Worth Watching: "Loot," "Storyville" and "Queer as Folk" (The New One)
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Hello,
Welcome to Worth Watching. Hope you are coping well in this heatwave.
I’m not. I really should have bought that fan.
Just so you know, this email will now be coming out on Mondays instead of Fridays.
And if you are finding it too hot to actually watch television this week, please enjoy this new video of BBC Newsreader Shaun Ley sneezing instead.
COMEDY OF THE WEEK
Loot (Apple TV+) - Even though Apple releases far fewer shows than many of its rivals, its hit rate compared to its rivals at the moment is frankly so much better.
There’s now a new promising sitcom created by Alan Yang (from Master of None) and Matt Hubbard (behind Parks & Recreation and 30 Rock). It also comes from Maya Rudolph’s (Bridesmaids) and Natasha Lyonne’s (Russian Doll) new production company, with Maya in the lead role.
Maya stars as Molly Novak, a recently divorced billionaire who is getting more actively involved in her charity organisation as a way to emotionally move on from her messy divorce. A lot of the plot focuses on how her wealth has made her slightly detached from reality, and a lot of the joy from watching comes from the constant one-liners, particularly from Nicholas (the fantastic Joel Kim Booster).
In one scene Molly bemoans men, to which Nicholas responds: “Straight guys. They are idiots! There’s an entire channel dedicated to fishing because of them.”
DOCUMENTARY OF THE WEEK
Storyville: On the Morning You Wake to the End of the World (BBC iPlayer) - If you are ever at a loss of what to watch, I recommend popping onto BBC iPlayer and searching for their Storyville strand. Storyville collate some of the best documentaries from around the world. And weirdly, the BBC hardly ever advertises Storyville, despite many of these documentary films being some of the best content the BBC offers.
Their latest Storyville documentary looks at one terrifying morning back in January 2018, when citizens of Hawaii received a message falsely notifying them that a ballistic missile was heading in their direction. As it took an (unbelievable) 35 minutes for follow up message informing them that it was a false alarm to arrive, this documentary is 35 minutes in length to capture the confusion and panic the initial message caused and the length of time it took for that second message.
I really hope that if BBC Four really does moves online Storyville isn’t cut as a result.
IF YOU FANCY PAYING FOR ANOTHER SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE
Queer as Folk (Starzplay) - There’s three versions of this show. There’s the original and iconic British Queer as Folk written by Russell T. Davies from the late 90s. There’s the US version of Queer as Folk, which ran on Showtime from 2000 to 2005. Now there’s a new Queer as Folk, also on Showtime, set in the present day following members of the LGBTQ+ community living in New Orleans.
It is noticeably more inclusive than previous versions, trying to capture the reflect the experiences of more people within the LGBTQ+ community. It also feels remarkably fresh, even though this is really the second reboot of the same show. Quite a feat.
You can watch this series on Starzplay UK, which is available to subscribe to (sometimes with a low cost subscription or free trial via Apple and Amazon.)
OTHER TELEVISION ON AT THE MOMENT
Sherwood (BBC One) - If you haven’t seen this crime series written by James Graham, you really should. The acting and lot is sublime.
The Undeclared War (Channel 4) - Three years worth of research into cybersecurity and hacking drama written by Peter Kosminsky. The drama doesn’t set the world alight, but you learn a lot.
QUICK BIT OF NEWS:
Following Boris’ resignation, what has been fascinating is looking at the viewing figures from the last week. When a big story breaks, viewers head to the BBC News Channel and Sky News and tend to avoid the newer opinonated rivals.
On the afternoon Boris said that he was to stand down, the BBC News Channel had an average of just over 300,000 viewers between 4 and 7pm. Meanwhile, Piers Morgan could only attract around tenth of that figure for a five hour special broadcast on rival TalkTV. The viewing figures for GB News that evening were virtually unchanged compared to an ordinary news day too.
In other news, Sky News announced today that they will be hosting the first Conservative leadership debate, taking place next Monday, only for ITV to announce that they will be having their own a day earlier.
We now know who is going to take part in Celebrity Masterchef. Names include Paul Chuckle (!), Richard Blackwood and Lesley Joseph.
We also have the first picture of Scott (Jason Donovan) and Charlene (Kylie Minogue) in the Neighbours finale. The final episodes will be shown in primetime on Channel 5 on the Friday 29th July.
WHERE TO FIND ME THIS WEEK:
I was back on Podcast Radio Hour on BBC Radio 4 Extra to talk about some great podcasts coming out this July. We also spoke to chef Angela Hartnett and broadcaster Nick Grimshaw about their new podcast Dish.
I wrote for GQ about why the release of Heartstopper on Netflix is a defining moment in modern queer culture.
And I wrote for Variety about the bonkers day on British television as Boris announced that he was to stand down. It includes the Benny Hill theme tune.
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Thanks so much for reading,
Scotty (@scottygb)