Peter Kay’s Car Share: Finale (2018) – TV Review

Following the devastating cliffhanger to what was intended to be the final ever episode of ‘Car Share’, Peter Kay and Sian Gibson returned to their characters for one final go around to conclude the story.

Instead of feeling like the ‘fans demanded a new ending’ story that it actually is, this episode just flows naturally as a continuation of the narrative and a suitable conclusion.

The episode doesn’t quite follow the usual pattern of just Kay and Gibson in the car, reacting to events and create random situations, as this is much more focused on resolving the specific narrative relating to a potential relationship between John (Kay) and Kayleigh (Gibson), but it doesn’t harm the show as you are so engaged in the two of them by now.

The ending is very satisfying without ever feeling like pandering or out of character, and it also manages to pay a great homage to ‘The Graduate’ right at the end.

This isn’t the challenging and hilarious triumph like ‘Phoenix Nights’, but this is an absolute triumph for Kay as it is a smart concept with absolute perfect execution for the entire family to enjoy.

Rating = 4.5/5

Miracle Workers: Dark Ages (2020) – TV Review

Following the strong viewership numbers for the first season, TBS (the show is available on Sky Comedy in the UK) decided to move forward with another season of ‘Miracle Workers’ but instead of being a traditional follow up, they are turning the show into an anthology, with the same cast returning with a new story.

This time, we find the cast in the ‘Dark Ages’ and playing very different kinds of characters.

Geraldine Viswanathan is very much the centre of the story here and she continues to grow in stature as a very impressive comedic actress, and I really hope Hollywood carries on giving her the opportunities she deserves.

Daniel Radcliffe is the comedic stand point this time around, with his comic timing inch perfect and him really being able to let loose. Following his decade long role as Harry Potter, Radcliffe has spent the last decade doing increasingly bizarre and interesting roles, and he is absolutely nailing it.

This time around, we also get to see more of Steve Buscemi as he is very much a main character and you can never go wrong with Buscemi, and he elevates every scene he is in.

Karan Soni, Jon Bass, and Lolly Adefope all return from the first season and while they are good actors, they don’t have too much to do here. Peter Serafinowicz is a guest star here and bounces off Radcliffe really well.

This isn’t the sort of prestige, brilliantly written comedy like ‘Fleabag’ etc, but it’s a very well acted and light heartedly amusing show that I really hope returns for a season 3.

Rating = 3.5/5

Cursed (2020) – TV Review

Originally sold with the fascinating pitch of “what if the sword chose a queen” and promising a take on the Excalibur story from the perspective of The Lady of the Lake instead of King Arthur, it all sounded great. However, the final product is actually just some sort of prequel to the King Arthur story.

The reason this is disappointing is that the muddled reason for the shows existence means it fails to be a proper prequel to the King Arthur story whilst also failing as an effective spin off focused on the origins of the Lady of the Lake.

The show does have some impressive production values and a long take sequence in the first episode made me really think that we could be in for something special. In general, the show is watchable, but that isn’t the greatest compliment and that is about where the positives end.

The most startling issue with the show is that very few cast members in this expensive show are any good. I’m not saying they are bad actors, but they are just not good in the roles. Even Katherine Langford, who was so compelling in the first season of ‘13 Reasons Why’ really doesn’t pull off the troubled warrior queen here and gives quite a wooden performance.

Devon Terrell does his best in a quite poorly written role of ‘Arthur’, Gustaf Skarsgard grows into the role of ‘Merlin’ but struggles to recover from playing him like a magical Jack Sparrow, and Lily Newmark actually makes for the most engaging screen presence, despite her quite limited screen time.

The show also has ridiculous scene transitions that become animated all of a sudden, and while I’m sure it is done to make it more resemble the graphic novel on which it is based,

The final episode provides multiple ‘twists’ on who characters actually are and sets the stage for a more conventional Arthurian adaptation (which is a story I love to see usually) but I simply don’t want to see this creative team tackle that.

Rating = 2.5/5

Emmy Nominations 2020

Below is the list of this years Emmy Nominations in the major categories. I will cover this in much more detail leading up to September’s ceremony, including a full list of every category and its nominees, as well as predictions and much more.

