.
Anthony (BBC iPlayer) - This is a devastating and hugely powerful film by the great Jimmy McGovern (behind The Street and Hillsborough). It tells the story of Anthony Walker, who was brutally murdered in a racist attack at the age of 18 back in 2005.
The drama does something you wouldn’t expect: instead of starting with the night of the murder or the days leading up to it, you see what his life could have been if his life wasn’t robbed from him, told in a reverse chronological order, starting at the age of 25. You see the wedding he never had, the job offer he never received, the people he was never able to help. There is no way to know the life he could have had, but you learn so much about who he was and why he was missed, that at the end you’ll be angry and sad that his life was robbed from him.
For an insight into what it was like to put this show together, read this great piece by Hanna Flint on iNews. She asks McGovern about whether the show could have done more to reflect representation behind the camera, and an interesting conversation between the two of them follows.
Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty (BBC iPlayer) - In an earlier edition of this newsletter I said that the third part of this documentary series looking into the Murdoch business empire was the best of the trio. Just to flag that it’s available to watch now.
Spielberg (Sky Documentaries on Now TV) - Finally, if you want a two hour nostalgia hole into the films you adored as a kid, there’s a great documentary looking at the life and work of Stephen Spielberg. What is particularly good about this doc is the number of montages throughout, constantly making you think about the first time you saw it and how excited you got at the same time. Spielberg talking frankly about his anxiety on set as an acclaimed director makes you realise if Spielberg gets anxiety, heck Spielberg, we’re all fine.
By the way, NOW TV have announced this week that they are raising their prices to £9.99, having launched four new channels in the last year (and now touting a library with a lot more stuff worth watching). It’s always worth trying to occasionally quit on NOW TV on their website though, as they try to keep you on by tempting you offers. I’ve done it several times when and I’ve saved a few £££ (doffs cap to Martin Lewis).
Here’s some TV tidbits:
ITV have announced their autumn schedule. For soap lovers, both Emmerdale and Coronation Street are going back to their pre-pandemic schedule. For Britain’s Got Talent and The Voice fans, they’ve announced that the semi-finals will air. They’ve also announced a lot of gameshows (obviously something that can be pulled off easier during a pandemic), along with some dramas they’ve held back over the last few months.
Newsround has been allowed by Ofcom to end their iconic teatime broadcast, but will continue to do a modern bulletin on CBBC. Instead, they are spending their resources on the internet. I’ve written for The Guardian (last year) about why that isn’t necessarily a good idea.
Netflix have announced that they have obtained the streaming rights to many iconic Black shows of the ‘90s, but (so far) there’s no deal for viewers in the UK.
Sky Arts is going to launch on Freeview (previously it was behind a paywall). Usually this would be something that Murdoch would do, positioning themselves against the BBC (especially when BBC Four cuts are under scrutiny), so it’s surprising that this is happening under their new owner, Comcast.
On Must Watch on BBC Radio 5 Live this week, we spoke to the head of BAFTA Krishnendu Majumdar. We chatted about their efforts to improve representation both in front and behind-the-camera and how their TV Awards are turning virtual this year, which will be airing tonight (if you are reading this on Friday). Just to flag too that all of my Must Watch BBC reviews are now available to read on Rotten Tomatoes.
And I leave you with this moment from BBC Breakfast:
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Scotty / @scottygb