Dove Cameron and Avan Jogia's 56 Days is 2026's steamiest new show yet
Dove Cameron and Avan Jogia's erotic thriller suggests that the buttoned-up times are a-changin’.
They say sex sells, and yet Hollywood has become increasingly chaste of late. Indeed, a 2023 study noted a 40 per cent decrease in big screen copulation since the turn of the century, perhaps a response to the fact nearly half of Gen-Z viewers apparently believe both TV and film have become too sexualised. But hot on the heels of ice hockey phenomenon Heated Rivalry, Prime Video original 56 Days is yet more proof the entertainment world might be rediscovering its libido. Based on Catherine Ryan Howard’s novel of the same name, the eight-parter stars Avan Jogia as Oliver Kennedy, a troubled young architect who strikes up an instant connection with mysterious tech worker Ciara Wyse (Dove Cameron) after meeting at a supermarket. The pair subsequently forge an intense relationship which, judging by the dissolved, decaying body discovered in a bathtub in the opening scene, ends in the most gruesome circumstances. So what exactly happened in just 56 days to turn their meet-cute into murder? Well, the show takes an inordinate amount of time revealing all, constantly flitting back and forth between the present-day police inquiries and diary-like snapshots of their torrid affair. By the time its predictable twist unfolds, you'll feel like you’ve wasted 56 days watching. Of course, the central mystery, which involves everything from sociopathic guidance counsellors and secret identities to crippling amnesia and child killers, plays second fiddle to the copious amounts of bedroom action. Titillation, not investigation, is always the prime objective here. It takes just over half an hour for the show to get naked after Ciara and Oliver have essentially recreated Jack and Rose's "I’m flying" scene in Titanic, swapping the ship's bow for an apartment rooftop adorned with two giant wind machines. Cue some suitably throbbing electro as the twosome head indoors and expose various body parts amid neon lights, silk sheets and a decor which screams less Boston bachelor pad and more Amsterdam Red Light District. The pair waste little time going for round two, interrupting their morning coffee with some kitchen worktop foreplay. And their appetites are so insatiable that by episode 2, they’re having it off, while fully clothed, in broad daylight down an alleyway. At times, the show appears to be actively sticking two fingers up to the Mary Whitehouse brigade. Even when they’re not pouncing on each other, the lovebirds can’t stop baring flesh: see the gratuitous scene where a shirtless Oliver grunts away while indulging in some kind of ritualistic, sweat-drenched midnight yoga. Creators Karyn Usher and Lisa Zwerling are certainly keen to make the most of their uninhibited stars, a duo they’ve described as "two of the best-looking humans on the planet." Nevertheless, as proven by the likes of Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney (Anyone But You), Chris Evans and Ana de Armas (Ghosted) and Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson (the Fifty Shades franchise), putting impossibly attractive people together doesn't always guarantee sparkling chemistry. Sadly, that proves to be the case with Jogia and Cameron. Both deliver fine performances separately, the former as a nepo baby haunted by a devastating incident from his privileged past and the latter as an equally enigmatic soul whose behaviour gradually leans toward the femme fatale. Despite how many times we see them jumping each other's bones (at least eight), they fail to convince as a couple utterly consumed by lust. Both parties made their name in kids TV (Cameron in fantasy saga Descendants and Jogia in teen sitcom Victorious) and it’s hard to ignore the feeling here that shaking off their wholesome personas for good is the ultimate goal. View Green Video on the source website It’s perhaps unfortunate timing that the show arrives in the wake of Heated Rivalry, where Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams have set a new benchmark in steaming up the screen while simultaneously forging a connection that's seemingly got the entire internet invested in their romantic fate. In comparison, Jogia and Cameron struggle to create more than a few drops of condensation. Nevertheless, it’s refreshing to see a modern TV show which doesn't feel the need to shield its audience. 56 Days alters many things from the source material, shifting the location from Dublin to Beantown, wisely removing the COVID-19 aspect and, more controversially, changing the whodunit and the whydunit. But there'd no doubt have been an even bigger outcry had it skimped on the physical contact, a factor which no doubt helped power the book to its pandemic-era success. And there’s plenty more where this came from too. Indeed, any modern-day puritans might want to avert their eyes from the streaming world over the next 12 months. According to industry bible Deadline, there are no fewer than nine projects that could be classed as an 'erotic thriller' currently in production. These include Teach Me in which Mandy Moore, another former teen favourite, plays a teacher who becomes embroiled in a cat-and-mouse game of power and sex with a wayward student; Hancock Park where former Bridgerton hero Regé-Jean Page stars as a guest house renter who infiltrates a swanky and sexually deviant Los Angeles community; and a Netflix adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, the classic French novel which was only recently turned into a French-language series by HBO. Whether any will be able to surpass 56 Days for sheer unadulterated horniness remains to be seen, and while it’s far from the best new show of 2026, it’s the first to suggest that TV’s 'no sex please' era may be coming to an end. All eight episodes of 56 Days will premiere on Prime Video on 18th February. Sign up for a 30-day free trial of Prime Video and pay £8.99 a month after that. Add 56 Days to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Under Salt Marsh review: Flood-stricken crime drama continues the rise of Welsh noir
A top-tier largely native cast, weather-beaten setting and sense of local community brings a Cymru sensibility to the murder mystery.
Following on from Mudtown, The One That Got Away and Keeping Faith, Under Salt Marsh is the latest Welsh crime drama to take its cues from the woolly jumpers and windswept landscapes of Scandi noir. And it might well be the most noirish of the lot. The original miniseries certainly isn’t the kind of escapist Harlan Coben-esque potboiler you watch to banish the winter blues, that’s for sure. From its 'every parents' worst nightmare' mystery to its flood-drenched, eternally grey aesthetics, this is a whodunit which revels in the bleak. Had its fictional town of Morfa Halen (the Welsh for ‘salt marsh’) been real, then its tourist board would undoubtedly have had cause for complaint. Having made her name with 2019’s Make Up, a blend of kitchen sink realism and psychological horror set entirely within an out-of-season Cornish caravan park, creator Claire Oakley is no stranger to such darkness. But here, she proves she can maintain a palpable sense of unease across six hour-long episodes of TV. Although very much a slow burner, Under Salt Marsh doesn’t waste any time establishing its ominous tone. In fact, distraught primary school teacher Jackie Ellis (Kelly Reilly with a steeliness similar to her display in Yellowstone) discovers the lifeless body of eight-year-old pupil Cefin (Jack Thomas-Humphreys) amid pitch-black marshlands in the opening shot. Is this simply a tragic accident? Or, as one would suspect, is there something more nefarious at play? And why, as revealed in a chilling flashback to earlier that same day, did the young victim continually dream of being chased into water and drowning? As a former detective, Jackie takes it upon herself to find the answers, immediately ingratiating herself further into the case by breaking the news to Cefin’s parents Shell (Kimberley Nixon) and Danny (Mark Stanley) before the police get the chance: it’s one of several harrowing scenes – see the family’s uncontrollable wails while visiting Cefin’s final resting place or Danny’s sudden breakdown at his butcher’s shop – which pack a truly emotional gut punch. Jackie’s interference isn’t appreciated, however, by Eric Bull (Rafe Spall, for some reason adopting a wayward Black Country accent), her former partner-in-crime who’s returned to his old stomping ground to help piece the puzzle together. Things appear to have ended acrimoniously judging by how she deliberately hides from him on first sight. And a heated tete-a-tete later confirms their still-unsolved last case together three years earlier – the disappearance of Jackie’s nine-year-old niece which may or may not be connected to Cefin’s death – left their working relationship damaged beyond repair. “Still no apology,” she queries in disbelief about a betrayal from the man she "trusted with my entire life". As the story patiently unfolds, it becomes clear both parties have other skeletons in their closet too. When not potentially tampering with official police business, Jackie is arranging clandestine meetings with tattooed bad boy Dylan (Harry Lawtey, worlds apart from his disillusioned posh boy in Industry) behind sheds like a naughty schoolgirl. Then there’s the fact she’s encouraged by various locals, including her dad, for “doing so well,” hinting at another problem from her past. Eric, on the other hand, is more of an enigma, although the hostile reception he receives from much of the tight-knit community (“You’ve already destroyed one family”) suggests he left on bad terms. The awkward conversations with slightly familiar face Gareth (Dino Fetscher), an environmental researcher whose knowledge of the area’s rising waters proves invaluable to the investigation, raises questions about his personal life too. Indeed, there’s much more to Under Salt Marsh than its murder. Like recent ITV returnee After the Flood, it reflects upon the small-town impact of climate change, whether Gareth’s attempts to evacuate the area (“you cannot win a war against water”) ahead of a great storm to the stubborn response from the long-time residents determined to stay put. There’s also a paternity dispute which very nearly leads to another tragedy. And while hardly a laugh-a-minute affair, it’s not entirely without a sense of humour either. On heading back to his pub lodgings in waterlogged clothes, Eric is only allowed access by his houseproud landlady when he strips to his vest and pants. Come for the whodunit, stay for the sight of Spall nearly auditioning for Magic Mike. Of course, Under Salt Marsh most compels when it focuses on its two possibly interlinked cases, drawing up an intriguing suspect list which includes everyone from the local conspiracy theorist to the mysterious beekeeper figure sketched by both ill-fated kids. Don’t expect obvious answers: the why, who and how is still as much of a mystery at the end of the second of the two episodes available for review as it is the lengthy cold open. Yet thanks to a first-class cast (Welsh royalty Jonathan Pryce also shows up as Cefin's grieving grandfather), some immersive, if resolutely desolate, cinematography and a script which allows the characters to feel entirely lived-in, you’ll remain hooked no matter your skills as an amateur armchair sleuth. It might not always look it, but the future of Cymru noir is bright. Read more: Where was Under Salt Marsh filmed? Who is in the cast of Under Salt Marsh? Under Salt Marsh's Jonathan Pryce explains why thriller is "much deeper" than your average murder mystery Slow Horses' Jonathan Pryce on returning to his Welsh roots with new drama: "I left it physically, but emotionally, I've never left" The first two episodes of Under Salt Marsh will premiere on Sky Atlantic and NOW on January 30th with a new episode following the next four Fridays. Add Under Salt Marsh to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Lynley review: '00s detective series gets a subtle reimagining
Leo Suter and Sofia Barclay make for watchable double act in second screen adaptation of Elizabeth George’s novels.
Although a modest prime-time hit in the 2000s, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries wouldn’t necessarily be at the top of most people’s reboot wish list. Even the 17,500 fans who petitioned the BBC for a seventh season may well have forgotten about its existence. But in the age where every IP gets at least a second bite at the cherry, along comes this new reimagining, first screened in the States on BritBox last summer but finally premiering this side of the pond on BBC One. Now known simply as Lynley, the four-part drama borrows from the same source material, the series of novels which regularly put Elizabeth George onto the New York Times’ bestseller list. But it also makes several changes, de-aging its two leads by about a decade, imbuing their characters with more modern sensibilities and minimising the gulf in their economic class. Instead of riding horses and playing cricket, for example, Inspector Lynley (Leo Suter) spends his downtime simply going for a run. His new-build bachelor pad complete with poorly stocked fridge, meanwhile, is hardly the stuff of aristocracy. However, the show still recognises that the pair’s relationship needs to be as intriguing as the mysteries they’re tasked with solving. As with any great mismatched buddy duo, Lynley and DS Barbara Havers (Sofia Barclay) don’t immediately hit it off. "My parents are big in the iron and steel industry," the latter declares while heading to the scene of their first crime in a mocking attempt to find common ground. "My mother irons and my father steals." The couple continue to butt heads as they delve into the suspicious death of the private island owner washed ashore in the show's cold open. Read more: New Lynley stars on honouring the past – and making the series their own Lynley star Leo Suter clarifies how new series is "updated" and "fresh" – and not a remake of classic drama Havers is left aghast when Lynley believes a Cambridge-educated suspect couldn’t possibly be responsible even when blood-spattered evidence suggests otherwise. "She doesn’t seem the sort, she seems smart," he reasons, suggesting that you can take the man out of privilege but you can’t take the privilege out of the man. "Do you really think posh people don’t commit murder?," she asks incredulously. As you’d expect, the pair inevitably, if still somewhat begrudgingly, start to develop a mutual respect and a more harmonious partnership, combining their respective sleuthing skills to neatly crack each case in the space of 90 minutes – and thankfully, writer Steve Thompson (Doctor Who) has avoided the temptation to make their professional relationship a romantic one. As with the original’s pairing of Nathaniel Parker and Sharon Small, there isn’t even a hint of unfulfilled lust in the air, a refreshing approach for a genre which often seems to believe that platonic friendships simply don’t exist. That’s not to say that Suter and Barclay, last seen in randomly cast festive movie Christmas Karma and hot mathematician thriller Prime Target, respectively, don’t share a winning chemistry. Their yin-yang, with Suter's Lynley opting for the measured English gentleman approach while Barclay's Havers is a bull in a china shop, is undoubtedly the glue that holds the unlikely comeback together. But, this doesn't stop them from being appealing characters in their own right. Often immaculately dressed in a tweed coat which no doubt cost more than his partner’s entire wardrobe and driving the kind of vintage car (a 70s Jensen interceptor to be precise) that would make Jeremy Clarkson drool, Lynley brings a suaveness often missing from the modern whodunit. Havers, meanwhile, is less socially awkward than her predecessor, instead bringing an added tenacity which her male colleagues inevitably dismiss as pure insubordination. "Good luck with that one," Lynley is warned by one of the umpteen former partners who Havers has left running for the hills. While the show never really explores its police force’s gender disparity as instinctively as its class, it does pose several questions. Would a man be given a similar final warning simply for clashing personalities, for instance? <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/07/Daniel-Mays-as-DCI-Brian-Nies-Leo-Suter-as-DI-Tommy-Lynley-and-Sofia-Barclay-as-DS-Barbara-Havers-1-3cdbb2c.jpg" width="6000" height="4000" alt="Daniel Mays as DCI Brian Nies, Leo Suter as DI Tommy Lynley and Sofia Barclay as DS Barbara Havers in Lynley, in an officer. Lynley is sat on a desk and the others and stood either side of him." title="Daniel Mays as DCI Brian Nies, Leo Suter as DI Tommy Lynley and Sofia Barclay as DS Barbara Havers 1" /> The first episode undoubtedly does a solid job reintroducing its central duo, their contrasting family lives (Lynley appears estranged from his, Havers still lives with hers) only deepening the differences in their situations. And they’re supported well by a cast that includes Daniel Mays – fast becoming TV’s go-to police presence (see Line of Duty, Des, Code 404) – as Lynley’s arch rival superior Nies, Joshua Sher as forensic scientist Simon and Michael Workéyè as tech genius Tony. Furthermore, its knotty mystery, in which everyone from the victim’s money-grabbing son, mild-mannered housekeeper and adulterous daughter-in-law are deemed possible suspects, drops enough red herrings and curveballs to make the reveal a genuine surprise, particularly when a literal hand grenade is thrown in for good measure. However, it’s the arrival of Lynley’s former squeeze Helen (Niamh Walsh) in the second instalment which truly sets the personal wheels in motion, as the inspector tries to disguise his feelings whilst Havers tries her best to draw them out. The fourth and final episode, meanwhile, ups the ante with a storyline involving everything from drug gangs to stigmata, allowing Suter to reprise his action heroics in Vikings with an exciting warehouse chase. Admittedly, Lynley doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel. As is the norm for the modern crime drama, you’re never more than a few minutes away from a rugged landscape, the copious moody shots of windswept marshland making the Norfolk coast appear more desolate than an Outer Mongolian winter. The guilty parties also always end up confessing, no matter how circumstantial the case against them. And while it occasionally touches upon adult themes, there’s still a familiar cosiness which suggests it should be occupying Call the Midwife’s pre-watershed Sunday evening slot instead. Of course, Lynley’s return to the schedules, no matter where, remains something of a mystery in itself. But its refreshingly straight-forward storytelling and abundance of old-school charm should help reel in both a new generation and those who vaguely remember the original. View Green Video on the source website Lynley will premiere on BBC One and iPlayer on Monday 5th January at 8:30pm. Add Lynley to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
I Fought the Law true story: What happened to William Dunlop?
From Julie Hogg’s initial disappearance to William Dunlop’s eventual conviction, a look at the real events dramatised to powerful effect in ITV’s latest must-watch.