Some of the initial reactions to this set of nominees are that it is was an absolute shock fest with some huge snubs and massive inclusions. Just as a starting point, the inexplicable snubs of Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn leave a huge sour taste in my mouth, but the surprise inclusions of Paul Mescal and Zendaya start to help make up for it.

Succession, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Watchmen, and others have garnered huge nominations across the board, and Stranger Things and The Mandalorian have absolutely shocked the world with their inclusions.

The full list below…

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES –

  • Better Call Saul
  • Killing Eve
  • Ozark
  • Stranger Things
  • Succession
  • The Crown
  • The Handmaid’s Tale
  • The Mandalorian

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES –

  • Billy Porter – Pose
  • Brian Cox – Succession
  • Jason Bateman – Ozark
  • Jeremy Strong – Succession
  • Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us
  • Steve Carell – The Morning Show

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES –

  • Jennifer Aniston – The Morning Show
  • Jodie Comer – Killing Eve
  • Laura Linney – Ozark
  • Olivia Colman – The Crown
  • Sandra Oh – Killing Eve
  • Zendaya – Euphoria

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES –

  • Billy Crudup – The Morning Show
  • Bradley Whitford – The Handmaid’s Tale
  • Giancarlo Esposito – Better Call Saul
  • Jeffrey Wright – Westworld
  • Kieran Culkin – Succession
  • Mark Duplass – The Morning Show
  • Matthew Macfadyen – Succession
  • Nicholas Braun – Succession

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES –

  • Fiona Shaw – Killing Eve
  • Helena Bonham Carter – The Crown
  • Julia Garner – Ozark
  • Laura Dern – Big Little Lies
  • Meryl Streep – Big Little Lies
  • Samira Wiley – The Handmaid’s Tale
  • Sarah Snook – Succession
  • Thandie Newton – Westworld

OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES –

  • Little Fires Everywhere
  • Mrs. America
  • Unbelievable
  • Unorthodox
  • Watchmen

OUTSTANDING TELEVISION MOVIE –

  • American Son
  • Bad Education
  • Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings: These Old Bones
  • El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
  • Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE –

  • Hugh Jackman – Bad Education
  • Jeremy Irons – Watchmen
  • Jeremy Pope – Hollywood
  • Mark Ruffalo – I Know This Much Is True
  • Paul Mescal – Normal People

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE –

  • Cate Blanchett – Mrs. America
  • Kerry Washington – Little Fires Everywhere
  • Octavia Spencer – Self Made
  • Regina King – Watchmen
  • Shira Haas – Unorthodox

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE –

  • Dylan McDermott – Hollywood
  • Jim Parsons – Hollywood
  • Jovan Adepo – Watchmen
  • Louis Gossett Jr. – Watchmen
  • Tituss Burgess – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend
  • Yahya Abdul-Mateen II – Watchmen

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE –

  • Holland Taylor – Hollywood
  • Jean Smart – Watchmen
  • Margo Martindale – Mrs. America
  • Toni Collette – Unbelievable
  • Tracey Ullman – Mrs. America
  • Uzo Aduba – Mrs. America

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES –

  • Curb Your Enthusiasm
  • Dead to Me
  • Insecure
  • Schitt’s Creek
  • The Good Place
  • The Kominsky Method
  • The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
  • What We Do in the Shadows

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES –

  • Anthony Anderson – Black-ish
  • Don Cheadle – Black Monday
  • Eugene Levy – Schitt’s Creek
  • Michael Douglas – The Kominsky Method
  • Ramy Youssef – Ramy
  • Ted Danson – The Good Place

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES –

  • Catherine O’Hara – Schitt’s Creek
  • Christina Applegate – Dead to Me
  • Issa Rae – Insecure
  • Linda Cardellini – Dead to me
  • Rachel Brosnahan – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
  • Tracey Ellis Ross – Black-ish

