Worth Watching: “Joan,” “Heartstopper” and "Designing the Hebrides"
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Hello,
Welcome to Worth Watching. Hope you’re well.
If you haven’t already, make sure you listen to this week’s The Rest is Entertainment podcast, where Marina Hyde pulls apart Phillip Schofield: Cast Away.
That’s the Channel 5 reality show consisting of the former This Morning presenter being marooned on an island for ten days (imagine knowing this info two years ago.)
Hyde calls the Schofield show a “picnic of narcissism.” I agree. The three-parter mostly consists of Schofield blaming everyone else for his downfall, rather than taking any responsibility for his own actions. It also features diatribes not too dissimilar to the Father Ted episode when Ted accepts his Golden Cleric Award.
At one point Schofield says “if you’re cancelled, you’re dead,” which is quite a bold statement to make during your own Channel 5 series airing at 9pm on three consecutive nights. I doubt this series will change anyone’s mind on him too.
FOUR TELEVISION SHOWS WORTH WATCHING:
Joan (all episodes on ITVX, airs Sundays ITV1) - Sophie Turner is electrifying in this new drama based the life of Joan Hannington, a thief who stole more than £3 million back in the 1980s. She stole jewels from jewellery shops by swallowing them (and apparently still experiences ulcers decades later because of it.)
This six part series, written by Anna Symon, explores how she fell into a life of crime, without inadvertently endorsing her life decisions along the way. Turner manages to portray Joan’s confident persona (but inner turmoil) with utter ease.
Designing the Hebridese (BBC iPlayer, all episodes) - A lovely little show where Banjo Beale, who won Interior Design Masters just over a year ago, does a makeover of businesses up in the Scottish Hebrides. Expect picturesque shots by drones accompanied with Banjo’s delightful design choices to appreciative locals, with episodes only lasting 30 minutes each. A programme of joy as the nights draw in.
Nobody Wants This (Netflix, all episodes available) - It feels it feels there are far fewer 30 minute comedies on television these days, you’re not wrong. The decline of traditional American television networks mean 22 episode seasons are quickly becoming things of the past, especially as streaming services tend to opt for drama.
So this new romcom starring Adam Brody and Kristen Bell feels like a homage to an earlier era, and it is an enjoyable one too. It is all about a Rabbi dating an agnostic sex podcaster, based on show creator’s Erin Foster own experiences.
Heartstopper (Netflix, all episodes) - Me? Recommending Heartstopper? Groundbreaking. This young adult series, following a set of mostly LGBTQ+ school friends, left a big impact on me when it originally debuted, because it caused me to reflect on the friendships and relationships that I did not have when I was their age.
With most of the characters now sixteen or seventeen, the third series feels a bit more grown up a bit and casually explores milestones such as losing your virginity, whilst still tapping into serious issues around eating disorders and planning for University.
The best thing about the series is that it doesn’t fall into the trope that being in love makes your life perfect. As creator Alice Oseman said to me in an interview for The Guardian earlier this week, “love is wonderful, but it doesn’t solve all your problems.”
MAGGIE SMITH TRIBUTE
Nothing Like A Dame, the acclaimed 2018 documentary where Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Judi Dench, Dame Eileen Atkins and Dame Joan Plowright talk about their careers (as well as hilariously take the piss on each other) is to be shown on BBC Two in tribute to Smith.
It will be shown on Sunday 13th October at 8pm on BBC Two.
Mark it in your calendars.
WHERE TO FIND ME THIS WEEK:
For Yahoo I wrote about whether we are all suffering from Bake Off fatigue:
When you add up the ten episodes in the main series, plus celebrity and professionals editions, and Christmas specials on Channel 4, the show is on television for pretty much a third of the year. And that is even before you add on Junior Bake Off, which they put on in the early evening for several weeks for the kids.
And with the show now on a commercial network rather than on the BBC, each episode is running between 75 and 90 minutes, which is a stretch for even the most dedicated of fans.
And for The Guardian I went to the school where Heartstopper is filmed and met up with the cast. It caused me to reflect on what I didn’t have when I was younger, and what the show brings to those like me.
I sent a copy to the school afterwards by post.
I doubt I will get an invite to visit my school now, but now I very much feel at peace.
Thanks so much for reading,