Following the 1989 murder of Julie Hogg and her mother's fight for justice, I Fought the Law is one of the most gripping shows of 2025 so far. Starring Sheridan Smith as Ann Ming, a mother-of-three from Billingham, County Durham, the ITV crime drama follows Ming's 15-year battle to change Britain's 800-year-old double jeopardy law to put her ensure her daughter's killer saw justice. The show is based on Ming's own memoir, For the Love of Julie, and was produced with her input, straying from the truth far less than many other similar stories. So, here's the full true story of I Fought the Law. I Fought the Law true story: What happened to William Dunlop? After struggling to get hold of Julie one morning in November 1989 (and learning that she’d missed a court hearing in which she was set to apply for a leave of separation from estranged husband Andrew), Ann reported her as a missing person. Initially believing that she’d simply left of her own accord, even putting forward the theory she’d abandoned her young son Kevin to move to London, police took several days to properly investigate further. Despite spending nearly a week searching Julie’s house, they failed to find any evidence of her whereabouts and the case ultimately went cold. Eighty days after she disappeared, Andrew decided to return to the family home where he discovered a strange odour. Thanks to her medical background, Ann instantly recognised the smell and on removing a bath panel, made the horrifying discovery of her daughter’s naked body wrapped in a blanket. A post-mortem concluded that she’d been sexually assaulted and strangled. Who was William Dunlop? After ruling out Andrew, police honed in on and later charged William Dunlop, a builder’s labourer who’d been visiting a friend that lived next door to Julie on the night she disappeared: he’d also violently assaulted a man while at a rugby club just hours beforehand. The prosecution argued that Dunlop, who’d allegedly had previous relations with the victim, had called in with the hope of having sex. But when she spurned his advances, he subjected her to a “premeditated and truly horrendous” attack. Despite what Ann believed to be an overwhelming amount of evidence linking him to the crime, including the fact that Julie’s house keys were found under his floorboards, a jury failed to reach a majority verdict in Dunlop’s first 1991 trial. And the Mings’ anguish was compounded later that same year when the same prosecution team failed to convince another jury of his guilt, resulting in his acquittal. What happened next? Dunlop was, however, convicted of another crime in 1997 – stabbing his pregnant girlfriend with a toaster fork and beating up her lover – and sentenced to seven years in jail. While incarcerated, he confessed to a prison officer that he’d been responsible for Julie’s murder. “She just started taking the mickey out of me and ridiculing me because I had a black eye and my eye was split open,” he later said in a taped police interview. “I just lost it and got up and strangled her.” Dunlop, who had a history of violence, believed that he was protected by double jeopardy, an 800-year-old British law which prevented anyone from being tried for the same offence twice. But he underestimated a grieving mother, who’d been awarded £20,000 in damages from the Cleveland police force for its handling of the case, determined to seek justice for her beloved daughter. How was justice eventually served? Although he was convicted of perjury thanks to a recording of his confession in 2003, Dunlop wasn’t able to be tried for the actual murder until a change in the double jeopardy law was made in 2005. After pleading guilty to killing Julie, he was given a life sentence and ordered to serve at least 17 more years behind bars. How did Ann Ming change the law? Of course, having taken on the Crown Prosecution Service, met with then-Home Secretary Jack Straw, and given an impassioned speech at the House of Lords, Ann was hugely instrumental in the amendment. "A lot of people did think I had a team of lawyers doing it on my behalf and this wasn't the case,” she recently explained to the BBC. Ann’s tireless efforts have also resulted in at least a dozen other convictions, including one of the men responsible for the killing of Stephen Lawrence. Where is William Dunlop now? In 2025, Dunlop was denied the opportunity to move to an open prison despite a Parole Board recommendation assessing him as “presenting a low risk of absconding”. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood was responsible for the blocking with a spokesperson stating: “Public protection is our number one priority.” During his hearing, Dunlop had admitted to being a “violent, hideous, uncaring person” likely to have committed similar horrific offences had he not been imprisoned. But he also claimed that he was now a changed man who was deeply regretful of his past. The Ming family revealed they were “elated” at the decision and thanked Mahmood for putting “victims at the heart of the system”. Where is Ann Ming now? In 2007, Ann was awarded an MBE for her services to the criminal justice system. Sadly, her husband Charles Ming, who’d been by her side throughout her quest to overturn the law, died in 2013 having suffered from Parkinson’s and dementia for many years. Despite soon turning 80, Ann has insisted she’ll continue to do what she can to ensure Dunlop never gets released, telling the BBC: "I wouldn't want him to put another family through what he has put us through." Read more: I Fought the Law’s Sheridan Smith “couldn’t stop hugging” real-life subject Ann Ming: “I am completely in awe” All four episodes of I Fought the Law are available to stream on ITVX from Sunday 31st August – check out our Drama hub for all the latest news. If you’re looking for something to watch tonight, check out our TV Guide. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
I Fought the Law review: Sheridan Smith justifies ubiquity in heart-rending true crime adaptation
The TV favourite once again delivers as a bereaved mum who while seeking justice for her murdered daughter ultimately changed the history of British law.
There's a well-worn social media joke which casts Sheridan Smith whenever a news story appears ripe for a prime-time dramatisation. After all, she’s previously taken on real-life figures in The C Word, The Moorside, Four Lives, Mrs Biggs and, of course, Cilla just to name a few. However, her latest portrayal in harrowing true crime drama I Fought the Law explains exactly why she’s become the go-to star. It’s unlikely that ‘Grieving mother attempting to amend a British law that’s been in place since the Magna Carta’ has ever been suggested by the Twitterati as a future role. As ever, though, it’s one she commits to with aplomb. In fact, in a career packed full of awards-worthy performances, it might be her most impressive yet. Smith plays Ann Ming, an NHS nurse whose life is shattered one morning in November 1989 when her 22-year-old daughter Julie (Victoria Wyant) goes missing in their North East hometown of Billingham. Frustrated by the slow response of the cops who seem convinced it’s a simple runaway case, she essentially becomes the leading detective, chasing up every potential lead over the course of 80 agonising days. Almost unrecognisable in a wig that gets greyer the longer Ann is suffering, Smith convincingly runs the gamut of emotions throughout an ominous first episode which nestles in the pit of your stomach: the initial sheer panic that something is amiss, knowing her daughter would never leave her young son without warning; the gradual resignation she’s unlikely to ever come back; and in an utterly devastating closing scene, the unimaginable horror that comes with discovering her body. Her uncontrollable howls of pain will stay with you long after the credits have rolled. Unsurprisingly, Smith is equally compelling once the four-parter evolves into a quest for justice. “We want to know what you’re actually doing,” she chastises the police force, who’d handled the case so ineptly they were later forced to pay damages. “From here it looks like you’re sitting with your thumb up your arse.” Ann is just as no-nonsense at Julie’s funeral, promising mourners that “We’ll get the b*****d that killed her” in the first of many from-the-heart speeches that pack a punch. I Fought the Law doesn’t waste any time in revealing the culprit. After all, this isn’t a murder-mystery, but an insight into the confounding machinations of British law and one woman’s determination to change it. Indeed, a builder’s labourer named William Dunlop (Jack James Ryan), reportedly known to the victim, is taken into custody soon after and subsequently charged with homicide. Of course, getting a conviction proves to be a task more mountainous than anyone could possibly have imagined. Despite a whole host of incriminating evidence linking him to the crime – including a DNA match one officer claims will “110 per cent” prove his guilt – not just one but two juries fail to reach a majority verdict, resulting in a mistrial and, much to the Ming family’s disgust, complete acquittal, respectively. But with two episodes still to go, this isn’t the end of the story. A confession made while serving time for assaulting his pregnant girlfriend both puts Dunlop and the law of double jeopardy back in the spotlight, the latter an 800-year-old rule which states that no individual can be tried for the same offence twice. And it’s here where I Fought the Law truly starts living up to its title as Ann begins trying to overturn the historic protection. “As long as there’s breath in my lungs, I’m not going to stop fighting for my daughter,” she declares during a legal pursuit which includes a meeting with then-Home Secretary Jack Straw and a tense televised interview with solicitor Imran Khan. Most courageously, she even addresses the House of Lords without any notes. “I may not be hoity-toity like you, but I know what I want to say,” comes the rebuttal after an official wrongly advises her this might not be the best approach. Taking Ann's own memoir For the Love of Julie as inspiration, writer Jamie Crichton ensures the drama doesn’t get too bogged down in the small print. There’s a welcome bit of light relief as Ann takes up line dancing to help take her mind off her ordeal, while a late ‘70s flashback, in which a racist neighbour brazenly petitions for her husband Charlie (Daniel York Loh) to “Go home,” provides a little more context to her family life. Yet, the show is at its most awe-inspiring when, like ITV’s biggest hit of 2024 Mr Bates vs. The Post Office, it celebrates the strength of people power, (or in this case, person power). Ann might already have an MBE to her name, but I Fought the Law is the kind of public service broadcasting that should deservedly elevate her to the status of national hero. And Smith, who having drawn upon her own personal tragedies has described her depiction as “the hardest job I’ve ever done”, is undoubtedly pivotal to its impact. “They couldn’t have picked anybody better,” the real Ann recently claimed about the woman tasked with embodying her remarkable character. “She is really the best actress.” Having delivered yet another tour-de-force turn in another vital must-watch, it’s hard to disagree. Read more: I Fought the Law’s Sheridan Smith “couldn’t stop hugging” real-life subject Ann Ming: “I am completely in awe” All four episodes of I Fought the Law are available to stream on ITVX from Sunday 31st August – check out our Drama hub for all the latest news. If you’re looking for something to watch tonight, check out our TV Guide. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox doesn't need to exist
Reenacting one of the most infamous murder cases of the 21st century, this eight-part Disney+ series spends too much time on the minutiae and not enough on the victim.
"I wasn't interested in having yet another person's voice telling the worst experience of my life for who knows what reason," executive producer Amanda Knox recently said about new Disney+ drama The Twisted Tale, a retelling of how — alongside then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito — she was wrongly convicted for the murder of fellow exchange student Meredith Kercher in a case that gripped the world. Fair enough, you may first think. After all, she was portrayed by Hayden Panettiere in trashy Lifetime TV movie Murder on Trial while still holed up in an Italian prison cell. And since her first acquittal, esteemed directors Michael Winterbottom (The Face of an Angel) and Tom McCarthy (Stillwater) have both made films inspired by her case without her consent. However, Knox’s point is slightly undermined by the fact she’s also been able to directly tell her story on several occasions too. In 2013, she sat down with Diane Sawyer for a prime-time ABC News special. She talked directly to the camera in 2016’s eponymous documentary, an Emmy-nominated Netflix original which arrived during the burgeoning true crime boom. And she was reportedly paid $4 million for her first memoir Waiting to Be Heard in 2012, with a follow-up, Free: My Search for Meaning, published earlier this year. Of course, no one can begrudge Knox for going on the media offensive to further clear her name. As she acknowledges herself in the co-penned finale, there are still sceptics who believe she’s guilty, no doubt swayed by the media vilification in which she was famously dubbed "Foxy Knoxy". And having spent four years locked up for a crime she didn’t commit, and a further four years before she was officially exonerated, no one can begrudge her any financial rewards either. But an attempt to dramatise her ordeal for the prestige TV age feels like one rehabilitative step too far. "This continuous stirring is a demonstration of a lack of sensitivity," noted the Kercher family’s lawyer Francesco Maresca following the show’s announcement last year. And it’s hard to disagree. For one thing, it commits the cardinal sin of relegating the woman who lost her life to little more than a minor footnote. Read more: Why Disney’s Amanda Knox drama series is one of the only ways to provide its subject with vindication Played by Rhianne Barreto, Kercher briefly appears in just one Knox-narrated montage before her demise starts to unfold barely 10 minutes in. And the occasional flashback – giddily applying some temporary tattoos, smoking at a gathering which chillingly includes her future killer – fails to explore her character beyond surface level. Perhaps more unforgivably, The Twisted Tale appears to revel in the circumstances of Kercher’s death. The opening episode spends an interminably long time teasing the discovery of her body, heavily focusing on everything from unanswered phone calls to bathroom bloodstains to unnecessarily heighten the tension, as if we were watching the latest glossy all-star whodunnit rather than an all-too-real tragedy. It’s a TMI approach which doesn’t exactly dispel the concerns that this is exploitation masquerading as entertainment. You can still sympathise with Knox’s plight while also recognising the show is inflicting yet more trauma on the Kerchers too. ("Our family has been through so much and it is difficult to understand how this serves any purpose," Meredith’s sister Stephanie has stated, not unreasonably.) <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/08/Disney-Amanda-Knox-fc71730.png" width="1569" height="1046" alt="A tense courtroom scene with a young woman in a striped sweater sitting at a desk and speaking into a microphone, looking distressed. Beside her, a man in a black judicial robe and white collar stands holding papers, appearing to address the court. Behind them, lawyers, guards in blue berets, and members of the public sit and observe attentively." title="Amanda Knox" /> Indeed, the usual concern about adapting such widely-known recent history is that it will tell us plenty we already know. With eight nearly hour-long episodes to fill, however, the main problem here is that it tells us too much we didn’t need to (beware several discussions on the etiquette of toilet flushing). The complicated legal processes, multiple trials and machinations of Knox’s family life are all pored over at a glacial pace, ultimately meaning it’s difficult to pay attention to the facts which really do matter. Even the prosecutor hellbent on putting Knox behind bars gets a childhood backstory. Had a little more judicious editing been applied, then it may have worked as a compelling drama at the very least. The Twisted Tale isn’t entirely without merit. Grace Van Patten, a late replacement for Margaret Qualley, may well pick up awards attention for a measured performance which nails Knox’s initial mix of confusion, grief and dangerous lack of self-awareness. She’s particularly captivating during the horrifying interrogation scenes that, largely due to numerous cross-cultural misunderstandings, saw her quickly spiral from star witness to prime suspect. It’s a nightmarish depiction which both exposes the failings of the Italian justice system and the overwhelming pressures placed on a suspect who back in her Seattle hometown, let’s not forget, wasn’t legally old enough to drink. Furthermore, the show does gather a little more momentum once Knox is freed as she attempts to rebuild relationships with her devoted mom (Sharon Horgan, also impressive albeit struggling to hide her Irish accent) and stern dad (John Hoogenakker), get to grips with everyday life and, somewhat unfathomably, return to Italy to make amends with the man responsible for driving her incarceration. Nonetheless, it arguably takes until the final scene for the show to truly acknowledge there was another victim. "It was fate that meant Meredith was home that night and I wasn’t, I was the lucky one," Knox reflects on revisiting their shared Perugia apartment while replaying her happiest memories of Kercher. "Some people will always define her by me and me by her. But the truth is we were just two girls at the start of our lives." It’s a poignant tribute, for sure, but one that could have been delivered without once again drawing attention to her harrowing end. The first two episodes of The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox are available to stream on Disney+ from 20th August with a new episode then dropping each Wednesday. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast. 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The Survivors ending explained: How did Gabby and Bronte die?
Netflix’s stormy murder-mystery wraps up with a wave of shocking revelations and home truths.
Following on from Amazon’s underrated Deadloch, Netflix original The Survivors is the latest Aussie drama to make small-town Tasmania the centre of a gripping murder-mystery. Adapted from Jane Harper’s 2020 novel of the same name, the six-part series takes place in the fictional Evelyn Bay, a community still reeling from a severe storm that claimed three lives 15 years previously. And it faces further heartache when a young outsider investigating the tragedy is found dead on its shoreline. So was the extreme weather entirely to blame? And why does a borrowed torch prove to be its Chekhov’s gun? Here’s a look at what went down in the compelling final episode. ‘Were we so wrong about our sons?’ Following the revelation that underage Gabby (Eloise Rothfield) was on the same boat the same night they all lost their lives in the storm, local heroes Finn and Toby start The Survivors’ finale as potential villains. Even Kieran (Charlie Vickers), the brother they died trying to save in the treacherous caves, is coming round to the idea that their reputation may be undeserved. Mother Verity (Robyn Malcolm), however, is initially having none of it. “You seem remarkably determined to implicate your brother in something awful,” she barks during a heated family argument, which leads to another shocking home truth. On chastising him for moving to Sydney soon after the tragedy, Kieran drops the bombshell that he did so on the advice of his now-Alzheimer's afflicted dad Brian (Damien Garvey). “He told me that I had to get away from you. If I didn’t, you’d destroy me,” he says, referring to how she continually blamed him for Finn’s death. During a visit to Toby’s father Julian (Martin Sacks), Verity starts to wonder, “Were we so wrong about our sons?” She’s soon reassured that Gabby didn’t die on the boat and that both Finn and Toby are entirely innocent. When asked how he can be so certain, the show settles one of its two big mysteries. What really happened to Gabby? In a flashback to that fateful day 15 years ago, Gabby is shown looking for Kieran at the harbour before bumping into Toby’s brother Sean (Thom Green) who then offers to take her to him in his family’s boat. When they get to the caves, however, Kieran is nowhere to be seen. Seizing his opportunity, Sean goes in for a kiss. But when he’s rejected, his toxic masculinity surfaces with deadly results. More concerned about the mockery he’d receive from friends Kieran and Ash (George Mason) than Gabby’s survival, Sean swims away, essentially leaving her for dead. Unfamiliar with her cave surroundings, Gabby is unable to navigate her way to safety and as the tide rises, she tragically drowns. Sean soon confesses all to his dad. But having just lost his eldest son in the storm, Julian is determined not to lose his youngest too and so, as he now admits to a stunned Verity, tells him to take his secret to his grave. This isn’t the last time, however, that Sean gets himself into such trouble. What really happened to Bronte? After recovered CCTV footage shows him getting into an argument with Bronte (Shannon Berry) the night she was murdered, Julian starts the episode as chief suspect. Could he have silenced the amateur sleuth after she got a little too close to the truth? George (Don Hany), the creepy teacher who was #MeToo’d by a former student, also comes under suspicion when a photo on Bronte’s phone confirms him to be her stalker. However, having been in bed with another girl at the time, he has a cast iron alibi. The real culprit emerges during Kieran and Sean’s investigative journey to the caves. Recognising he’s holding the torch he’d seen Bronte carrying the day of her death, the former asks the latter how he got his hands on it. In another flashback, we see Sean knocking on Bronte’s door to retrieve the torch and then joining her for a beachside walk which quickly turns from amiable to violent. Indeed, on seeing the student’s recent shots of the caves – and specifically the traditional name carving which proved Gabby didn’t die on the boat – Sean starts to panic about what exactly Bronte knows. “The way she looked at me like I was worthless,” Sean tells Kieran, trying to justify how he then punched her head so hard she suffered fatal blunt force trauma. On realising he was now essentially a serial killer, the coward fled the scene just as a confused Brian was on his nighttime walk: the latter’s efforts to resuscitate Bronte explain why cops found his DNA on her body and his disturbing visions of the incident too. Did Kieran make it out alive? Not only does Kieran have to deal with the fact his longtime friend was responsible for both Gabby and Bronte’s deaths, he also becomes aware that he framed his ailing dad too. Yes, in order to throw cops off the scent, Sean labelled Brian a ‘perv’ in a very public graffiti display and did nothing when he was thrown into jail too. If that wasn’t enough, Kieran very nearly becomes Sean’s third victim when the pair get into a scuffle in the waterlogged caves. Indeed, he looks to be a goner when he’s hit on the head with a rock. And he’s nowhere to be seen when Sean emerges on dry land just in time for the police, who by this point had discovered crucial DNA linking him to Bronte’s death, to take him into custody. However, much to the relief of his waiting mother, a bloodied Kieran eventually staggers into view. The aftermath Sean is held further bang to rights when Bronte’s laptop is found buried at his home and Gabby’s skull is found in the caves, and he eventually confesses all. Meanwhile, Kieran decides to try and continue repairing his relationships with his parents: instead of heading back to Sydney, he, wife Mia (Yerin Ha) and their young daughter Audrey will stay in Evelyn Bay for the foreseeable. The Survivors lets Bronte have the last word, however, with footage from the true crime project she was working on before her death. “This town is full of ghosts,” she says from beyond the grave before signing off with what proved to be a heartbreaking display of optimism: “I’m really going to miss this place... I’m just really excited for what’s next.” All six episodes of The Survivors are now available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Code of Silence ending explained: What happened to Alison and Liam?
