As this year's series of Strictly Come Dancing reaches its final stages, Matt Donnelly looks at what makes the show special and how it has stayed relevant where other shows have long since fallen out of favour with the British public. September means many things to...
REVIEW: Back to Life 2: Why Daisy Haggard’s comedy drama is one of TV’s hidden gems
In early 2019, BBC Three dropped the first series of Daisy Haggard and Laura Solon's comedy drama Back to Life. The series saw Haggard portray thirty-six-year-old Miri Matheson who returned to her hometown of Hythe after spending eighteen years in prison for the...
REVIEW: Line of Duty’s finale ties up loose ends but forgets to be exciting.
In my review of Line of Duty's series six opener, I spoke about the burden of expectation that the episode had given that it would naturally be compared to its predecessors. Over the course of this series, we've seen online expectation grow every episode to the point...
OPINION: How will Line of Duty series 6 end?
Those who have been following my weekly Line of Duty reviews know that I've found this series to be a rollercoaster and not always in a positive. However, like everybody else, I am still intrigued to see how this series ends and what shocks Jed Mercurio has in store...
REVIEW: Line of Duty takes a ‘back to basics’ approach for the most compelling episode yet.
Those of you who have been reading my reviews thus far know that I have struggled with some aspects of this series of Line of Duty. Although I've enjoyed some of the character arcs and several of the set pieces, the pace of the episodes has been slightly off since the...
REVIEW: Line of Duty’s fifth episode acts a ‘bridging’ episode as it sets wheels in motion for what’s to come.
More so than its predecessors, this series of Line of Duty seems wrapped up in its past and trusting that its audience is familiar with even the minor characters from the past series. In my review of the first episode, I praised creator Jed Mercurio for...
REVIEW: Line of Duty’s fourth episode delivers exciting and edge of the seat moments.
I feel that I've been fair when it comes to my judgement on this series of Line of Duty so far. I've given Jed Mercurio and company time to let the drama play out. However, as we're more than halfway through the series, one element I'm still really...
REVIEW: Line of Duty delivers one its best stunts in an episode of two halves.
One of the delicate balancing acts that dramas like Line of Duty must walk is the decision on how much information should be revealed to the audience that the characters don't know. Similarly, it's tricky to know when the characters discover the information that the...
REVIEW: Line of Duty’s second episode ramps up the intrigue.
In the words of Ted Hastings, 'now we're sucking diesel.' After an underwhelming start to series six, tonight's second episode was more engaging and was much better paced. It also felt like a classic episode of Line of Duty with a clear focus now being established as...
REVIEW: Line Of Duty returns with a ‘back to basics’ approach.
Whether fair or not, long-running TV shows often have the burden of expectation attached to them ahead of a new series. This is certainly true with Line of Duty, which returned to BBC One tonight, as it's a series which is known for its explosive openers. Over...
Never Have I Ever: Mindy Kaling’s new Netflix show is both incredibly funny and surprisingly moving
The first time I heard of Netflix's Never Have I Ever was when the trailer appeared on my recommended videos on YouTube. Curious, I played the clip and got the impression that this Mindy Kaling co-created series was going to be a funny yet coarse look at high school...
REVIEW: Save Me Too: Is it a step above series one?
When it first aired in 2018, Lennie James's Save Me felt like a breath of fresh air in the drama landscape. Whilst the story of a man trying to find his estranged daughter doesn't seem like a unique idea, James populated the world with a group of colourful characters...
Our Favourite Netflix Original Series.
A strange thing is happening in the world of streaming services. The huge success of Netflix has meant other broadcasters want their own slice of the streaming space. Disney will soon be removing all of its content from Netflix and plonking it all on its own Disney +...
REVIEW: Mum – A love letter to a comedy that has become an all time favourite.
Going into this week, most people are on tenterhooks to see how Game of Thrones will finally come to an end. However, for me, the most-anticipated TV finale of this week and indeed 2019 is that of BBC Two's gentle-comedy drama Mum. Sadly, for fans of the show such as...
REVIEW: MotherFatherSon is a ambitious and interesting drama
Over the past few years, it's becoming gradually more acceptable for bona fide movie stars to appear in TV series with the likes of Sean Penn, Jim Carrey and Julia Roberts all fronting shows last year. This week, Roberts' Pretty Woman co-star Richard Gere joins their...