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES –  

  • Alan Arkin – The Kominsky Method
  • Andre Braugher – Brooklyn Nine-Nine
  • Daniel Levy – Schitt’s Creek
  • Kenan Thompson – Saturday Night Live
  • Mahershala Ali – Ramy
  • Sterling K. Brown – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
  • Tony Shalhoub – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
  • William Jackson Harper – The Good Place

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES –

  • Alex Borstein – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
  • Annie Murphy – Schitt’s Creek
  • Betty Gilpin – Glow
  • Cecily Strong – Saturday Night Live
  • D’Arcy Carden – The Good Place
  • Kate McKinnon – Saturday Night Live
  • Marin Hinkle – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
  • Yvonne Orji – Insecure

I May Destroy You (2020) – TV Review

My review for this show should have been up over a week ago but due to some family tragedy, no posts have been uploaded in the past week so I apologise for that, but I am back with a large quantity of varying posts from now on, some of which have already been posted and much more to come.

As for the show itself, I actually feel I have benefited from taking a while to let it all sink in before rating and reviewing it because of how completely fresh and visceral the show felt.

I also think it is worth noting here that there has been some really great coverage of the show over the last few months, especially coming from members of the black and the LGBTQ communities and they are the voices that need to be amplified the most when covering content like this.

What Michaela Coel, who writes/directs/produces/stars here has created is something that feels so new to us because it dares to break traditional storytelling norms and addresses all sorts of topics with such a non-judgemental lens that it makes us feel like we haven’t seen the topics covered at all before.

The launch of the story is based off Coel’s real life experience of being drugged and assaulted, and from there the show shows us such fascinating looks at consent, abuse, sex, friendship, race, and much more.

Despite covering so many truly heartbreaking and serious subjects, the show never at all feels preachy and is actually at times shocking in the apparent sympathy it gives for people who would usually just be entirely condemned. There has been a lot of online hysteria about ‘cancel culture’ recently, but Michaela Coel here paints such a delicate picture of a wide range of people, who all have their positives and their faults, even if some have more than others, and she tries to dig into where everyone’s individual pain originates from.

Very few of the characters are traditionally ‘likeable’, even our leads, as they all do things that are very questionable throughout the show, but they are also kind and fun and full of life at other times. It is never about ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’, it is just about being human.

The whole cast that appears throughout the 12 episodes do great work, but the lead three in particular are just so impressive and I think all three are going to win awards and get huge accolades are their careers continue. Michaela Coel, Weruche Opia, Paapa Essiedu are all able to tackle a wide range of emotions with apparent ease and they bounce off each other just like they have truly been friends for years (which actually is the case for Coel and Essiedu).

Coel recently spoke about how she turned down a big money offer from Netflix due to them not giving her ownership of the show, but you can tell that the BBC really gave her creative control and it paid off spectacularly. There are many episodes I could highlight to prove this point, but the finale in particular is such brave storytelling and for people who have already watched it you will understand when I say that there are some particular images from that episode that will forever be seared into my mind.

I think this is one of the best pieces of television made in a very long time, something that can stand alongside the likes of Fleabag, Hannibal, The Leftovers etc in recent years and is something every person should take time out of their schedule to watch.

Rating = 5/5

My 2020 Emmy Nomination Predictions

Tomorrow the nominations for the 2020 Emmy Awards will be officially announced ahead of the ceremony in September, and due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the usual awards campaigns have not been run and therefore predictions are more difficult. However, I have given it a go here by using industry insight, Emmy history, and personal gut feeling. I can’t wait to be embarrassed when the nominations are revealed tomorrow and I am wildly wrong…

*Worth noting these are very much my predictions, not personal preference. I will release a post detailing what my Emmy’s would ideally look like in a few months time.