The ITVX crime drama wrapped things up with a final helping of double crossing, comeuppances and star-crossed romance.
**Warning: This article contains full spoilers for Code of Silence episode 6, which is available now on ITVX.** It’s fast becoming the year of Rose Ayling-Ellis. Following her heartwarming documentary Old Hands New Tricks, guest appearance in Doctor Who and turn in the BBC’s acclaimed crime drama Reunion, the Strictly Come Dancing winner took centre stage in ITVX’s Code of Silence playing Alison Brooks, a Deaf police canteen worker whose invaluable lip-reading skills sees her fast-tracked to the crime surveillance unit and eventually a dangerous undercover operation. So what happened with the jewellery heist she was appointed to foil? And did she run off into the sunset with the badboy she got a little too close to? Here’s a look at what went down in the compelling final episode. Code of Silence ending explained Did Ben survive the shooting? In the previous episode, Alison realises that the youngest member of the jewel thieving gang – and potential love of her life – Liam (Kieron Moore) has figured out she’s a police informant by hacking her hearing aid. She also realises she’s been deliberately thrown off the scent and that the heist isn’t being carried out at the ultra-secure vault but at the swanky country hotel where they’d just consummated their relationship. Unfortunately, Alison’s habit of defying orders from above leads to tragedy. Ignoring the calls to stay outside until help arrives, she wanders into the venue at the exact moment Liam is hurrying to recover the £5 million necklace from the laundry chute and the gun-brandishing crook he’s hoodwinked (Joe Absolom’s Braden) starts getting trigger-happy on the staircase. In the confusion, an unnamed bodyguard is killed and DC Ben (Nathan Armarkwei Laryea) is shot. Despite Alison’s pleas, Liam continues with his mission and we see him driving into the night with the jewellery by his side. Luckily, after a touch-and-go period, Ben survives the shooting. Unsurprisingly, his other half isn’t happy to see Alison pay him a visit, admonishing her in the hospital corridor for getting in too deep and for putting her loved one’s life at risk. Of course, this still doesn’t deter Alison from playing against the rules. The reunion While staying at the safe house she and her mum have been placed in, Alison receives an unexpected Chinese food order concealing a burner phone with the message ‘same place as last time’. Instantly recognising what this means, she gives police protection the slip and heads to an underground car park where she’s reunited with Liam. After blaming each other for their respective deceptions, Liam tries to convince Alison to become the Bonnie to his Clyde and flee for a new beginning in Brazil. But unwilling to spend her entire life on the run, she politely declines and they go their separate ways. But not for long. Indeed, while returning to the pub she worked at to get more intel, Alison is kidnapped by a maniacal Braden who then FaceTimes Liam with an ultimatum: return the jewels he’d taken entirely for himself or his girlfriend is mincemeat. What was Liam’s motive? At the same time, DI Marsh (Andrew Buchan) has been busy trying to discover Liam’s identity and what caused him to go rogue. An earlier chat with Alison appeared to confirm that Liam Barlow was, in fact, Liam Gray, the beloved foster son of a man who’d been killed by the gang in an earlier robbery. Although the shooter had been caught and incarcerated, Liam wanted his partners in crime Braden and Helen (Beth Goddard) to pay too. He used his IT skills to worm his way into one of their earlier ransomware attacks (and helped send another accomplice down in the process) and having gained their trust, he was tasked with playing an even more important role in their next dastardly scheme. “Money is the only thing Helen and Braden care about,” he explains to Alison. “That was the only way to hurt them.” Property developer Helen had denied all knowledge about the heist when questioned by Marsh and DI Francis (Charlotte Ritchie), claiming she only knew Braden as an associate of her ex-husband’s she’d rejected a business offer from. But she’s soon held bang to rights thanks to a final display of craftiness from the gang’s ultimate traitor. The final showdown Liam proves he’s not so bad after all when he arranges for Helen to drive him to the warehouse to exchange the jewels for Alison’s life. Surprisingly, Braden sticks to his side of the deal. However, he does then decide to execute her love interest in cold blood instead. But just before he can pull the trigger, the armed police who Liam had tipped off burst through the doors. Having incriminated themselves in all kinds of nefarious activity beforehand, Braden and Helen are both left facing long stretches. Their acquaintance Holhurst (Andrew Scarborough) is also later revealed to have been hit with a charge of money laundering. But what about the star-crossed lovers? Well, two months on, we see Liam pleading guilty to conspiracy to robbery. Alison’s presence in the courtroom suggests she might be prepared to wait for him until his release. But in the meantime, she has a new home with her mum to settle into, a £50,000 reward for her efforts to play with and, thanks to some encouragement from Marsh, a potential full-time career as a forensic lip reader to pursue. A second season surely awaits..? All six episodes of Code of Silence are now available to stream on ITVX – check out our Drama hub for all the latest news. If you’re looking for something to watch tonight, check out our TV Guide.
Secrets We Keep ending explained: What happened to the missing au pair?
Netflix’s latest Scandi original keeps its cards close to its chest in a compelling yet open-ended finale.
This article contains references to sexual assault which some readers may find distressing. Brought to the screen by a team whose previous credits include the TV adaptation of Hanna, the original Speak No Evil, and acclaimed Nordic noir Borgen, Netflix’s Secrets We Keep was always likely to provide plenty of twists and turns. And the Danish six-part drama – which centres around the mysterious disappearance of an au pair in an affluent neighbourhood – certainly didn’t disappoint. At the time of writing, the series sits at number three on Netflix UK's top 10, with viewers finding themselves hooked by the compelling performances from Marie Bach Hansen (The Legacy) and Danica Curcic (The Kingdom), among others. If you recently reached the end of Netflix's Secrets We Keep need a full recap on that eventful conclusion, read on for everything that went down in the gripping finale. What happened to Ruby? In the show’s previous episode, we learn that the dead body found floating in the marina was indeed poor Ruby (Donna Levkovski), the Filipino au pair whose disappearance had sparked a wave of finger-pointing within the wealthiest part of Copenhagen. A DNA test proved that chief suspect Mike (Simon Sears) wasn’t the father of her unborn child (and therefore unlikely to be responsible for her death too). But a new prime suspect emerged in the shape of Oscar (Frode Bilde Rønsholt), the teenage delinquent Ruby had been employed to help look after, following his threat to next-door-neighbour Viggo (Lukas Zaperka) not to expose an incriminating video. His involvement is confirmed early in the sixth episode, thanks to another paternity test which proves to be much more conclusive. Indeed, shady businessman Rasmus (Lars Ranthe) also took one in a bid to prove his innocence and prevent further harm to his reputation. It’s a move which backfires, though, when he’s revealed to be a partial match, meaning that the only possible culprit is his own son, Oscar. The latter essentially admits to raping Ruby in a quietly menacing confrontation with leading lady Cecilie (Marie Bach Hansen) in her kitchen. “She’s hired to like me,” comes his disturbing justification, which, like recent Netflix phenomenon Adolescence, appears to highlight the damaging influence of incel culture. How do Oscar's parents react? As you’d expect from a family of immense privilege, the Hoffmanns refuse to accept any liability for Ruby’s pregnancy and her unexplained demise, lawyering up immediately with Cecilie’s husband Mike, a man who’d also been convicted of rape in his teens. In fact, they hatch a despicable plan to frame the victim as the offender, putting forward the argument that Ruby was a sexual predator who took advantage of a minor. Rasmus also lashes out at wife Katarina (Danica Curcic) for failing to spot Oscar’s descent into depravity. “You had one job,” he barks at her, before revealing he’s sending their son away to an elite boarding school. Further proving how out of touch they are with reality, the couple still decide to attend Ruby’s funeral, although unsurprisingly, they’re soon sent packing by the grieving community of au pairs. What happened to Angel? Ruby’s closest confidante and fellow au pair Angel (Excel Busano) is understandably left bereft by the tragedy. And her situation becomes even more despairing when she’s made surplus to requirements. In a particularly tense exit interview, Cecile initially tells Angel that she simply wants to spend more time with her son. But the truth eventually comes out that her somewhat inappropriate closeness with tween Viggo – the pair often shared a bed together, while she also accepted a large sum of money from him – has given cause for concern. Angel lashes out, arguing that she’s being unfairly punished for Oscar’s crimes. But Cecilie, who also took umbrage with the fact Angel lied about being childless, stands firm. Was Oscar the only guilty party? With Mike and Cecilie believing that Viggo isn’t strong enough to testify that he saw the video of the rape, the Hoffmanns look to have got away with the cover-up. But for some reason, Kat then gleefully implicates herself in a closing conversation with Cecilie. Indeed, after Oscar informs her that Ruby had a blazing row with his mum on the night she disappeared, contradicting the accepted version of events, Cecilie challenges Kat at his goodbye party. When asked whether she’d already known about the rape, the latter refuses to answer either way. But when talk turns to Ruby’s death and whether she had any involvement, Kat chillingly replies, “What if I did?” She then adds further fuel to the fire by remarking how men “think everything sorts itself out,” suggesting that she may have killed Ruby without Rasmus’ knowledge. Was Kat simply toying with the woman who, over the course of the drama, had turned from her best friend to her nemesis? Did the deeply religious Ruby, distraught over her predicament and the terrible advice she received from her priest about it, simply believe that the only option was suicide? Or did one, or several of the Hoffmans, really add homicide to their list of crimes? Interestingly, and with perhaps a second season in mind, Secrets We Keep prefers to keep viewers guessing. All six episodes of Secrets We Keep are now available to stream on Netflix – check out our Drama hub for all the latest news. If you’re looking for something to watch tonight, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Good American Family ending explained: What happened after the TV show?
Events that unfolded once cameras stopped rolling means the true crime adaptation doesn’t tell the whole story.
Good American Family dramatises the bizarre tale of the Barnett family who adopted Natalia Grace, a Ukrainian-American child with dwarfism – only to later accuse her of lying about her identity. The eight-part series is first told from the perspective of Kristine and Michael Barnett, the couple who adopted Grace back in 2010 and who are played by Ellen Pompeo and Mark Duplass, before switching to the point of view of Grace (played by Imogen Faith Reid). Now that the series is out in full and the final episode has now aired, many have been left to consider the framing of the story and perhaps, their own biases – something series creator Katie Robbins had revealed as being her goal to The Hollywood Reporter. She said: “We start the story in Kristine and Michael Barnett’s version of events and that slowly starts to shift over time, and we’re led to question if our understanding of what we’ve been seeing the whole time is actually what happened. “Doing so allows audiences to grapple with their own biases in unexpected ways.” Co-showrunner Sarah Sutherland also said of the show: “It is not a niche topic. It’s so rare in this day and age for people to change their perspectives on something and to admit their own biases. “Our hope is that the show helps to normalize that type of admission, even if just for a few people.” But what happened in the series, and what did it omit? Read on for a full breakdown of the ending of Good American Family, plus what was missed out from the real-life case. Good American Family ending explained: What happens in the TV show? The build-up to the trial “I want justice,” Natalia (Imogen Faith Reid, impressive in a hugely challenging role) tells TV's Dr Phil in an opening scene recreation of the real-life interview that propelled her remarkable story into the national consciousness. “I want the Barnetts to do their time.” As her former adoptive parents revisit the footage with their lawyers three years on, there appears to be a good chance she’ll get her wish. Indeed, already monsters in the court of public opinion, Kristine (Ellen Pompeo) and Michael (Mark Duplass) receive another hammer blow when not one person comes forward to be a witness for their defences: in revealing video interviews, the likes of Natalia’s school doctor and previous adoptive mum all insist that she was never the sociopathic demon child they purported. “I wish she’d held me up until I fried,” Kristine claims on watching all her character assassinations, referring to the alleged moment Natalia pushed her against an electric fence. “This is so much worse.” In a performance that’s poles apart from her compassionate medic on Grey’s Anatomy, Pompeo plays the mom to perfection. And Kristine faces another setback when thousands of incriminating Facebook messages also briefly come into play. The now-divorced Barnetts, however, are thrown a lifeline when the prosecution is barred from mentioning any evidence relating to Natalia’s age: an earlier superior court ruling meant that in the eyes of the law, she was an adult at the time of the alleged neglect. Of course, they both still face charges – separately – relating to Natalia’s disability. But Michael is also offered one almighty get-out clause. If he testifies against his ex-wife, he’ll be granted immunity from prosecution. That would appear to be a no-brainer considering he spends much of his time placing the blame squarely at her feet. Yet Kristine draws upon her skills to ensure that she isn’t thrown under the bus and Michael takes his chances in court. The verdict Luckily for Michael, spousal privilege means that the Facebook messages can’t be used in evidence. And as shown in a courtroom montage, any talk of Natalia being a minor is immediately shut down with “objection”. His gamble, therefore, pays off when after just two hours of jury deliberation, he’s acquitted of all charges. Understandably distraught, Natalia initially lashes out at her new guardian Cynthia Mans (Christina Hendricks) for putting her through all the courtroom drama. “You act like you believe in me, but this is all you think I am, a project to feel better about yourself.” And her devastation is only compounded a few months later when just three weeks before her own trial is due to start, all charges against Kristine are dismissed. The aftermath Kristine’s jubilance at escaping any form of punishment quickly subsides when she sees the negative social media response. And she’s soon brandishing her previously loyal best friend a “Judas” when she starts to express doubts about her version of events. Even her own son Jacob (Aaron Potter), the only member of the Barnett family to offer Natalia an apology for how she was treated, starts to turn against her, drawing parallels with how he said he was dismissed on being diagnosed with autism as a child. As for Michael, well, he’s still playing the victim himself. “I was a kid – you were supposed to be my dad,” Natalia tells him during a long overdue heart-to-heart. “I just didn’t have the strength,” comes the feeble reply. “Hurt people hurt people,” he later adds, continuing to argue that he was under Kristine’s control throughout. The show appears to be under a similar mindset, as anyone who’s watched the true crime series will know that Good American Family portrays Michael far more sympathetically than its documentary counterpart. The drama appears to offer some semblance of hope when on returning to her new adoptive home, Natalia discovers that the online world is hailing her as a heroine. One end credits title card also reveals that the birthdate in her passport has been officially restored to September 2003, meaning it’s now legally recognised that she really was only eight when left to fend for herself. Unfortunately, another reveals that her happy ending didn’t last long. Good American Family: What's missing from the show? Indeed, while Cynthia and her preacher husband Antwon (Jerod Haynes) are largely presented as Natalia’s saviours, a vague statement reveals that allegations of abuse against the pair have come to light since the show ceased filming. As the third season of The Curious Case has already delved into, the couple have been accused of being violent towards Natalia, something they have emphatically denied. These accusations came exclusively from people claiming to be witnesses and not from Natalia herself, who has declined to comment on the matter (via People). The Mans have denied the accusations, with Cynthia calling them "sick, twisted lies" and adding: "It's so frustrating that people will just say anything to appease their agenda. It's ridiculous." It’s a development which Good American Family couldn’t possibly have accounted for. But nevertheless, it still undermines its narrative. Natalia’s incredible story has taken another twist since, with Nicole and Vincent DePaul, the couple who unsuccessfully tried to adopt her in 2009, now looking after her following a dramatic escape plan. “Did she probably do weird things in the past? Yeah,” Nicole told People about Natalia, now planning to become a schoolteacher. “[But] when you take in a child, you take that child as your own. You don’t just get rid of them when they don’t fit into your puzzle.” View Affiliate Playlist on the source website The first five episodes of Good American Family are now available to stream on Disney Plus with a new episode dropping each Wednesday until 30th April – check out our Drama hub for all the latest news. If you’re looking for something to watch tonight, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.
Caught ending explained: who killed Martina and did Ema survive?
The adaptation of the 2010 novel doesn’t disappoint when it comes to twists and turns.
