Watch: "Pam and Tommy," "The Tinder Swindler" and "Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness"
Plus next week there's "This Is Going To Hurt" on BBC One.
Hello,
Welcome to Worth Watching. Hope you’re doing well.
I’m back after a week off. And what a week there is to come back to writing about television. Not only is there more than 300 hours of Winter Olympics sporting action coming up, but there are interesting new television series across the BBC, Disney+, Netflix, the BBC and Channel 4 too. Plus a channel returned this week: BBC Three.
As ever, if you are interested in receiving an email every week, all you need to do is sign up by pressing on the button below. It’s £35 a year, or £3.50 a month.
AN ENGROSSING TWO HOUR DOCUMENTARY
The Tinder Swindler (Netflix - one episode) - An engrossing two hour documentary about a man who pretended to be the son of a diamond billionaire, so that he could to con innocent women out of money.
During their early dates he would make these women think that he was living an extravagant lifestyle. Then he would convince them that he has enemies because of his diamond work, and that he requires constant security by his because his life was at risk. Then he would claim that his credit cards had been frozen because his whereabouts can be tracked by his enemies. You can guess what happens next.
As well as being a compelling story (which features lots of video footage thanks to a team of journalists), the documentary humanises the conman’s victims. There’s also quite the twist at the end of the film. Believe me.
YES, THIS IS ON DISNEY+.
Pam and Tommy (Disney+, first three episodes available) - This drama explores how an intimate tape of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee ended up on the internet and the consequences it caused for both of them. Contrary to what you might think, the tape was not uploaded or leaked onto the internet by the couple. Instead it had been stolen from a safe in their home by a carpenter, after an argument with Lee.
The series explores something that we all take for granted in the internet age – that the moment something is shared online, it is impossible for it to be taken down.
It also sensitively explores how public opinion has changed over the past three decades too. When hackers stole and leaked nude photos of celebrities on the internet in 2014, there was a national conversation about the devastating mental health consequences it must have caused. When Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s tape was leaked online 25 years ago, there was no national conversation. Pamela was just a national punchline on late night television.
A DELIGHTFUL DOCUMENTARY SERIES
Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness (all episodes Netflix) - Usually I am not that fond of podcasts that turn into television shows, because usually something is lost in the process. That’s not the case here.
The Queer Eye expert has got his own Netflix show, based on his successful podcast. Each episode consists of him delving into a seemingly random topic he is interested in, from skyscrapers to figure skating, with the help experts in that area. The show is great because he lets these experts become the star of each episodes. Seeing someone completely immersed in their passion is always a joy to see.
A BIG WEEK OF TELEVISION NEXT WEEK:
The much anticipated adaptation of the Adam Kay book This Is Going To Hurt debuts on BBC One next Tuesday at 9pm. I’ll have a fuller review next week, but it is absolutely worth your time. It is hilarious and hard hitting.
Another series worth a look at is the comedy The Curse (Sunday 6th February, All 4). It’s a new crime story created by People Just Do Nothing and Murder in Successville, set in 1980s East London. It is one of those shows you need your subtitles on for, because the punchlines come thick and fast.
The second series of Starstruck, the acclaimed sitcom by Rose Matafeo debuts on BBC Three on Monday at 10pm. In a frankly bizarre twist, six days later on ITV there’s a brand new Saturday night entertainment show… called Starstruck!
Yes, viewers will be able to tell the difference between the two Starstrucks. I just think it is wild that ITV haven’t changed the name of their show considering that Matafeo’s show has already been out for more than a year.
The Winter Olympics have kicked off today. The BBC has 300 hours worth of coverage, split across BBC One, Two and Three. They have the same rights as Tokyo 2020, which is one live television channel and one internet feed at the same time. Eurosport is the only place you can watch every moment live.
TV NEWS THIS WEEK:
Unless you have lived under a rock, you would have seen that BBC Three has returned to television over the past week. If you are confused about why a channel is returning to television, think of it more as a marketing strategy to get viewers over to BBC iPlayer and to capture live audiences for those shows that everyone loves to watch at the same time (aka. Drag Race).
The semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest are going to be back on BBC Three, after more than six years on BBC Four. I’ll miss these semi-finals debuting directly after a Bob Ross painting show, though.
A report by Enders Analysis out this week says that, despite the hype, UK viewers watch three times more BBC programmes than Netflix. Viewers spent 22% of their time watching BBC shows, compared to 7% watching Netflix.
However, all of this is rather troubling news to Channel 4. The report says that viewers roughly watch as much Channel 4 as Netflix.
The line up for the next series of Celebrity Bake Off has just been announced. Expect the series to come out towards the mid to end of February.
Good news for Euphoria fans. The show has just been renewed too.
WHERE TO FIND ME THIS WEEK:
On Must Watch on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds this week we reviewed Pam and Tommy, The Tinder Swindler and A Teacher.
I wrote for The New York Times about the relaunch of BBC Three and the logic behind the return to linear schedule. Here’s a quick excerpt: “The move reflects the continued challenges of understanding how the internet is changing TV habits. And it shows how the BBC is doubling down on youth programming as it deals with competition and potential budget cuts.”
I watched the first night of BBC Three and reviewed it for The Guardian. An excerpt from this too: “Full disclosure: this article nearly didn’t happen because I couldn’t work out how to re-tune my television first.”
I was back on Podcast Radio Hour on BBC Radio 4 Extra with my podcast picks for February. They include Feast is Feast with Big Zuu and Stars in Your Ears. We also spoke to Helena Merriman, Scott Mills and Moya Lothian-Mclean about their new podcasts.
And finally, I was a guest on The Media Podcast with Matt Deegan this week to talk about the week’s media news along with Robert Moore from ITV.
I’ll leave you with this terrible mistake.
Thanks so much for reading.
Scotty / @scottygb