Most Nominations – Succession – 6

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES –

  • Better Call Saul
  • Ozark
  • Succession
  • The Crown
  • The Handmaid’s Tale
  • The Morning Show
  • This Is Us
  • Westworld

Alternate: Euphoria

Should Have Been In: Mindhunter

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES –

  • Billy Porter – Pose
  • Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul
  • Brian Cox – Succession
  • Jason Bateman – Ozark
  • Jeremy Strong – Succession
  • Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us

Alternate: Tobias Menzies – The Crown

Should Have Been In: Jonathan Groff – Mindhunter

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES –

  • Elisabeth Moss – The Handmaid’s Tale
  • Jennifer Aniston – The Morning Show
  • Jodie Comer – Killing Eve
  • Laura Linney – Ozark
  • Olivia Colman – The Crown
  • Zendaya – Euphoria

Alternate: Sandra Oh – Killing Eve

Should Have Been In: Reece Witherspoon – Big Little Lies

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES –

  • Billy Crudup – The Morning Show
  • Bradley Whitford – The Handmaid’s Tale
  • Jonathan Banks – Better Call Saul
  • Josh O’Connor – The Crown
  • Kieran Culkin – Succession
  • Mandy Patinkin – Homeland
  • Matthew Macfadyen – Succession
  • Tom Pelphrey – Ozark

Alternate: David Harbour – Stranger Things

Should Have Been In: Giancarlo Esposito – Better Call Saul

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES –

  • Ann Dowd – The Handmaid’s Tale
  • Helena Bonham Carter – The Crown
  • Julia Garner – Ozark
  • Laura Dern – Big Little Lies
  • Meryl Streep – Big Little Lies
  • Rhea Seehorn – Better Call Saul
  • Sarah Snook – Succession
  • Thandie Newton – Westworld

Alternate: Janet McTeer – Ozark

Should Have Been In: Tessa Thompson – Westworld

OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES –

  • Little Fires Everywhere
  • Mrs. America
  • Normal People  
  • Unbelievable
  • Watchmen

Alternate: The Plot Against America

Should Have Been In: Years and Years

OUTSTANDING TELEVISION MOVIE –

  • American Son
  • Bad Education
  • El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
  • Patsy and Loretta
  • Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Alternate: The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel

Should Have Been In: N/A

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE –

  • Aaron Paul – El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
  • Hugh Jackman – Bad Education
  • Jeremy Irons – Watchmen
  • Mark Ruffalo – I Know This Much is True
  • Paul Mescal – Normal People

Alternate: Russell Crowe – The Loudest Voice

Should Have Been In: Nick Offerman – Devs

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE –

  • Regina King – Watchmen
  • Cate Blanchett – Mrs. America
  • Kaitlyn Dever – Unbelievable
  • Merritt Wever – Unbelievable
  • Kerry Washington – Little Fires Everywhere

Alternate: Reece Witherspoon – Little Fires Everywhere

Should Have Been In: Daisy Edgar-Jones – Normal People

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE –

  • Dylan McDermott – Hollywood
  • Jesse Plemons – El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
  • Jim Parsons – Hollywood
  • John Turturro – The Plot Against America
  • Tim Blake Nelson – Watchmen
  • Yahya Abdul-Mateen II – Watchmen

Alternate: Darren Criss – Hollywood

Should Have Been In: Michael Sheen – Quiz

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE –

  • Allison Janney – Bad Education
  • Jean Smart – Watchmen
  • Rose Byrne – Mrs. America
  • Sarah Paulson – Mrs. America
  • Toni Collette – Unbelievable
  • Uzo Aduba – Mrs. America

Alternate: Tracey Ullman – Mrs. America

Should Have Been In: Naomi Watts – The Loudest Voice

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES –

  • Better Things
  • Curb Your Enthusiasm
  • Dead to Me
  • Insecure
  • Ramy
  • Schitt’s Creek
  • The Good Place
  • The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Alternate: Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist

Should Have Been In: Bojack Horseman

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES –

  • Anthony Anderson – Black-ish
  • Eugene Levy – Schitt’s Creek
  • Larry David – Curb Your Enthusiasm
  • Michael Douglas – The Kominsky Method
  • Ramy Youssef – Ramy
  • Ted Danson – The Good Place

Alternate: Don Cheadle – Black Monday

Should Have Been In: Martin Freeman – Breeders

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES –

  • Catherine O’Hara – Schitt’s Creek
  • Christina Applegate – Dead to Me
  • Issa Rae – Insecure
  • Jane Levy – Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist
  • Linda Cardellini – Dead to Me
  • Rachel Brosnahan – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Alternate: Pamela Adlon – Better Things