The second Harlan Coben novel to get the Spanish language treatment (after 2021’s The Innocent) and the first to hail from South America, Netflix’s Argentinian thriller Caught proves once again that no matter where the location, the prolific author will always wrap things up with various shocks, surprises and sensational twists. Indeed, the finale of the six-part series featured everything from log truck decapitations to last-minute confessions as vigilante journalist Ema Garay (Soledad Villamil) finally discovered the truth about the murder of a 16-year-old musical prodigy. Here’s a closer look at what went down. Caught ending explained How exactly was Marcos involved? Episode 5 ended with Marcos (Juan Minujín) hitting Ema over the head with a rowing oar against the stunning backdrop of the Patagonian mountains. The latter had just learned that, contrary to his scapegoat protestations, the former really had been scamming his old company back in Buenos Aires. Having subsequently been fired, he believed the only way to make money was get his hands on the family land now owned by children’s charity Fronteras Foundation. And how to do this? Frame its founder, also his childhood best friend, for online grooming and sexual abuse, of course. In episode 6's opening flashback, Marcos tries to convince Leo (Alberto Ammann) that selling the land is in his best interests. When that doesn’t work, he resorts to guilt-tripping, reminding him that he alone took the fall for their juvenile break-in at the wealthy Briguel family home which left a housekeeper scarred for life. But Leo stands his ground, telling him, “This place doesn’t really belong to me. It belongs to the kids.” We then get a flashback to Marcos's interactions with Martina (Carmela Rivero), the missing cellist whose body was later found in the woods. The pair had first met on the private plane chartered by Fran Briguel (Mike Amigorena), the shady businessman who’d booked the teen for an intimate performance of her risque content which, without her consent, got a little too handsy. Marcos, who was hoping to gain financial investment from Fran, was then asked to ensure that the upset Martina didn’t cause a scene. After convincing her not to report Fran to the police, Marcos continues to strike up a connection with Martina, and they stay in touch on their return home. Although it’s not clear whether their relationship got physical, it is clear that Martina trusts Marcos implicitly, and so she happily agrees to lure Leo to a midnight meeting under the impression it’s for a well-meaning intervention. Unbeknownst to her, however, Marcos has set his BFF up in a sting operation: when Leo arrives, he’s ambushed by Ema and her crew, who believe they’ve now captured the paedophile who’s been catfishing (and possibly abusing) underage girls. Did Ema survive? The action then switches to the present, where Marcos is dragging an unconscious Ema into the waters. Luckily, she awakes just in time to fight back, and while on the verge of being drowned, she hits her attacker over the head with a rock. While back on solid ground, the reporter uploads a video to social media revealing everything she knows about Marcos. Aware that the game is now up, Marcos calls his wife, asking her not to take everything she’s about to hear at face value. With his seatbelt unclipped and his foot on the accelerator, he then deliberately drives into a log truck. So, who killed Martina? Although Marcos manipulated Martina for business purposes, he wasn’t responsible for her death. Well, not directly anyway. And as Ema realises while looking at photos of the night the teen went missing, neither was Leo. Indeed, on recognising the wall drawings in one particular snap, the journalist heads to the home of Leo’s ex-partner Juliana (Victoria Almeida). It’s then revealed that her teenage son Armando was the shadowy figure captured on film leaving the party with Martina on a boat. Immediately after they slept together, the latter discovered she’d been used as a pawn in Marcos’ game. And when Armando, who was practically raised by Leo, learns of her involvement, an argument ensues in which Martina is accidentally, and fatally, pushed down the stairs. Juliana’s returns home to find Armando cradling a dead Martina and her ‘protect at all costs’ instincts kick in. Not only does she help her son dispose of the body in the woods, she also plants her mobile phone among her ex’s possessions in the spot he camped at before he 'died'. "I prayed that Leo would save us again," she says, attempting to justify the fact that she sold her ex down the river. Juliana also pleads with Ema not to inform the police, but is eventually convinced to confess all at the station and await their punishment. Is Leo really dead? Poor Leo was, not unreasonably, presumed to have died after being shot at by Facu (Alián Devetac) – the father of the girl he’d wrongly been accused of raping – and then tumbling off a cliff. But the fact his body hasn’t washed up puts some doubt into Ema’s mind. During a jail visit, Ema learns Facu’s charge has been downgraded to attempted homicide. And the plot thickens when the prisoner tells her, "I know Leo. And that guy can forgive anything. And if he's alive, he'll come back. But if he's not, we're both gonna have to live with that." In the closing scene, it’s revealed that Leo did somehow miraculously survive the fall. And after fleeing to safety, he understandably decided he didn’t want to return to the town where his best friend framed him for child abuse, his lover plastered his innocent face all over the internet and his ex set him up as a murderer. Instead, alongside five other lost souls, he’s now spending his days roaming the Argentinian landscape on horseback. Who can blame him? All six episodes of Caught are now available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Just One Look ending explained: Who was Jacek and who ordered all the killings?
The latest Harlan Coben adaptation doesn't disappoint when it comes to climactic twists and turns.
Following in the footsteps of The Woods and Hold Tight, Just One Look is the third Harlan Coben novel to get the Netflix treatment in the Polish language. Adapted from the same-named 2004 book, the six-part series focuses on Greta (Maria Debska), a jewellery designer who, while perusing a new set of developed family photos, finds a mysterious snap of five strangers taken 15 years previously. On further inspection, however, she realises one of the men looks suspiciously like her husband. But why does he go AWOL immediately after he’s shown the pic? Who exactly is the woman whose face has been marked with an X? And does this have anything to do with the trauma Greta has suffered since surviving an arson attack which left 28 concertgoers dead? As you’d expect from a Coben tale, the series continually poses such pressing questions throughout. Here’s a look at how they were answered in the typically twist-filled finale, with full spoilers ahead. Just One Look ending explained Who was Jacek really? After visiting husband Jacek (Cezary Lukaszewicz) in hospital (and charmingly comparing his bloodied, battered appearance to that of a kangaroo), Greta returns home to find a mysterious thumb drive at her door. Its contents reveal what was blatantly obvious all along – that the long-haired drummer in the mysterious rock band photo definitely was her other half (blatantly wearing an unconvincing wig in a failed attempt to make him look 15 years younger). Greta subsequently heads back to the home of Mrs Adamiuk, the lady who’d previously claimed that she didn’t recognise Jacek despite the fact he’d been in a band with her ‘son’ Szymon (who she now claims is living overseas). On hearing he’s now fighting for his life, she allows Greta into her home, which she’s startled to find is adorned with photos of her and Jacek’s two children. Yes, to paraphrase Diane from The Traitors, Szymon isn’t Mrs Adamiuk’s son... but Jacek is. Well, kinda. During their hospital visit, Mrs Adamiuk reveals that after the real Jacek died amid the tragic fire/stampede, her son Szymon assumed his identity for reasons that will soon become clear. And the plot thickens when Greta arranges to meet villainous singer Jimmy (Piotr Stramowski) at a bar. As the conversation gets increasingly heated, the former begins to briefly recall what she saw on that fateful night, with another flashback helpfully filling in the gaps. What happened on the night of the fire? Indeed, we learn that on the same evening that dozens of gig-goers were crushed to death while trying to escape the blaze, the Steelworks venue was also the scene of another fatality. Enraged that Jimmy had stolen and had a hit with his self-penned song Just One Look, Jacek confronted the frontman backstage and, following a scuffle, was fatally stabbed. Unfortunately for Jimmy, Greta walked through the dressing room door at this exact moment. Fortunately for him, however, the trauma of the fire/stampede made her forget everything that happened immediately before and after. Now that the game is up, Greta accuses Jimmy of putting hits on everyone who knew that Jacek was the true songwriter, something he emphatically denies. The fact that he’s then immediately killed in a seemingly deliberate hit-and-run, however, suggests he was telling the truth. Who ordered all the hits? While carrying out some more amateur detective work, Greta discovers that the woman who captured all the archival band footage looks suspiciously like her husband’s ‘sister’ Sandra (Monika Krzywkowska). On what proves to be her last visit, she finds out from ‘Jacek’ that this familial connection was also a sham. In another post-tragedy flashback, we see Sandra presenting ‘Jacek’ with an offer which, like pretty much everything in Coben’s universe is ridiculously far-fetched: pretend to be her recently slain brother to avoid all the songwriting royalties the guilt-ridden Jimmy had surrendered from going to her estranged father. In return, he’ll get a cut which will help pay for his mother’s life-saving surgery. ‘Jacek’ also admits that his and Greta’s meet-cute in France wasn’t entirely serendipitous, and that he'd actually spent a long time trying to track her down having fallen in love with her before the fire. Sadly, this proves to be his final words, as soon after he becomes the drama’s latest fatality. Armed with all this new information, Greta marches to Sandra’s office to make several further serious allegations which are backed up by more flashbacks. Following the band photo’s resurfacing, a panicked ‘Jacek’ had told his fake sister that he wanted to come clean. But, unwilling to risk the house of cards she’d built up, Sandra hired a hitman to kidnap and violently attack Jacek into silence. Sandra had also ordered hits on Sylwia, the musician-turned-journalist on the verge of exposing the truth about the blaze, as well as the first band member to die, Alex. She was also first on the scene when Jimmy killed her real brother and used her position as a lawyer to help cover-up his death. And she was responsible for Greta’s abduction too, from which the latter only just escaped with her life. Although Sandra initially appears confident that there’s no evidence for all such theories, she’s then placed under arrest. The final showdown But the revelations aren’t done there. In the closing scene, Alex’s father Borys (Miroslaw Zbrojewicz) visits Greta with his late daughter’s diary in tow. Apparently, he knew all along about the Jacek switcheroo. But wanting to poke the bear in an attempt to find the truth about Alex’s death, he paid for the photo lab guy to plant the rock band snap in her order. Greta is understandably furious that Borys drudged up the past without any explanation, essentially instigating several further deaths in the process. But she’s soon silenced when asked, "Have you ever wondered who actually took that photo 15 years ago?" In the show’s final improbable twist, it’s revealed that the woman behind the camera was Greta herself! All six episodes of Just One Look are available to stream now on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Snow Girl season 2 ending explained: What happens to Miren?
Did Miren survive, was Laura found, and what does a Madrid dry cleaners have to do with anything?
**Warning: Contains full spoilers for The Snow Girl season 2.** Adapted from Javier Castillo’s same-named novel, The Snow Girl (La chica de nieve) has been one of Netflix’s most successful Spanish originals, reaching the Top 10 in 60 territories on its 2023 release. Thankfully, for those of us left captivated by its shocking denouement, a second helping of the Malaga-based crime has now arrived to tie up the loose ends and, of course, unravel some more. While child abduction was at the heart of investigative journalist Miren’s (Milena Smit) crusade last season, this time around it’s a teenage crucifixion, a series of survival tests and their possible link to a cold case disappearance. Here’s a look at what went down in the thrilling finale. The Snow Girl season 2 ending explained Who was behind The Soul Game? The shocking fifth episode revealed that the previously mild-mannered Nacho (Hugo Welzel) was the Jigsaw-like presence behind The Soul Game, a gruesome web-based test of faith and loyalty which had been responsible for killing several teenagers in the area. Unfortunately, Miren discovered this truth the hard way: being almost choked to death by Nacho’s accomplice Borja and bundled into the boot of their getaway car. The finale’s opening scene shows the journalist has been taken to an abandoned warehouse and strung up to the wall in a Christ-like pose. This was how poor Allison was also found dead, of course, and Nacho tells Miren she’s likely to meet the same fate on his return to the scene 24 hours later. In a useful bit of exposition, the fresh-faced psychopath reminds Borja that he was The Soul Game’s first player (a motorcycling dare which went horribly wrong is how he suffered his facial scarring). And Nacho also reminds his sidekick how he told him the truth during his recovery in hospital: that he is the ‘Raven of God’. Later that same day, however, Borja begins to suspect that his high school classmate might not be the divine presence he once believed. And while trying to rid himself of responsibility for Miren’s impending demise, Nacho stabs Borja fatally in the neck. Why did he choose Miren? The puppet master then pays an exhausted Miren an unplanned visit to helpfully explain his motive. He actually has no strong religious beliefs himself. He simply does it all for kicks, and in this particular case, to get revenge for the lack of media interest in his missing sister. For having watched Miren play the go-getting journalist in the first season’s hunt for another disappearing young girl, Nacho became enraged his sibling didn’t get the same treatment. He subsequently read Miren’s best-selling book to discover her deepest, darkest fears and prey upon them in retaliation, including injecting her beloved old colleague Eduardo (Jose Coronado) with a lethal dose of insulin. Miren then appears to pass out, but when Nacho unhooks her while trying to wake her, she attacks him and makes a run for it. The pair then engage in a beachside battle to the death in the dead of the night. And it looks to be game over when Nacho twice plunges a knife into his latest victim’s stomach. But once again proving her apparently superhuman abilities, Miren manages to summon the strength to repeatedly stab him back before the police – who'd traced their whereabouts via Borja’s phone – come to the rescue. Somehow, she survives the scuffle, but Nacho is as dead as a doornail. What happened to Laura? At the same time poor Miren was being tortured, her colleague Jaime (Miki Esparbe) was busy uncovering the series’ other big mystery. Firstly, he persuades Laura’s ex-boyfriend – and formerly chief suspect – Tomas to meet up. The latter had been heading to the airport to receive psychiatric care in London having been gaslit by his father Alberto (Luis Bermejo) into believing his theories about Laura were all a sign of madness. So he’s understandably shocked, and initially sceptical, when Jaime tells him his own dad was involved in her disappearance. However, Alberto had very much been having an illicit affair with Laura behind his son’s back, regularly taking her to a remote country pad known as The Green House, including on the day she was last seen. After some soul-searching, Tomas gives Jaime the address to help determine whether there’s any truth to this bombshell. On his arrival, Jaime is greeted by a groundsman who after a few pleasantries, brandishes a shotgun and frogmarches him outside to a waiting Alberto. It looks set to be curtains for the intrepid reporter, but after hearing the police sirens in the distance, Alberto pulls the trigger to his own head instead. While driving away from the grisly scene, Jaime spots another property tucked away in the Malaga countryside. Could this be where Laura’s body is? Well, yes as it turns out. But against all odds, she’s also still alive and with a young son in tow as well. Even more remarkably, she refuses any help too. During a visit to Nacho’s grave, Laura explains to Jaime that after falling pregnant with his child, Alberto suggested she hide out at the Green House. Unwilling to jeopardise the father’s career by returning home, she’s been there ever since. Laura also insists she’s not suffering from a form of Stockholm Syndrome. In her eyes, falling in love with Alberto was a sin and she wanted to spend the rest of her life repenting in solitude. Where is Miren now? Having wrapped up all of its mysteries with two minutes to go, the series throws in a last-minute one. And this time it’s Miren’s turn to go AWOL. Yes, having recovered from her injuries, the reporter understandably decided to pack in all the crime-solving malarkey, but has since seemingly disappeared into thin air, sparking a ‘Where is Miren’ social media hashtag in the process. And the plot thickens when in the final scene, a bunch of armed police are seen storming a Madrid dry cleaners, and during their search of a hidden room, discover a tape labelled ‘Miren 2009.’ Let’s hope Netflix greenlights a third season for an explanation. The Snow Girl seasons 1-2 are available to stream on Netflix right now. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Why American Primeval is the anti-Yellowstone
Netflix's latest original paints a much grubbier picture of Western life than Taylor Sheridan's Dallas-esque saga.
Warning: Contains minor spoilers for American Primeval. Once considered a dusty relic, the Western genre is currently thriving on the small screen. Even without its figurehead Kevin Costner, Yellowstone is still the biggest show on American TV and, perhaps even more remarkably, has spawned no fewer than four spin-offs. Amazon and MGM+ have enjoyed success with Outer Range and Billy the Kid respectively. And just a few weeks after unveiling Australian outback drama Territory, Netflix is once again aiming to lasso viewers with a six-part series rooted in the Utah War of 1857. Anyone hoping to settle down for a good old-fashioned tale of cowboys and saloons, however, should be warned that American Primeval is completely at odds with the current revival. Indeed, whereas the Yellowstone universe – even prequels 1883 and 1923 – deals in soapy family sagas, John Wayne-esque cosplay and sweeping panoramic shots of the American West, this latest throwback is a relentlessly grim and grimy affair which has no interest whatsoever in glamourising or romanticising the Western life. In fact, director Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights, Lone Survivor) made a conscious effort to ensure that American Primeval looked as ugly as possible ("These folks are not in a position to sit back and enjoy the vistas"), subjecting its motley crew of outlaws, tyrants and settlers to a torrent of dirt, rain and snow, not to mention copious amounts of blood and gore. By the time its trigger-happy finale draws to a close, you may feel like you need a shower too. The reason for all the carnage, of course, is the various disputes over land, religion and power between the Mormon faith, United States army and several native tribes, all of whom have a mindset of shoot first (or stab, drown, spear etc) and entirely forget about any questions later. Read more: Is American Primeval based on a true story? American Primeval: Everything you need to know And it doesn’t take long for their deeply-entrenched animosity to come to a brutal head: within the half-hour mark, the show has thrust us into the heart of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, a very real tragedy in which approximately 120 Westbound pioneers were mercilessly slaughtered. Further proving that this is no glossy prime-time saga, its immersive, no-holds-barred camerawork evokes the traumatic opening scene in Saving Private Ryan. Admittedly, the vast array of gunslingers, and their similarly grizzled appearance, often makes it difficult to distinguish whose side is winning, if any side is winning at all. Still, there are a handful of characters who manage to make a mark beyond their muddy footprints. Channelling the Witchfinder General, Kim Coates, for example, is truly terrifying as Mormon church leader Brigham Young, one of two true-life figures and one who’ll stop at nothing to protect his flock. It’s difficult not to notice Dane DeHaan’s Jacob Pratt, one such believer forced to trawl his way through the unforgiving landscape with his head sliced open. And Taylor Kitsch also makes his presence felt as Isaac, a grief-stricken loner and the closest the show gets to a heroic figure. But unusually for a genre steeped in machoism, it’s the female figures who prove to be the most compelling. The plucky Abish (Saura Lightfoot-Leon) continually evades near-certain death as she fights for her freedom, not only from her murderous captors but the husband she was forced into marrying. Without saying a word, mute Shoshone native Two Moons (Shawnee Pourier) evokes a similar sense of courage and tenacity as she prepares to flee for a new life (sadly, despite the appointment of various Indigenous consultants, she’s one of the few tribespeople afforded any notable screentime). Meanwhile, GLOW’s Betty Gilpin provides the heart of the show as Sara, a mum desperate to reunite her young son Devin (Preston Mota) with his father via a cross-frontier journey steeped in peril. "This doesn't seem to be a world that favours a woman on her own," she remarks, not unreasonably after surviving one of umpteen attempts on her life. It also doesn't seem to be a world that favours anything much in the way of light relief, either. Sure, Brigham gets the odd zinger in between all the ruling with an iron fist. "It’s actually 20 but the press like to distil the facts," he deadpans after the second real-life figure, pioneering mountain man Jim Bridger (Shea Whigham), points out that 22 wives may be a tad greedy. But the quest for authenticity makes screenwriter Mark L Smith’s similarly-themed The Revenant look like Blazing Saddles. Indeed, American Primeval is unremittingly bleak with a capital U, with neither children (poor Devin certainly gets put through the wringer) nor animals (horse lovers should look away from the end of episode 4) safe from all the bloodshed. Accompanying post-rockers Explosions in the Sky’s foreboding score, the constant gunfire and piercing screams also ensure that the show sounds as gloomy as it looks. Such relentless misery will undoubtedly deter those accustomed to Westerns whose action is more likely to be confined to the bedroom or boardroom than the battlefield. Binge-friendly comfort viewing this is not. But by stripping things back to its essentials, American Primeval has provided the genre’s increasingly crowded landscape with some much-needed true grit. All six episodes of American Primeval are now available to stream on Netflix – sign up from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Lockerbie true story: What happened to Jim Swire?
How the grieving father has continually fought for the truth about Britain's deadliest terror attack.
Following in the footsteps of ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office, Sky Atlantic’s Lockerbie: A Search for Truth is kicking off the new year by shining the spotlight on another lengthy quest for justice. Instead of a wrongfully convicted subpostmaster, the man leading the charge on this occasion is Colin Firth’s Jim Swire, a grieving father determined to get to the bottom of the titular plane bombing that killed his eldest child and 269 others just before the Christmas of 1988. Swire’s 23-year-old daughter Flora had only booked a seat on the transatlantic Pan Am Flight 103 the day before its ill-fated journey from London’s Heathrow Airport to New York’s JFK, having planned to spend the holidays with her American boyfriend. Here’s a look at how the former GP subsequently threw himself into investigating what’s still the deadliest terror attack in UK history. Lockerbie true story The campaign group Less than four months after 243 passengers, 16 crew members and 11 residents in the small Scottish town of Lockerbie lost their lives in the tragedy, the UK Families Flight 103 group was set up to both support those most affected and campaign for an independent inquiry. And Swire soon became their most high-profile, and controversial, activist. Indeed, in an attempt to expose the slow reaction from airline security, Swire took an interconnecting flight from London to Boston in May 1990... with a fake bomb. Constructed from a radio cassette player and, in a novel substitute for Semtex, marzipan, the device somehow made it on board without any problem, validating concerns that authorities had learned little from the disaster. "You simply cannot imagine how depressing it was flying over the Atlantic knowing that there could easily be a bomb in the cargo hold below," Swire later remarked. Although several members of the group were in favour of the stunt, which only became public knowledge six weeks on, others felt that it had crossed a line. The lobbying Swire further alienated many support group members with his response to the two Libyan men accused of the atrocity, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and Lamin Khalifah Fhimah. In 1998, he and Edinburgh University’s Professor Robert Black lobbied for the pair to be prosecuted on neutral territory but under Scottish law; Libya, whose laws didn’t allow for extradition, had previously had an offer rejected by the UK and US to prosecute them on home soil. He also went on to meet with several world leaders including Tony Blair and Colonel Gaddafi on the campaign trail. Three years later, Megrahi and Fhimah finally stood trial at a Scottish court in the Netherlands, Camp Zeist, in which the former was convicted and the latter acquitted. Swire, who’d been in attendance throughout, fainted at the verdict. But not for the reasons you might have expected. The appeal Indeed, Swire didn’t believe that Megrahi was responsible for the bombing. In 2005, the pair met face-to-face for the first time to discuss strategies for an appeal: the former later offered to stump up £500,000 for any lawyers willing to take on the case. Two years later, a review from the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission found that the Libyan may have been subject to a miscarriage of justice and granted him an appeal. Swire’s defence of Megrahi was met with fierce criticism, with several families of American victims revealing that they felt betrayed. Undeterred, however, Swire went on to launch Justice for Megrahi, a campaign designed to allow the prisoner – now suffering from terminal prostate cancer – to head back to Libya while awaiting appeal. In 2009, the Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill granted Megrahi a compassionate release on the proviso that his conviction remained. Swire, who’d voiced his disillusion over the deal, later went to visit the Libyan in Tripoli shortly before his death in 2012. "I am going to a place where I hope soon to see Flora," Megrahi said during their meeting. "I will tell her that her father is my friend." The alternate theory So, who did Swire believe was responsible if Megrahi’s conviction really was as unjust as he’d claimed? Well, in his 2021 book, The Lockerbie Bombing: A Father's Search For Justice, he argued that the true guilty party was a Jordanian double agent whose value to the CIA left him untouchable. "It's my belief that the US and British governments collaborated to pin the blame for Lockerbie on Libya, and that the two countries worked together to ensure any evidence undermining the case against al-Megrahi would never see the light of day." What happened to Jim Swire? <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2024/12/Jim-Swire-474d539.jpg" width="3000" height="2000" alt="Jim Swire, representative of the relatives of the Lockerbie victims, speaks to reporters outside the building of the High Court of Justiciary March 14, 2002 at Kamp van Zeist, The Netherlands. Former Libyan agent, Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, lost an appeal against his murder conviction March 14, 2002 for the 1988 Lockerbie mid-air bombing, and was expected to be flown to a Scottish jail later today. Pan Am flight 103 was blown up December 21, 1988 over Lockerbie, Scotland." title="Pan Am Flight 103 Lockerbie Appeal" /> Now aged 88, Swire lives in the Cotswolds with his wife, and Flora’s mother, Jane. And, according to Firth, who met up with the couple before filming, he’s still as sharp as a button. "This vigilance, this readiness to respond to new ideas, that was very apparent in that first meeting," the actor told a Q&A in which he also praised Swire’s "alertness and intellectual agility". And Swire is delighted that his story is now being told on such a wide scale, telling Sky, "It is an extraordinary development in a campaign which, up until now, had been seeming that it would die away... "You can see the juxtaposition there between what, for us, is still a very simple family affair: we want to know who murdered our eldest daughter, as simple as that." Lockerbie: A Search for Truth is coming to Sky Atlantic and NOW on Thursday 2nd January 2025 – find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Lockerbie: A Search for Truth cast - Meet the characters
Colin Firth plays a justice-seeking father in five-part Sky Atlantic drama about the 1988 tragedy.
It’s been 36 years since Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over the small Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing all 269 people on board and 11 residents on the ground in what remains the worst ever terrorist attack on UK soil. And now, just like last year’s double whammy of Prince Andrew vs. Emily Maitlis adaptations, the disaster is being delved into by two different broadcasters within a matter of months. We’ll have to wait a while for Netflix’s six-parter Lockerbie. But the premiere of Sky Atlantic’s Lockerbie: A Search for Truth is only just around the corner. Here’s a look at the latter’s impressive cast and the (mostly) real-life figures they’re portraying. Lockerbie: A Search for Truth cast Colin Firth as Jim Swire Catherine McCormack as Jane Swire Sam Troughton as Murray Guthrie Ardalan Esmaili as Abdelbaset al-Megrahi Guy Henry as Paul Channon Jemma Carlton as Cathy Swire Mudar Abbara as Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah Nabil Al Raee as Colonel Gaddafi Mark Bonnar as Roderick McGill Read on to find out more about the cast and characters. Colin Firth plays Jim Swire Who is Jim Swire? Jim is the father of Flora Swire, a 23-year-old who lost her life on the ill-fated flight. In response to the tragedy, the former GP spearheads a support group, lobbies for the trial of the two Libyans accused and then advocates for the release of the only one convicted on the belief that he is in fact innocent of the crime. Where have I seen Colin Firth before? Firth shot to fame emerging from a lake as the sopping wet Mr. Darcy in the BBC’s 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice before landing roles in Oscar favourites The English Patient and Shakespeare in Love and crowd-pleasers Bridget Jones’ Diary, Love Actually and Mamma Mia. In 2011, he won an Academy Award for his performance as King George VI in The King’s Speech, and he’s since appeared in box office hits Kingsman: The Secret Service, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Mary Poppins Returns. Lockerbie is only his second major TV series this century, arriving three years after he portrayed Michael Peterson in true crime drama The Staircase. Catherine McCormack plays Jane Swire Who is Jane Swire? Jane is the wife of Jim Swire and mother of Lockerbie victim Flora who supports her husband on his quest to seek justice. Where have I seen Catherine McCormack before? After playing Murron MacClannough in the Oscar winner Braveheart, McCormack appeared in several other British period dramas including The Land Girls and Dancing at Lughnasa before landing roles in Hollywood fare The Tailor of Panama and Spy Game. She’s since impressed in apocalyptic horror 28 Weeks Later and Woody Allen’s Magic in the Moonlight. But McCormack’s most notable work of late has been on the small screen, whether guest spots in Sherlock and The Witcher, or the recurring roles of medical research scientist Beth in Temple and Russian sleeper agent Alex in Slow Horses. Sam Troughton plays Murray Guthrie Who is Murray Guthrie? One of only two key characters not explicitly based on a real-life figure, Murray is a local reporter who immediately heads down to the scene of the disaster. Where have I seen Sam Troughton before? The grandson of former Doctor Who Patrick Troughton first caught attention as an archaeologist in sci-fi monster mash Alien vs Predator before playing Merry Man Much in the BBC’s Saturday teatime take on Robin Hood. More recently, Troughton has worked with Mike Leigh on Peterloo, David Fincher on Mank and Ridley Scott on Napoleon, played Soviet engineer Aleksandr Akimov in Chernobyl and appeared in true crime dramas Stephen and Litvinenko. You can also currently see him as senior government figure Stephen Yarrick in Netflix’s buzzworthy spy drama Black Doves. Ardalan Esmaili plays Abdelbaset al-Megrahi Who is Abdelbaset al-Megrahi? Formerly head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines, Megrahi was the only man convicted for the Lockerbie bombing. Sentenced to life imprisonment, he was controversially released on compassionate grounds in 2009 and passed away from prostate cancer in 2012. Where have I seen Ardalan Esmaili before? Iranian-born, Swedish-raised Esmaili first caught international attention in Brian De Palma’s action thriller Domino. He went on to appear in Netflix originals The Rain, Snabba Cash and Deliver Me, showed up as engineer Omid in sci-fi horror Sea Fever and most recently, played a thief in true crime miniseries The Helicopter Heist. Guy Henry plays Paul Channon Who is Paul Channon? Tory MP and Transport Minister Channon faced widespread criticism for going on holiday just days after the tragedy. Three months later, he was sacked. Where have I seen Guy Henry before? Guy has been a small screen regular since the early ‘80s, playing Cassius in ancient epic Rome, Dr. John Monro in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story and most famously, director of surgery Henrik Hanssen in Holby City. He’s also appeared in two massive film franchises, firstly as Pius Thicknesse in the final two Harry Potter films and then Grand Moff Tarkin in Rogue One. Jemma Carlton plays Cathy Swire Who is Cathy Swire? Having dropped her off at Heathrow, Cathy was the last member of the Swire family to see her sister Flora alive. Now a poet, she’s admitted to feeling silenced in her grief by her father Jim’s constant public campaigning. Where have I seen Jemma Carlton before? In her first ever screen role, Carlton played Maxine Carr in the Channel 5 drama about the teaching assistant found guilty of perverting the course of justice in the Soham murders case. She’s since guested on sitcom The Cleaner and will next appear in the upcoming boxing drama A Thousand Blows. The cast also includes: Mudar Abbara plays Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah Who is Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah? Previously a Libyan Arab Airlines’ station manager, Fhimah was accused alongside Megrahi of 270 counts of murder. But after it was determined that he was in Sweden at the time of the bombing, he was acquitted at the 2001 trial. Where have I seen Mudar Abbara before? Abbara’s filmography has been largely restricted to short films so far. But he has guested on an episode of Holby City, enjoyed a minor role in Olympian refugee tale The Swimmers and played a bully in London drama The Burning Chicken. Nabil Al Raee plays Colonel Gaddafi Who is Colonel Gaddafi? The fearsome ruler of Libya from 1969 until his 2011 assassination, Colonel Gaddafi refused to hand over Fhimah and Megrahi to British police after they were named as chief suspects. Although he denied his country had any involvement, Libya paid the victims’ families $2.7 billion in 2009. Where have I seen Nabil Al Raee before? His resume includes a minor role in talent show fable The Idol, race against time drama 200 Meters and war tale The Teacher. Mark Bonnar plays Roderick McGill Where have I seen Mark Bonnar before? Where haven’t you seen Bonnar before would probably be an easier question to answer! From Casualty and Catastrophe to Line of Duty and Law and Order: UK, name a British TV series from the past 20 years and chances are the Scotsman’s appeared in it. After years of supporting roles, Bonnar made the step up to leading man in acclaimed hit-and-run drama Guilt. He’s also graced the big screen in Napoleon and Operation Mincemeat, starred in Quiz, The Rig and World on Fire and voiced video game characters in Battlefield 1 and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Lockerbie: A Search for Truth is coming to Sky Atlantic and NOW on Thursday 2nd January 2025 – find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
A look at the Canary Island volcano eruption of 2021, which Netflix’s latest binge-worthy hit has drawn parallels with.
Norwegian disaster series La Palma has landed on Netflix and taken the streamer by storm, bagging a spot in the top 10 list here in the UK. The show, which comes to our screens courtesy of Martin Sundland (The Quake), Lars Gudmestad (Headhunters) and Harald Rosenløw Eeg (The Wave), revolves around a family, consisted of Jennifer and Fredrik, and their two children, Sara and Tobias. The family arrive on the beautiful island of La Palma for their summer holiday and quickly discover that they've received a room upgrade. But disaster soon strikes when volcanic activity causes a huge landslide, which in turn leads to a tsunami that wreaks havoc on the region. Now, as a piece of entertainment, creative license has, of course, been utilised. But is there any truth to the nail-biting saga? Read on for everything you need to know about the inspiration behind the series. Is La Palma based on a true story? The series is not based on a true story. Although La Palma is a real-life location – one of Spain’s Canary Islands – that has experienced some volcanic activity in the past, a disaster of the scale we see in the series has not been witnessed on the island. Meanwhile, all the characters, including the central family of four, are entirely from the minds of writers Gudmestad and Eeg. Here’s a look at the recent volcanic activity on La Palma that no doubt gave the show some fiery inspiration. When did the real life island's volcano last erupt? The eruption began on 19th September 2021, 10 years after the Canary Islands last experienced such a disaster in El Hierro, and a full 50 years after La Palma had been hit by one. It occurred along the Cumbre Vieja volcanic ridge in the Southern half of the popular summer destination which had been on high alert thanks to the recording of more than 20,000 tremors in the previous seven days. 300 people were quickly evacuated from the forested area of Cabeza de Vaca before a further 700, the majority of which were tourists, were forced to vacate the coastal region of Los Llanos de Aridane. This number only grew as the volcano became more explosive and far-reaching, prompting officials to raise the alert level to the highest possible, red. And the unpredictability of volcanoes meant that scientists weren’t able to calculate exactly how long it would continue to wreak havoc. What were the effects? In total, 7,000 people, nearly a tenth of La Palma’s population, had to flee their homes as the lava flow got bigger and stronger: at one point it spanned 600 metres wide. And many had to do so in only a moment’s notice, with one resident, Ana Guadalupe González, telling Spanish radio that she "ran out of there and left many things, such as our pets". In contrast, a significant number of locals were forced to stay put thanks to the increase in toxic sulphur dioxide caused by molten rock falling into the Atlantic Ocean and boiling its waters: temperatures reached a colossal 1000 degrees Celsius. According to governing body CSIC, the lava that entered the sea also formed a "low island", which measured 500 metres wide. 1300 homes were reported to have been damaged or destroyed along with numerous schools and churches, while the area’s irrigation systems and road infrastructure was also heavily affected. Many of the island’s famous banana plantations which provides much of the island’s employment (they count for nearly 50 percent of La Palma’s economy) were ruined. And its tourism industry inevitably took a major hit too as resorts closed and flights were cancelled during a period which reportedly impacted the island to the tune of £760 million. Remarkably, there were no fatalities reported at the time. In fact, not even a single injury related to the disaster was recorded. However, in 2023, a court ruled that a 72-year-old man whose body had been found in the exclusion zone of El Paso had "died after inhaling toxic gases which certifies that the disaster did claim a human life". When did it end? Following a ten-day period of relative calmness, Spanish authorities finally declared the volcano had ended on 25th December, making it the longest-running on the island since records began. "The best Christmas present," was how the country’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez described the news, which came 85 days after the initial eruption (in comparison, 1971’s lasted just three weeks). "We will continue working together, all the institutions, to relaunch the wonderful island of La Palma and repair the damage caused," he added as his government pledged approximately £192 million to help rebuild the areas affected. But the impact on the community will remain long-lasting. Indeed, its tourism has been slow to recover: while 250,000 people used to flock to the island dubbed 'La Isla Bonita,' 2023 numbers were only just over the 81,000 mark. "I was five years old when the volcano last erupted," resident Isabel Fuentes told Spanish TV. "You never get over a volcanic eruption." All four episodes of La Palma are now available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month (with adverts) or £10.99 a month (ad-free). Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Wolf Hall season 2 review: End of Tudor saga proves to be well worth the wait
The closing chapter of Hilary Mantel's historical trilogy finally gets the prestige TV treatment.
The first season of Wolf Hall, which debuted in 2015, appeared to foreshadow all the political upheaval that's occurred in the subsequent nine years: a monumental fallout with Europe, the unstoppable rise to power of a tyrant, the death of the Queen. Only time will tell whether its belated return, which takes place between 1536 and 1540, will be just as prescient. But picking up immediately where things left off – the simultaneous public execution of poor Anne Boleyn and the third of Henry VIII's six weddings – the Tudor drama is undoubtedly still as ominous. The Mirror and the Light is the source material this time around, the final part of Hilary Mantel's fictionalised trilogy exploring Thomas Cromwell's remarkable journey from humble blacksmith's son to Henry VIII's chief minister – spoiler alert for those who didn't pay attention in history class: it doesn't end well for the principal protagonist. "When fortune turns against you, you will feel the lash," the ghostly vision of Cardinal Wolsey (Jonathan Pryce) remarks to his protégé in an early warning of the treachery ahead. Once again, Mark Rylance proves why he's regarded as one of Britain's greatest living thespians, delivering a typically nuanced performance which captures the complexities of such a self-made schemer. Initially, his Cromwell, now promoted to the role of Lord Privy Seal, barely gives anything away. Even when physically violent ("Get out while you still have your head," he threatens one dissenter while manhandling him out of court), he manages to retain an air of composure, arguably making him more fearsome than Damian Lewis's more overtly-monstrous, increasingly gout-ridden king. However, Cromwell's mask subtly begins to slip as he's forced to question the monarch he's proudly been beholden to ("I'm a good dog. If you set me to guard something, I'll do it."), firstly due to the threats towards the princess he possibly wishes to marry, and then the threats towards himself. In other hands, it would be difficult to feel much sympathy for such a calculating presence, but Rylance, alongside scriptwriter Peter Straughan, digs deep to find the humanity within. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2024/04/1.-Mark-Rylance-as-Thomas-Cromwell-in-Wolf-Hall-The-Mirror-and-the-Light-coming-to-BBC-One-and-iPlayer.jpg-cad0414-e1730729857588.jpg" width="7785" height="5190" alt="Mark Rylance in costume as Thomas Cromwell for Wolf Hall The Mirror and the Light." title="Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light coming to BBC One and iPlayer.jpg" /> Of course, Rylance is far from the only actor at the top of his game. What Lewis lacks in physical resemblance he makes up for in mercurial swagger as a man with a psychopathic fickleness over his various 'divorced, beheaded, died' wives. "Have I married a fool?" Henry asks just days after the nuptials to Jane Seymour (Kate Phillips, saddled with perhaps the most thinly-drawn wife), before declaring, "I have come out of hell into heaven." Elsewhere, Lilit Lesser provides some much-needed girl power as Mary, the devout Catholic princess who essentially declares "Not my king" about her own father. Thomas Brodie-Sangster – who somehow doesn't seem to have aged a day during the near-decade-long gap – impresses as one of the few characters with a moral conscience ("Did it have to be this way, so bloody?" his Privy Councillor Rafe Sadler asks Cromwell, not unreasonably, having just watched Anne's head decapitated by a balletic Frenchman). And replacing the late Bernard Hill, Timothy Spall steals every scene as the blustering Duke of Norfolk ("He speaks to a woman as if she was a town wall and he has to breach her," notes Cromwell just moments after the cretin has crudely compared a destroyed tapestry to toilet paper). It's the kind of comedic turn you'd expect from The Great, Mary and George or any number of other streaming-age hits that have gleefully subverted the regal period drama since Mantel's work was last adapted for the screen. Apart from some colourblind casting, which has got the anti-woke brigade up in arms (Egyptian-born Amir El-Masry has taken over from Scotsman Jack Lowden as Thomas Wyatt, while Sarah Priddy, an actress of British-African heritage, portrays Lady Margery Seymour), this is where the similarities end. Read more: Wolf Hall director defends colour-blind casting after Hilary Mantel approved changes Wolf Hall season 2 recasts Call the Midwife star with Gentlemen Jack actress in key role Indeed, those who've enjoyed Nicholas Hoult huzzah-ing it up as Emperor Peter III may find the rest of Wolf Hall a little austere in comparison: the pace can often be glacial; the sets, while meticulously attentive to period detail, are often shrouded in candlelight; and the complex machinations of the plot sometimes requires a CliffsNotes to fully comprehend. This is prestige TV with a capital P that's meant to be slowly digested, not binged, justifying the BBC's decision to premiere a new episode every Sunday evening rather than immediately offload all six on iPlayer. The Mirror and the Light is therefore easier to admire than love. But like its predecessor, which was showered with accolades including eight Emmy nods, a BAFTA and Golden Globe, it will no doubt go down in the history books as a Machiavellian masterpiece. Wolf Hall: The Mirror and The Light comes to BBC One and iPlayer on Sunday 10th November. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Office review: Australia's take on Ricky Gervais's classic wastes its resources
Despite a talented cast, the adventures of Sydney's Flinley Craddick appear to have missed the mockumentary boat.