Should Have Been In: Aisling Bea – This Way Up

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES –  

  • Alan Arkin – The Kominsky Method
  • Alec Baldwin – Saturday Night Live
  • Dan Levy – Schitt’s Creek
  • James Marsden – Dead to Me
  • Louie Anderson – Baskets
  • Mahershala Ali – Ramy
  • Michael Zegen – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
  • Tony Shalhoub – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Alternate: Sterling K. Brown – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Should Have Been In: Nicholas Hoult – The Great

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES –

  • Alex Borstein – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
  • Annie Murphy – Schitt’s Creek
  • Betty Gilpin – Glow
  • Jane Lynch – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
  • Kate McKinnon – Saturday Night Live
  • Marin Hinkle – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
  • Rita Moreno – One Day at a Time
  • Yvonne Orji – Insecure

Alternate: Emily Hampshire – Schitt’s Creek

Should Have Been In: Phoebe Fox – The Great

Chewing Gum Season 2 (2017) – TV Review

Following on from the great reception to Season 1, with a show that felt so unique and fresh, meant Michaela Coel had a big challenge on her hands, but she took it in her stride and ran with.

This second season is better than the first, even if only slightly, and it feels even more willing to take risks and address unique topics.

The show is less centred on Tracey (Coel) and her friends, and more focused this time on Tracey and her family, and it makes some fascinating observations.

The main topics the show tackles are sex, religion, race, and class, all of which are huge topics to explore and Coel’s writing tackles them with such a brave and hilarious angle that it feels like the first time they’ve been shown.

Michaela Coel has often been compared to Phoebe Waller-Bridge (I wish people could just acknowledge they are two brilliant writers that shouldn’t just be compared because they are women and should be allowed to just be brilliant in their own right) and if you have to make that comparison, I guess this could be similar to Waller-Bridge doing the more light comedy of ‘Crashing’ before the emotional masterpiece of ‘Fleabag’, and Coel goes on from here to make the remarkable ‘I May Destroy You’.

I think this show is a real hidden gem that most of the general public has still yet to see and it’s a comedic treat.

Rating = 4/5

Frankie Boyle Live: Excited For You to See This and Hate It (2020) – TV Review

Frankie Boyle has spent his entire career offending people and pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable to say. However, he has also spent his career as one of the most consistently brilliant comedians in the business.

Boyle isn’t just someone who stirs controversy for the sake of it, he uses comedy to explore the areas of society you aren’t usually able to go and comment on them. He makes strong political observations and weaves a story throughout, as well as the jokes.

In his sights here was the newly elected ‘Prime Minister’ Boris Johnson and his cabinet, and even more prominently Brexit. He got his point across with some zingers of one liners and some damning verdicts.

In whole it was just great to see Boyle back doing stand-up, on the BBC especially, and I hope he continues to do his great work.

Rating = 4.5/5

Peter Kay’s Car Share Season 2 (2017) – TV Review

Following the resounding success of the first series of ‘Car Share’, Peter Kay and Sian Clifford returned for another season of classic music and great comedy.

On the BBC re-runs that I have been rewatching the show on, the ‘Unscripted Special’ was aired as part of Season 2, due to narrative chronology even though the episode itself aired alongside the finale in 2018.

Therefore I will include that episode in this review, and review the finale of the show as a separate thing, as opposed to a ‘Season 3’. The unscripted special still maintains the humour we are used to, but lacks the slow build narrative and the well planned out gags that they still manage to make feel natural.

As for the season itself, it achieved what many imagined it would be unable to do, and they actually raised the quality of the show.

The chemistry between Kay and Gibson has been built in many projects over the years, but here it is utilised to the full and it is great to see. They both have perfect comic timing and really bring the best out of each other.

This was such a simple concept that is executed so well and provides the perfect easy watch for the entire family, while also being hilariously funny.

Rating = 4.5/5

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started