Remember how fans of Ricky Gervais's The Office screamed ‘sacrilege’ when NBC announced they’d be swapping Slough for Scranton, Pennsylvania, in a Steve Carell-fronted remake? And how they were soon forced to eat humble pie when it quickly carved out its own hilarious identity, won four Emmys and essentially changed the face of American sitcoms forever? Of course, that didn’t stop the 13th incarnation of the workplace comedy (it’s been adapted everywhere from Chile to Saudi Arabia) from receiving an almighty drubbing when its first trailer dropped last month. Indeed, the general consensus appeared to be that Australia’s new version was an embarrassment on a par with their kangaroo-mimicking breakdancer Raygun. With all eight episodes now available to watch on Amazon Prime Video, it’s clear that the simply-titled The Office isn’t on the Olympian’s car crash level. In fact, there’s plenty to admire about the show’s transfer to Sydney’s fourth-largest packaging company Flinley Craddick (corporate slogan: "Think inside the box"), particularly the fact that, for the first time ever, a woman has been put in charge. Played by stand-up Felicity Ward, boss Hannah Howard isn’t as spiteful as David Brent, nor is she as unempathetic as Michael Scott. In the second episode, for example, she goes great lengths to avoid job cuts, reframing the recent death of a forgettable employee in a bid to stave off Head Office: her pitiful makeshift wake, complete with food delivery driver eulogy and a PowerPoint tribute involving little more than a driving licence photo and the sound of Boyz II Men, is cringe comedy up there with Gervais's finest. She even struggles to give two part-time cleaners their marching orders, ultimately gifting them the Roombas intended as their replacements. As the kind of ‘wacky’ personality who still finds Borat’s ‘my wife’ catchphrase amusing and spits her dummy out during playful fashion parades, she’s still inherently annoying. "Hannah is a riddle, swallowed by an idiot, s*** out by a moron," remarks head of finance Deborah (Lucy Schmidt) in one of the show’s most astute asides. However, as revealed in the finale, she has a heart of gold underneath all that dimwittery, and Ward delivers a performance which largely manages to garner more sympathy than pity. Regular The Office viewers will also recognise several other key characters. Sales reps Nick (Steen Raskopoulos) and Greta (Shari Sebbens) are blatantly being positioned as the Tim and Dawn/Jim and Pam of the series, although they’ve yet to find the kind of chemistry that will make their inevitable union – Greta has one of those generic waste-of-space boyfriends in which you can’t imagine what possible scenario they ever got together – must-see TV. And Hannah’s right-hand-woman Lizzie (Edith Poor) is the show’s answer to Gareth/Dwight, a militant jobsworth determined to stamp her limited authority on a disinterested workforce by any means necessary. "Sitting is the new smoking," she barks while confiscating the office chairs in the apparent name of productivity. Sadly, the original characters don’t make as much of an impact. The hapless Lloyd (Jonny Brugh) is pretty much Motherland’s drippy dad Kevin in head of IT form. Intern Sebastian (Raj Labade) is required to do little more than give constant side eye, while humourless head of human resources Martin’s (Josh Thomson) screentime is largely limited to the countless pieces-to-camera filmed in front of a deeply depressing blinded window. This over-reliance on such narrative devices is indicative of a show which, other than the gender-reversed casting, wastes the opportunity to bring something new to the corporate table. The mockumentary format’s tropes have arguably now become as stale as the more traditional sitcom’s it was trying to subvert. By the umpteenth fourth-wall break, Australia’s The Office starts to feel less like a reinvention and more like a copy of a facsimile. And although the sixth episode’s staff training programme will rile up the anti-woke brigade, the series largely fails to reflect the changes in office culture since Wernham Hogg and Dunder Mifflin allowed TV crews through their doors. The advent of remote working is brushed off within the opening 10 minutes as Flinley Craddick’s staff, on being told they’re now being forced to commute full-time, turn from anger into acceptance in record time. Ironically, the best episode is when it ventures outside its mundane setting: an impromptu trip to an interactive reptile experience (basically a few snakes in a redneck’s shed) designed to boost staff morale will draw shudders of recognition from anyone who’s experienced the forced joviality of the corporate away day. It’s the only time The Office suggests it has the potential to evolve should a second season get the green light. Of course, let’s not forget its American predecessor took time in finding its footing. But at a time when the likes of fellow Aussie exports Colin from Accounts, Fisk and Deadloch are making comedic leaps forward, its all-too-familiar beats feel like a regressive step back. View Affiliate Playlist on the source website All eight episodes of The Office are available to stream on Amazon from 18th October – you can sign up now for a free 30-day Prime Video trial. If you’re looking for something else to watch in the meantime, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide, or visit our dedicated Comedy hub. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Deceitful Love review: Grey's Anatomy hunk keeps everyone guessing in lusty age-gap mystery
Giacomo Gianniotti woos older, wealthier woman – but to what end? – in sun-soaked adaptation of BBC's romantic drama Gold Digger.
Forget Patrick Dempsey’s McDreamy. For six years, the most swoonsome doctor in Shonda Rhimes's never-ending hospital drama Grey’s Anatomy was considered to be Giacomo Gianniotti’s Andrew DeLuca. Many viewers were left bereft, therefore, when the medic met his tragic end – fatal stabbing by human trafficker – in season 17. Luckily, they now have the chance to see more of the actor who played him, both figuratively and literally, in Netflix’s latest Italian original Deceitful Love. Indeed, as its title suggests, the six-part miniseries is packed with melodrama, intrigue and, most notably, passion, giving Gianniotti countless opportunities to display his Men’s Health cover-ready physique. Within just two minutes of his arrival, he’s whipped his clothes off, and the camera continues to lovingly gaze at his washboard abs and glistening torso pretty much every other scene. "You like being naked, don’t you," his love interest remarks, not unreasonably. Deceitful Love does have a compelling story threaded through all the unashamed ogling, though, and one that will be familiar to anyone who watched intergenerational romance Gold Digger back in 2019. Yes, this is a remake of the BBC drama in which Julia Ormond’s 60-something, much to the horror of her three awful grown-up kids, fell head over heels for a mysterious millennial who may or may not have been after her money. As the impossibly charming boat charterer Elia, Gianniotti is the man who sparks both a sexual reawakening and a bitter family dispute on this occasion. His meet-cute appears to happen by accident when, following a minor motoring collision, he seeks help from the nearest passer-by. That just happens to be Gabriella (Monica Guerritore), a much older (and much wealthier) hotel owner who recognises an instant mutual attraction but is initially reluctant to act upon it. "I could actually be your mother," she reasons, as the flirting starts to get a little more physical. Inevitably, Gabriella’s hesitation soon gives into her lust, and the pair end up spending much of the series in various states of undress. In fact, there’s no problem that can’t be solved by some action in the bedroom. Or the swimming pool. Or the street. Or the sailboat, whose picturesque jaunts across the Amalfi coast make Deceitful Love just as much a tourist board ad as an erotic fantasy. Still, it’s refreshing to see such an unapologetic reverse of the male wish fulfilment which typically dominates such steamy fare. As well as being far more sexual and escapist than the English original, this Italian adaptation is also soapier. A seductive blast from Elia’s recent past is such a blatant troublemaker you half expect her to start a shoulder-padded Dynasty-style catfight. There’s a tawdry affair involving Gabriella’s married eldest Stefano (Emanuel Caserio) and the private investigator he’s hired to bring his potential new stepdad down. While at one point, a bizarre love triangle threatens to form when her pansexual youngest Nico (Francesco Del Gaudio) develops an infatuation which Elia seems a little too willing to encourage: none more so than in the seabound scene in which they essentially recreate Jack and Rose’s iconic pose from Titanic. The overbearing score, which ramps up the string section at the slightest plot development, doesn’t help matters either (in contrast, the needle-drops are surprisingly cool). Likewise the ridiculous number of times where Elia’s true intentions looked to have been exposed, only for a far-fetched explanation to frustratingly send the story hurtling back to square one. Take a shot of limoncello whenever Gabriella overreacts to an apparent betrayal, too – it's almost impressive how quickly she can burn a man’s clothes – and by the midway point you’ll be in a drunken stupor. However, like Gold Digger, Deceitful Love still tackles issues that don’t necessarily pop up in your average TV mystery: the idea female sexuality doesn’t completely subside when you’re approaching the free bus pass age, for example, and how society largely views such women as unworthy of desire, as shown in the flash-forward cold open, where Gabriella’s offspring are so certain Elia has an ulterior motive they even apply for a vulnerable adult order. It also deals with how childhood trauma can continue to impact adult life, with flashbacks to the 1980s gradually explaining the tension within Gabriella’s family, including her ex-husband Mario (Geppy Gleijeses), a man who joins in with the shaming pile-on despite having previously run off with her best friend. Double standards are another recurring theme. Of course, most viewers, particularly those in rainy England, will press play to watch beautiful people, both young and older, frolic and fight in sunnier climes. In a year which has seen Nicole Kidman get into bed with Zac Efron, Anne Hathaway date a boyband pin-up and Laura Dern cosy up to the middle Hemsworth brother, Deceitful Love is a well-timed guilty pleasure which once again proves the May-December romance can be just as titillating when the roles are reversed. All six episodes of Deceitful Love are available to stream now on Netflix – sign up from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Netflix romcom Nobody Wants This ignores its USP
Netflix’s latest romcom seems more interested in selling the concept of podcasting than its central romance.***SPOILERS AHEAD***
*Warning: Contains spoilers for Nobody Wants This.* The title of Netflix's latest original, Nobody Wants This, essentially hands critics a punchline on a plate. But the truth is that a certain audience was crying out for such a show. Seth from The OC and Veronica Mars getting together? In a rom-com which wraps each episode up within a binge-able 25 minutes? With a story which reads like the next best thing to a new Fleabag? The ten-part series sounds like millennial catnip. Unfortunately, Adam Brody's too good to be true Noah and Kristen Bell's high-maintenance Joanne have about as much chemistry as two scratch posts. And the interesting central premise – a committed rabbi has to juggle his faith with his growing love for agnostic podcaster – often takes a backseat to far more trivial, and some would say self-involved, matters. In fact, Nobody Wants This appears to be under the belief that podcasting is a much higher calling, its narrative driven far more by the machinations of Joanne's Call Her Daddy-esque show than Noah's bid to fulfil his lifelong religious aspirations. Will she and equally catty co-host sister Morgan (Succession's regular scene-stealer Justine Lupe) be able to land a megabucks deal with Spotify? Will her fledgling romance impact on the listenership's craving for gossip about the big city dating scene? The show seems to think we should care. It also often plays out like an advertorial for podcasts. In one ambiguously parodic dinner table scene, Noah tells Joanne – a woman who, as his overbearing mother Bina (Tovah Feldshuh) points out, makes a living "talking about former lovers for public consumption" – with the utmost earnestness: "What you do is important". Incidentally, both creator Erin Foster (The World's First Podcast with Erin and Sara Foster) and Bell (We Are Supported By) once had podcasts of their own, while the latter's husband, Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert, is one of the world's biggest. Of course, Joanne eventually makes Bina see the error of her ways, getting her to open up about a youthful tryst with Frank Sinatra on a mock podcast interview. She also inspires Noah, who after listening to an episode called Dil-dos and Dil-don'ts, miraculously turns into his community's most candid marriage counsellor. "Sex isn’t the point of the podcast," Joanne insists in another vainglorious speech about the life-changing magnitude of her work. "I want them to feel empowered." What's interesting is Foster also has experience of converting to Judaism, a practice which both the central relationship and Noah's career prospects ultimately hinge upon. Yet other than a few throwaway lines, Nobody Wants This doesn't really explore what this means. It takes until the eighth episode for the subject to come up, with Joanne making a decision before then quickly reneging on her word without offering any explanation either way. Frustratingly, there are flickers of a much more grounded rom-com elsewhere, and one that acknowledges Noah's path is infinitely more intriguing. The pair's meet-cute at a mutual friends' dinner party, for example, leads to a fascinating conversation about both their spiritual differences and parallels ("Baked into the Jewish experience is wrestling with what God is or isn't, not knowing"). A trip to a Jewish summer camp, during which Noah is treated like a celebrity and Joanne a pariah, provides a welcome change in dynamics. While brief insights into familial pressures (Joanne is routinely dismissed by Noah's ghastly clan) and religious hypocrisy – a sex shop encounter with a church donor providing one of the show's biggest laughs – better utilise the show's premise to comedic effect. The show also benefits anytime Noah's boss Cohen (Stephen Tobolowsky) pops up to throw a few golden analogies about the state of his potential replacement's love life ("There are a lot of rules that come with this job. There's no pork, no shellfish. But I think I'm looking at a rabbi who has suddenly realised that he likes a nice blonde crab cake"). Ironically, Noah bounces off Cohen far more effectively than he does Joanne, a character whose constant paranoia and abject fickleness routinely makes it difficult to root for the two supposed lovebirds. We first see her sneakily ducking out in the middle of a date after a guy gets too emotional talking about his late grandmother. And she's similarly flighty when Noah awkwardly tries to make a good impression on her own oddball family. "He has come back from the ick," she tells her podcast listeners, seemingly celebrating the fact she nearly dumped him simply for his taste in flowers. There's little to explain why Noah, as the closing semi-cliffhanger suggests anyway, is about to sacrifice his selfless career for someone so inherently self-serving. Nobody Wants This also wastes time on a bizarre will they/won't they between Morgan and Noah's obnoxious married brother Sasha (Timothy Simons) and the latter's equally fruitless attempts to take over the family business. Meanwhile, the unconventional relationship between Joanne's hippy-dippy mother Lynn (Stephanie Faracy) and newly-out father Henry (Michael Hitchcock) feels like an early broader draft of Grace and Frankie. Still, Nobody Wants This is unlikely to need any divine intervention to become a hit. After all, we’re in an age where Emily in Paris has been renewed for a fifth season and Anyone But You grossed $200 million at the box office. Despite such a talented cast and intriguing concept, however, it’s ultimately left wanting. Nobody Wants This is streaming now on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Sherwood ending explained: Did Ann literally get away with murder?
**WARNING: Contains spoilers for all episodes of Sherwood** The must-watch drama of the summer concluded in typically bloodthirsty style. It seemed unlikely that the second season of Sherwood could ever top the edge-of-your-seat thrills of the first. But, as the BAFTA-nominated drama has delved deeper and deeper into the tit-for-tat turf wars of Nottingham’s criminal underworld, it’s upped the tension with every episode. The fifth concluded with yet more bloodshed after the truly terrifying matriarch Ann (Monica Dolan, unrecognisable from her turn earlier this year in Mr Bates vs The Post Office) added rival head honcho Mickey (Philip Jackson) to her kill list. So, did she get her much-deserved comeuppance? Here’s what went down in the captivating finale. Sherwood ending explained Did the mole get caught? While being interviewed about his wife Ann’s whereabouts, crime lord Roy Branson (Stephen Dillane) tells DCS Harry Summers (Michael Balogun) he knows he slept at the Bottomleys' safe house the night before their murder after drinking several cans of real ale. The detective had only given this information to one other individual, his snakelike colleague Marcus (Jordan Myrie). Once the penny drops, Harry takes Marcus deep into Sherwood Forest on the pretence they’re looking for Ann before tackling him to the ground, roughing him up and finding the incriminating phone which confirms he’s in cahoots with the Bransons. After being frogmarched back to the police station, the mole reveals the family had bought his cooperation by paying for his degree and shows no remorse for repeatedly undermining the operation to bring them down. Who poisoned Lisa? The show’s sheriff of Nottingham, who contrary to what the anti-woke brigade believe isn’t Robin Hood’s nemesis but a modern-day elected councillor, looked like becoming another fatality when she was found poisoned at the end of episode 4. Luckily, Lisa (Ria Zmitrowicz) recovers from the ordeal – caused by having her vape spiked with the street drug spice. And thanks to some valuable insider information from Stephie (Bethany Asher), the police learn that new kid on the block Jordan (Tyrese Eaton-Dyce) was responsible. Lisa was a member of the council that cut funding for various prison programmes which had given his troubled convicted brother purpose in life, a development he believed contributed to his suicide. "It all seems pretty opportunistic and unthought through," Harry explains about the act of revenge, perhaps echoing viewers’ response to the show’s most unconvincing motive. Where is Ann? Of course, the biggest question the finale needed to answer related to the whereabouts of the truly wicked Ann. Having just shot dead Mickey in cold blood, the villainess went into hiding, fully aware that both the police and her new nemesis Daphne (this season's MVP Lorraine Ashbourne) would be on the warpath. After a tip-off from an acquaintance tasked with providing Ann a fake passport, the permanently enraged Rory (Perry Fitzpatrick) heads straight for the reservoir marshlands she’s been hiding at. But he’s beaten to the punch by his mum and her recently reunited daughter Rachel (Christine Bottomley). Ann shoots the former in her shoulder before walking her to the end of the pier at gunpoint. Like any old-school Bond villain, though, Ann spends way too much time talking instead of killing, and after a gun-toting Rachel saves the day, Daphne disarms her while also breaking her arm. Surely, this is the end of the East Midlands’ most fearsome matriarch? Well, not just yet. With Mickey’s final word ("Don’t!") still ringing in her ears, Daphne tells the defenceless Ann that she’s not going to murder her. In fact, she’s not even going to hand her over to the police. Instead, she wants her to live a life constantly looking over her shoulder, a paranoid existence the ex-undercover cop has plenty experience of. Of course, Ann was never going to meekly walk away, and following another scuffle to the death, she falls into the lake. With the Sparrows, now joined by Rory, watching intently, she thrashes around before slowly sinking below the surface. As returning cop Ian (David Morrissey) arrives on the scene, you half expect Ann to suddenly rise up like Jason Voorhees in the first Friday the 13th. But no, her bone-chilling reign of terror really has come to a watery end. Where are the key characters now? After a tearful meeting with trouble-starter brother Ryan (Oliver Huntingdon) shortly before he's transferred to a prison much further afield, Stephie is shown moving into new accommodation, this time thankfully not inhabited by any drug-addled teens. But once again proving that she isn’t averse to criminal ways herself – let's not forget that despite the fact her fingerprints would have been all over his van door, she gets away with fatally spearing Kyre (Conor Deane) – she’s also shown burying the money her former housemates stashed away in the washing machine. Meanwhile, Robert Lindsay continues to play uber-rich businessman Franklin Warner like a panto baddie, throwing a press conference tantrum when it becomes clear his new coal mine proposal has been vetoed. If you’re still wondering whether he was responsible for the death threats towards his most vocal opponent Lisa, well, the show doesn’t tell us. Perhaps this will be resolved if a third season is greenlit? Elsewhere, in a montage set to Lisa’s inspirational comeback speech, we see Harry attending a support group, the Sparrows playing happy families after Daphne’s discharge from hospital and Ian and Julie (an underused Lesley Manville) reconciling their friendship (and possibly more?). The latter storyline, in particular, seemed surplus to requirements second time around, a result of the show possibly trying to spin a few too many plates. But overall, the mining strike drama’s pivot into Nottingham’s version of The Wire has been must-watch TV from start to finish. All episodes of Sherwood are now available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Check out our Drama hub for all the latest news. If you’re looking for something to watch tonight, check out our TV Guide.
Stags review: Brits get banged up abroad in Paramount Plus's geezerish jailhouse dramedy
A bachelor party goes wrong with deadly - and occasionally amusing - consequences.
"A balls-out series, packed with plot twists that'll give the keenest genre buff whiplash." The producers of Paramount Plus's latest British original Stags sure know how to talk the talk. But does the cross between The Hangover, Banged Up Abroad and the impossibly humid third season of Prison Break walk the walk? Set in South America, filmed in Tenerife and starring a largely British cast, the multi-national six-parter stars Nico Mirallegro (who to a certain generation will always be Hollyoaks’ troubled goth Newt) as groom-to-be Stu. As evident from the opening pre-proposal scene, where he misplaces his engagement ring on the River Thames's foreshore, he’s not always the sharpest tool in the box. Then again, neither are the motley crew of buddies invited to his hedonistic stag. Snooty Hugo (Paul Forman, fast cornering the market in playing Frenchmen following his stint in Emily in Paris) apparently makes a living trying to sell credit cards to children. And not just one but two pals suddenly decide to smuggle cocaine on the journey home in a region not exactly renowned for its lenient drug trafficking laws. While loudmouth schoolmate Ryan (Corin Silva) manages to get past security with his small stash, shifty work colleague Greg (People Just Do Nothing’s Asim Chaudhry) isn’t so lucky when the coke-filled balloon he’s swallowed violently bursts, putting his life and, in turn, the rest of the circle’s in danger. Indeed, the party – which also includes future in-laws John (Cavan Clerkin) and Kai (Jojo Macari, on a hot streak following his dastardly turn in Amazon Prime Video’s gladiatorial epic Those About to Die) and family man Ant (This Country’s Charlie Cooper) – no doubt wish they’d simply settled for a paintballing weekend in Bognor Regis when they’re all thrown into a highly intimidating island prison, albeit in some rather fetching yellow jumpsuits. Within minutes, they’ve witnessed one prisoner getting beaten to a pulp and then, after being allowed by the fearsome guards to make a run for it, another getting blown to smithereens. "It makes Guantanamo look bougie," John notes, not unfairly. Little do they know that things are about to get even worse. For the rowdy jail also inhabited by chickens, almond butter-selling vendors and street kids who serve as go-betweens via Google Translate, is ruled with an iron fist by two warring siblings. There’s Selma (Paulina Gálvez), a high-powered husband murderer who amusingly tries to find common ground with the Londoners ("Harry Kane? Parklife?") before essentially forcing them to participate in a high-stakes version of Britain’s Got Talent. And then there’s Branco (Oscar Foronda), the moustachioed man with a rather unnerving penchant for organ harvesting. Director David Kerr (Johnny English Strikes Again) does a great job capturing the horror of the hellhole surroundings the gang are staring down a possible life sentence in. He also handles the balance of crime and comedy well, ratcheting up the tension one minute and then puncturing it with a macabre quip ("Even with one eye, I can see he’s got cirrhosis," a roughed-up henchman remarks during a game of 'Who Wants to Volunteer a Kidney?') or sight gag the next. Stags may well be the first show to feature an accidental death by toilet seat, for example. Unfortunately, the script – from the first two episodes available for review, anyway – doesn’t give us much reason to invest in the prisoners’ fates. The opening 10 minutes, which documents the drug-addled carnage of the stag do itself, is more interested in showing copious amounts of vomiting than offering any kind of character development. Furthermore, the personalities that do come through are largely of the insufferable kind. Stu and co are the type of boorish holidaymakers you’d actively avoid if you had the misfortune to find yourself in their vicinity, with the majority a relic of the geezer films that dominated Danny Dyer’s career in the ‘00s. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2024/06/STAGS102-20231113-CRSTILLS99TRL1-d3f5146-e1723626316151.jpg" width="5698" height="3801" alt="Charlie Cooper as Ant, Paul Forman as Hugo, Nico Mirallegro as Stu, Cavan Clerkin as John, Asim Chaudhry as Greg, Corin Silva as Ryan and Jojo Macari as Kai in Stags, wearing yellow jumpsuits and stood in a line" title="STAGS - Season 1" /> And, apart from one admirable act of self-sacrifice during a torture session, they’re remarkably quick to turn on each other too. Like so many 'worst case scenario' dramas, Stags wastes its intriguing concept on a bunch of individuals so unlikeable and selfish you start to sympathise with their oppressors. Still, there’s enough going on elsewhere within the prison – the conspiracy which proves that several members of the party aren’t as innocent as they seem, the increasingly outlandish power struggle between Selma and Branco – to sustain interest beyond their survival. The cold open, where two security guards are seemingly dispatched with by a malevolent unseen force, suggests that a supernatural element may come into play at some point too. For better and for worse, then, Stags certainly isn’t your average prison drama. Indeed, anyone expecting Jimmy McGovern-esque realism should look elsewhere. But its no-holds-barred approach ensures that its confident marketing spiel isn’t too wide of the mark. Stags debuted exclusively on Paramount Plus in the UK on Thursday 15th August - sign up for Paramount Plus here. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Why Vince Vaughn's Bad Monkey should kickstart the 'Vaughnaissance'
Apple TV+’s latest star vehicle allows Vince Vaughn to remind us all why he dominated ‘00s comedy.
Formerly one of Hollywood's most bankable names thanks to a golden run of Frat Pack hits, Vince Vaughn found his career floundering in the 2010s. He essentially sleepwalked his way through lazy vehicles such as The Internship – essentially a Google infomercial masquerading as a workplace comedy. He also co-starred in the second season of True Detective, which experienced possibly the most rapid nosedive in quality of the prestige TV age. But the funnyman has recently shown signs of getting back to his best. He clearly had a blast inhabiting the mind of a teenage cheerleader in the body of a middle-aged serial killer in Freaky. Likewise, with his cameos as Marty's half-brother Freddy Funkhouser in Curb Your Enthusiasm, and now in Apple TV+'s slickly produced original, Vaughn has rediscovered the easygoing charm and acerbic wit of his imperial phase. Bad Monkey stars Vaughn as Andrew Yancy, a "simple man of simple pleasures", who's been demoted from police detective to restaurant health inspector, having deliberately bumped his lover's golfcart-driving husband into the waters of the Florida Keys. Desperate for some respite from rat-infested kitchens, the fallen cop – against the advice of his superiors – soon becomes invested in the archipelago's latest unsolved mystery: a severed arm reeled in by a tourist boat. Adapted from the same-named 2013 novel by Carl Hiaasen, the 10-part series throws in an array of oddballs as the puzzle develops into a full-blown conspiracy involving everything from insurance fraud to gentrification. There's the scheming socialite who seems oddly unmoved about her husband's apparent grisly demise; there's the Bahamian fisherman determined to seek vengeance for the demolition of his family's beachside home; and then there's the local voodoo queen who takes a shine to the latter's Capuchin monkey. The titular creature, as you'd expect, steals the show, although he's run a close second by Vaughn's pitch-perfect performance as a man whose demeanour doesn't always reflect his sunshine surroundings. "He felt that warm glow whenever he made an enemy for life," explains the show's gruff-voiced narrator. And the sleuth makes plenty, whether it's the property developer whose latest fixer-upper has invaded his own personal paradise ("I can still smell that dead raccoon. Or maybe it's just the odour from the way the house looks?") or the self-proclaimed 'P***y Hunter' whose ghoulish catch might not have been as accidental as first seemed ("How does an unemployed halfwit like you get the bank to buy bling and oysters"). Showrunner Bill Lawrence, fast becoming Apple TV+'s secret weapon having also created the pandemic's ultimate comfort watch Ted Lasso and Harrison Ford's comedic return Shrinking, has acknowledged – and given his blessing to – the fact most of these quick-witted quips were made off the cuff. "Watching him doing that up-close and making stuff that we wrote better, it was a pleasure," he told Entertainment Tonight. Of course, you could argue the over-reliance on improvisation ultimately sparked the downfall of Vaughn's brand of comedy (The Dilemma and the equally bloated Anchorman 2 clocked in at the two-hour mark). Thankfully here, his one-liners are deployed sparingly, ensuring Bad Monkey stays relatively faithful to Hiaasen's pulp fiction while still developing a cynical flavour of its own. Indeed, this isn't quite the Vaughn of Old School, Dodgeball and Wedding Crashers, the kind of R-rated comedies he recently bemoaned Tinseltown bosses are now scared to make in an IP-driven landscape (the irony that his latest project is based on a New York Times bestseller isn’t lost). He's 20 years older, for one thing, and the humour is more likely to make you smile than laugh out loud. But with such naturally funny bones, he still makes the majority of the script zing. Vaughn also gets to show the more smooth-talking side he displayed in breakout hit Swingers, wining and dining Michelle Monaghan's Bonnie, an on-the-run figure who continually drifts in and out of his life, back into bed. He has more chemistry with Natalie Martinez's Rosa, the local medical examiner who also relishes the opportunity to escape her day job, even when it puts her own life in danger. Yet, his most engaging rapport is with Rogelio (John Ortiz), the world-weary best friend and former colleague who fulfils the role typically occupied by the likes of Owen Wilson. It's a shame the show doesn't utilise their sparring abilities – with Yancy's unwillingness to play by the rules usually the catalyst – more often. It should be noted that Apple TV+ does have a bizarre habit of making big-name marquee shows before burying them without any promotion (see Natalie Portman's Lady in the Lake, Michael Douglas's Franklin and the ridiculously star-studded Extrapolations). But if they do actually make the general public aware Bad Monkey exists, then by the time his future projects emerge (the Al Pacino-starring Easy's Waltz, the long-awaited Dodgeball sequel), the 'Vaughnaissance' should already be in full swing. The first two episodes of Bad Monkey are available to stream on Apple TV+ from Aug 14 with a new episode following every Wednesday until October 9 – check out our Drama hub for all the latest news. If you’re looking for something to watch tonight, check out our TV Guide.
Those About to Die review: Ancient Rome gets the Roland Emmerich touch in historical gambling drama
The year of the gladiator continues with a little help from Sir Anthony Hopkins.
"We need to excite them," gambling overlord Tenax (Iwan Rheon) acknowledges in new gladiatorial drama Those About to Die. "We need to thrill them. Enough is good. More is better. Too much is perfect." It’s a mission statement which could just as easily be applied to co-director Roland Emmerich’s entire career. After all, this is a man that blew up the White House in Independence Day, stomped all over New York in Godzilla and froze the entire world in The Day After Tomorrow. And yet, despite reportedly costing a whopping $140 million, the 10-part series is surprisingly just as interested in words, and indeed numbers, as it is action. Showing a different side to the sword-and-sandals epic, this loose adaptation of Daniel P Mannix’s same-named 1958 biography grounds much of its high drama amid the corruption of Ancient Rome’s betting industry (sports reportedly accounted for one-third of all expenditure at the time), and how it impacted everything from the freedom of slaves to the battle for the kingdom’s throne. While the perfunctory dialog is unlikely to give Aaron Sorkin any sleepless nights, it’s an interesting spin which sets the period piece apart from the similarly-themed Barbarians, Dominia and forthcoming Spartacus reboot. Visibly relishing the opportunity to pick up where his Game of Thrones sadist Ramsay Bolton left off, Rheon provides the inroad to the seedy underworld, his kingpin running what’s essentially 79 AD’s answer to Paddy Power with an iron fist. Tenax wants more, though, namely his own horse racing faction which will bring him respect and a greater level of power within an elite that includes the city’s puppet master family the Flavians and politically ruthless husband-and-wife Marsus (Rupert Penry-Jones) and Antonia (Gabriella Pession). At the other end of the societal spectrum, North African merchant Cala (Sara Martins-Court) is trying to rescue her three children away from the clutches of Rome’s slave trade. “Show them you can fight or die trying,” she implores slight yet highly resourceful son Kwame (Moe Hashim), a task easier said than done when his opponents include a seven-foot man mountain and a lion on the loose. However, the most interesting story revolves around the show’s biggest casting coup, two-time Oscar-winning legend Sir Anthony Hopkins. Although his screen time is limited, the Welshman still gets several grandstanding speeches to deliver as the ailing Emperor Vespasian attempting to restore order after the destructive exploits of predecessor Nero (“Soon I shall cross to the kingdom of darkness, but nothing is more important that protecting our beloved Rome”). And he naturally brings a sense of gravitas to the plotline in which vastly different sons Titus (Tom Hughes) and Domitian (Sex Education’s Jojo Macari very nearly stealing the show as the love-to-hate villain) vie to inherit his dynasty by any means necessary. Premiering on Peacock in the States but Amazon Prime Video in the UK, Those About to Die still contains plenty of blood and guts. It certainly lives up to its title, and the copious amounts of claret that drips down its lengthy title sequence, with one poor commoner’s throat being slit within the opening 40 seconds. The kill count soon racks up much higher, thanks to a peasant’s revolt over the lack of food and sabotaged chariot race whose loose limbs are guaranteed to leave squeamish viewers wincing. There’s still plenty of gratuitous flesh-baring too (both male and female), with much of the walking and talking conducted within the men’s grandiose changing areas and the kind of wild orgies you’d expect during the height of Roman decadence. This sure isn’t a show fit for families wanting a Saturday night replacement for Gladiators. As you’d expect from a filmmaker synonymous with high-concept blockbusters, the visuals are impressive, particularly the high-speed, horse-powered contests which thrusts audiences into the heart of the newly-built Coliseum. The obvious use of CGI, however, means it inevitably pales into comparison with practically-minded classics such as Ben-Hur, Spartacus and even the more contemporary Gladiator. Those About to Die gets its own "Are You Not Entertained" moment during a climactic battle to the death, which exemplifies the gladiatorial arena’s lack of mercy. Viewers at home should be able answer in the affirmative too, with BAFTA-winning co-director Marco Kreuzpaintner (The Lazarus Project) ensuring the second half of the series maintains the same blend of high-octane bouts and Shakespearean soap opera as the first. Subtle it isn’t. But for anyone counting down the days until the belated sequel to Ridley Scott’s epic hits our screens, this lavish alternate history lesson is a solid stopgap. All ten episodes of Those About to Die are now available to stream now on Amazon Prime Video – try it for free for 30 days. Plus, read our guides to the best Amazon Prime series and the best movies on Amazon Prime. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Why Lost Boys & Fairies is TV's most authentic depiction of gay shame
Daf James's ambitious adoption drama explores the issue like no other show before.
From a grounded insight into the trials and tribulations of the adoption process to a fantastical musical set in Cardiff's fictional answer to Moulin Rouge, the BBC's audacious new drama Lost Boys & Fairies is many things. For many LGBTQ+ viewers, however, it's the show's remarkably visceral handling of gay shame that will resonate the most. Anyone who grew up in the '80s will undoubtedly identify with the fear immediately instilled in Gabe (Sion Daniel Young) on watching Margaret Thatcher's Section 28 speech and those doom-laden AIDS awareness ads in which a booming John Hurt warned, "Don't die of ignorance." The scene where young Gabe is spanked by his father Emrys (William Thomas) simply for trying on a dress will strike a chord with anyone punished while growing up for challenging, whether intentionally or not, the heteronormative norm. Based on Welsh playwright Daf James's own life experiences, Lost Boys & Fairies repeatedly flashes back to such formative moments, explaining why Gabe is by far the most troubled half of the show's central couple. While Andy (Fra Fee) is a well-adjusted, practically saintlike figure with a respectable nine-to-five and a penchant for domesticity, Gabe is a recovering drug and sex addict who only ever seems comfortable in his own skin while belting out ballads at the local gay bar. The differences between the aspiring adoptees are apparent from the opening moment in which they're interviewed by kind-hearted social worker Jackie (Elizabeth Berrington), disagreeing on marriage, paternity leave and, perhaps most notably, the gender of the child they want to adopt. "Boys are nothing but trouble," Gabe reasons. And he's speaking from experience. As a schoolboy, he had his head flushed down the toilet, was taped to the cubicle doors alongside the word 'fairy' and inflicted with so much general trauma that it still impacts him decades on: anyone picked last in PE will understand how even a simple kickabout with Jake (Leo Harris), the seven-year-old foster kid who makes him completely reevaluate his adoption wish list, can reduce the grown-up Gabe to a quivering wreck. Read more: Lost Boys & Fairies writer on gay adoption drama: 'Love comes in many shapes' RT Pride: 15 of the most important LGBTQ+ shows of all time Andy still has plenty of childhood baggage himself, namely being abandoned by his father for a new family, yet he does have at least one supportive parent (a scene-stealing Maria Doyle Kennedy). Having lost his own mum to a brain haemorrhage from a young age and his dad to religious repression, though, Gabe has had to struggle with his queer identity alone. That's an experience which manifests itself in increasingly dark ways. The terrifying Satanic figure, which bursts through the teenage Gabe's bedroom walls whenever he has same-sex impulses and briefly pushes the drama firmly into hide-behind-the-sofa horror territory, may have been a figment of his imagination. But the descent into substance abuse and reckless sexual activity – glimpses of a cocaine-fuelled orgy and a truly nightmarish chemsex session suggests the two were intertwined – is, sadly, the all-too-real way he tries to keep such demons at bay. Gabe's national identity has also proven to be a barrier in accepting who he is. "I didn't feel like I could be queer in Welsh," he tells Andy. "Plus, I don't like the Welsh words for gay. Gwrywgydiwr – man gripper – makes me sound like a JCB." Although we later learn in a fascinating linguistic lesson that he's misunderstood the term, his refusal to send any adopted child to a Welsh-speaking school still makes sense. This inherent need to distance himself from anything which compounded his shame also applies to Gabe's relationship with his father, a man of few words whose initial concerns about the concept of gay adoption only deepens their rift. When Emrys tactlessly argues, "Every kid needs a mother," you can almost hear his son's heart shattering into a million pieces. It's little wonder Gabe continually questions whether he has, or even deserves, the ability to offer a vulnerable young kid love when that’s something his own childhood was so devoid of. However, even when supported by his alternative father figure, veteran drag queen Fanny Ample (Arwel Gruffydd), he still struggles with acceptance, both from himself and others. ("We used to be attacked by straights for being too queer. Now the queers are attacking us for not being queer enough.") It's only when Gabe is forced to deal with another major tragedy, and one which threatens to send the otherwise balanced drama into grief porn territory, that his cycle of shame shows signs of abating. Of course, by this point, any sympathy may have been eradicated altogether. Indeed, while Young delivers a brilliantly nuanced performance, Gabe isn't a particularly easy character to root for. He's prone to spitting his dummy out at the merest sign of conflict and he continually puts his needs as a performer and partygoer above his roles as partner and prospective parent (his recklessness in the final episode – a particularly tough watch – will be a bridge too far for many). But neither is he a lost cause, his natural ability to communicate with others and sardonic humour no doubt the kind of qualities that attracted Andy, while the determination to better himself proves he desperately wants to overcome his insidious inner voice. Premiering at the start of Pride Month, Lost Boys & Fairies isn't exactly a celebratory experience. But anyone who's ever internalised similar feelings should find plenty to relate to and, after much soul-searching, a sense that it really does get better. All three episodes of Lost Boys & Fairies are now available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Episodes will also air weekly on Mondays at 9pm on BBC One. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Is The Tattooist of Auschwitz based on a true story?
The series chronicles how Auschwitz prisoner Lale Sokolov found love in the most harrowing of circumstances.
New series The Tattooist of Auschwitz sees Jonah Hauer-King takes the lead as Holocaust survivor Lale Sokolov in his wartime years in what is an extraordinary true love story. Played by Harvey Keitel as an older man, the Holocaust survivor is the subject of the new prestige drama, which is now available to stream. The Sky Atlantic original explores his relationship with fellow prisoner Gita Fuhrmannova and is based on the same-named 2018 best-selling novel by Heather Morris, who spent three years interviewing Lale for a tale which blurred the boundaries between history and historical fiction. Indeed, the author was criticised by the Auschwitz Memorial Research Center for the book's depiction of life inside the concentration camp, also noting some inaccuracies, including Gita's incorrect identification number and the anachronistic use of penicillin. Morris fought back, however, insisting that "Ninety-five per cent of it is as it happened; researched and confirmed". Here's what we do know, for sure, about Lale's remarkable story. The Tattooist of Auschwitz true story Origin story Born Ludwig Eisenberg in the Slovakian town of Krompachy in 1916, Lale was working as a department store manager in Bratislava when World War II broke out. On learning that Nazis were sending all his hometown's Jewish people to camps, he returned to the family home and volunteered himself to the local authority, hoping this would guarantee the safety of his mother, father and siblings (unbeknownst to Lale, his parents were taken to Auschwitz and killed a month before his own arrival). Lale was transported to the concentration camp in April 1942 and immediately put to work on its housing block construction. Soon after, he contracted typhoid. But during his recovery, he was mentored by a French academic named Pepan, the same man who'd inked his ID number of 32407 onto his forearm on arrival. When Pepan suddenly disappeared, Lale was appointed as his replacement, as an official member of the Politische Abteilung (aka the Concentration Camp Gestapo). The job of the tetovierer (the tattooist) sheltered him further from the many horrors his fellow prisoners witnessed or experienced. It also came with several benefits, including additional rations, spare time and his own bedroom. Lale tried to use these for the greater good, often handing out his extra food to those who needed it more and trading with local villagers for contraband he could distribute back into camp. And there was one particular individual who he did his utmost best to care for. Meeting Gita Lale first set eyes on Gita in July 1942 while she was lining up to get tattooed, a practice designed to rob hundreds of thousands of prisoners of their identities. Still only in his apprenticeship stage by then, the Slovakian initially hesitated to ink the 18-year-old, but was warned that if he didn't, his own life would be at risk (on one occasion, Angel of Death physician Josef Mengele told him: "One day, tetovierer, I will take you – one day"). The encounter left a lasting impression on Lale, and over the next three years, he did whatever he could to spend more time with her. With the help of his personal SS guard, Lale and Gita were able to exchange correspondence and on Sundays – prisoners' only day of rest – even enjoyed clandestine meetings outside her housing block. Their relationship looked to have ended when, shortly before Soviet troops liberated Auschwitz in January 1945, Lale was relocated to Austria's Mauthausen concentration camp. However, following a miraculous escape in which he evaded Russian and German crossfire while swimming the Danube, he found his way back to his homeland. He then set out on another seemingly mission impossible: to find the woman who’d captured his heart. The reunion After journeying to Bratislava via horse and cart, Lale spent several weeks at the city's railway station – an entry point for Holocaust survivors – without any luck, before he was told to try the Red Cross. In a remarkable coincidence, he spotted Gita en route and they instantly reconnected. By the end of the year, the pair had walked down the aisle together and shortly after, they set up a silk fabric factory. Sadly, they had to wait a few more years to get a truly happy ending. Indeed, the Soviet-controlled Czech government confiscated all of Lale's assets and imprisoned him after discovering he'd been donating money to support the movement for an Israeli state. On his release, Lale and Gita were advised to leave the country, and following brief spells in Paris and Vienna, they ended up settling in Melbourne in 1948. Starting from scratch again, the couple opened a ladies' clothing factory and in 1961 became parents, with the birth of only child Gary. Lale largely kept quiet about his harrowing past, over fears he'd be viewed as a Nazi sympathiser. Yet, following Gita's death in 2003, he felt able to unburden himself and revealed all to Morris. Lale had planned to return to Europe for the first time in more than half a century to further help conquer his demons, but sadly in 2006, he passed away. Speaking to Publishers Weekly about the book that arrived 12 years later, Morris said: "He wrongly felt it was his fault that he couldn't save the souls who died there. Lale's motto in Auschwitz was, 'If you wake up in the morning, it is a good day.' "He believed you owed it to yourself and those around you to make the day the best it could be." View Green Video on the source website All six episodes of The Tattooist of Auschwitz are available on Sky Atlantic from May 2 – check out our Drama hub for all the latest news. Sign up for Sky TV here. If you’re looking for something to watch tonight, check out our TV Guide.
How Baby Reindeer has been hijacked by armchair detective culture
Why viewers attempting to discover the real Martha and Darrien are putting both the show and society at risk.
According to a startling poll conducted last year, the public's fascination with true crime has emboldened one in three Brits to believe they could easily solve a real-life case. It's why TikTok sleuths pounce on any unsolved mystery with a complete disregard for police protocol. It's why Kate Middleton's prolonged absence from the spotlight sparked countless theories which had defamation lawyers on standby. And it's why Baby Reindeer, currently the nation's most talked-about show, has served as a siren call for every fervent armchair detective to do their worst. The remarkably dark comedy, which has been sitting at the top of Netflix's most-watched chart for the past week, draws heavily upon the traumatic experiences of its creator and leading man Richard Gadd, namely the sustained harassment he suffered at the hands of a female stalker, and the sexual assaults he was subjected to by a male TV writer. Gadd – who plays his fictionalised self Donny Dunn – initially insisted the culprits in the show, Jessica Gunning's Martha and Tom Goodman-Hill's Darrien, were too far removed from their real-life counterparts to inspire any credible sleuthing. After all, he'd candidly addressed the same issues in two hit Edinburgh Fringe shows without anyone's identities being compromised. But getting candid in front of a few thousand festival-goers is wildly different to getting candid in front of a worldwide streaming audience of 2.6 million and counting, which has prompted a notable percentage to leap on the trail of breadcrumbs Gadd inadvertently offered. Read more: Baby Reindeer true story: Creator Richard Gadd on his "bonkers" stalking ordeal Baby Reindeer ending explained: Star breaks down "clever" finale Case in point: the real "Darrien", with amateur investigators scrutinising IMDb to find parallels with the show's timelines. One accused figure has publicly come out fighting, tweeting that the police are currently investigating the threatening messages he's received. And he also shared Gadd's Instagram plea to stop such damaging behaviour ("people I love, have worked with, and admire are unfairly getting caught up in speculation"). That's a noble sentiment, yet one which could be argued is the equivalent of shutting the stable doors after the horse has bolted. During an interview with Time Out, Gadd admitted he was expecting a backlash of some sorts following Baby Reindeer's premiere. And while the critical reception to the show itself has been unanimously rapturous, the comedian is now coming under fire from certain sections of the press for failing to provide a duty of care, particularly for the "unwell" and "needing help" woman who he's claimed is just as much a victim. Could Gadd have done more due diligence beforehand? After all, we're living in the age of Don't F*** with Cats. By explicitly stating the series was based on a true story, it was always inevitable that every single detail, whether grounded in facts or simply a case of artistic licence, would be meticulously raked over. Even Fleabag – a show never once presented as autobiographical and nowhere near as inflammatory – prompted mass speculation, enough to make Phoebe Waller-Bridge acknowledge she's failed to shield her family. Whether Gadd needed to better edit his own life story or not, Baby Reindeer's viewers still hold the ultimate responsibility for the witch hunts that have ensued. The stand-up has continually shown empathy for the stalker who sent his life spiralling out of control. That can't be said for those gleefully knocking up side-by-side comparisons and resurfacing videos from the purported real individual. Furthermore, their apparent 'quest for justice' undermines the man who actually suffered the abuse depicted. Indeed, in the final episode, Donny visits Darrien at the same flat where he was repeatedly drugged and assaulted. Instead of the heated confrontation expected, however, he allows the writer to commend his bravery for speaking out and offer him a job, stating, "It won't be like last time." Donny, still clearly showing signs of the psychological trauma inflicted and the feelings of attachment which can result, gratefully accepts. It's not the cut-and-dry resolution we're used to, yet it's a searingly honest one. But those determined to out the real Darrien, potentially putting entirely innocent men at risk, are essentially arguing Donny didn't deal with the situation in a satisfying or correct manner. Only time will tell whether the typical mindset of 'act first, think later' will spark any further real-world consequences. One thing's for sure, though: As both Gadd and Gunning have pointed out, by adopting the very same obsessive traits that made Martha such a threat, such armchair detectives have entirely missed the point of the show. View Green Video on the source website All seven episodes of Baby Reindeer are now available to stream on Netflix – check out our Drama hub for all the latest news. If you’re looking for something else to watch tonight, check out our TV Guide.
Baby Reindeer review: Richard Gadd bares soul in gripping emotional rollercoaster
Avoiding the usual stalker tropes, the Edinburgh favourite delivers a dark comedy masterclass on Netflix.
"I really wanted to show the layers of stalking with a human quality I hadn't seen on television before," comedian Richard Gadd said about his autobiographical Netflix original Baby Reindeer. Based on the one-man show that took the Edinburgh Fringe Festival by storm in 2019, the dark comedy (emphasis on the dark) could never be described as a formulaic bunny boiler. In fact, it's quite possibly the most singular project the streaming giant has put its name to. The seven-part series stars Gadd as Donny Dunn, a fictionalised version of himself struggling to get established on the stand-up circuit, his prop-heavy brand of anti-comedy not exactly at the Michael McIntyre end of the crowd-pleasing spectrum. While bartending to make ends meet, he gets chatting to Martha (Jessica Gunning), another fictionalised character who, despite her dishevelled appearance and inability to afford a cup of tea, claims to be a hotshot legal advisor to multiple political leaders. "I instantly felt sorry for her," Donny reveals in narrator mode, a storytelling device which continually offers a remarkably candid insight into his state of mind. Although Donny doesn't buy her story, he initially finds Martha strangely endearing, partly due to her poetic turn of phrase, but more for the fact that she gives him the laughs and attention he craves. However, her constant presence eventually becomes a nuisance – even more so when she discovers his email address and, as shown in interstitial text cards that become increasingly unhinged, bombards him daily with dozens of misspelled, often heavily sexualised messages (a colossal 41,000 in total). When she suddenly explodes with rage without much provocation over coffee, Donny realises he's bitten off more than he can chew. Admirably, Gadd isn't afraid to show how he exacerbated the situation, whether it's following her back to her unkempt council flat or accepting her Facebook friend request, the latter just moments after a Google search brings up her disturbing criminal past. Then there's the canal side confrontation in which, much to his later disgust, he allows her to get handsy. Although interestingly, Donny undoubtedly thrives off the drama, and also recognises Martha can sometimes be a force for good after she singlehandedly rescues a disastrous stand-up set. The two remarkable lead performances further help blur the boundaries between the stalker and the stalked. Gunning can play Martha sympathetically – the explanation for nicknaming Donny 'Baby Reindeer' is truly heartbreaking stuff, and it's clear she's slipped through the mental health cracks. She can also cut a terrifying figure, though, subjecting not only the object of her affections to countless verbal and physical threats, but his nearest and dearest, too. Meanwhile, Gadd delivers a haunting, soul-baring turn as a man besieged by inner demons and whose handling of the whole predicament inspires pity and despair in equal measure. Baby Reindeer is his own true story, and as with his day job he's determined to tell it with unbridled honesty, no matter how uncomfortable or harrowing things become. Nowhere is that more apparent than the deeply disturbing, yet incredibly brave, fourth episode, which abandons the main story entirely to explore the darkness Martha senses lurking within Donny. With echoes of Michaela Coel's I May Destroy You, Requiem for a Dream and Grindr killer drama Four Lives, Gadd paints a horrifying picture of drug dependency, abuse of power and sexual assault, all instigated by a softly spoken, mild-mannered industry figure who exploits Donny's naivety and crippling self-loathing for his own perverted gains. Even those who saw Gadd's award-winning 2016 show Monkey See Monkey Do, which addressed his similar real-life experiences in similarly unflinching fashion, are unlikely to be prepared for the nightmare that unfolds. It's one of the most powerful pieces of television you'll see this year. Baby Reindeer continues to explore the aftermath in its second half, including a devastating conversation with his parents that won't leave a dry eye in the house, as well as how it impacts his relationship with Teri (Nava Mau), a compassionate trans woman who makes Donny see he's capable of love. Mau stated her character is the first she's read for who feels like they've been written by someone with a similar real-life connection. And indeed, like everything else in the show, their relationship is imbued with both a sense of authenticity and various shades of grey. At such a difficult time for the trans community, it's a welcome nuanced depiction, albeit one which shows Donny isn't always as progressive as he thinks. One of the show's greatest strengths is how it's able to balance such challenging subject matter with inspired flashes of humour. Gadd has great fun dissecting the trials and tribulations of the comic profession, particularly the Edinburgh scene he eventually triumphed in. And the climactic on-stage breakdown, which ironically kickstarts Donny's career, is punctuated brilliantly by some unashamedly nonsensical tongue twisters ("Pop a proper Whopper chopper copper popadom condom on"). You'll also never be able to hear Kylie and Jason's Especially for You in quite the same way again. But Crashing, I'm Dying Up Here or any other recent dramedy rooted in the stand-up world this is not. Although they feature, Gadd is far more interested in tackling weightier themes than hecklers, running orders and bombing on stage (be prepared for much second-hand embarrassment). And he does so with a distinctive, intelligent voice which acknowledges there aren't always definitive answers. This is an early contender for show of 2024. View Green Video on the source website All seven episodes of Baby Reindeer are now available to stream on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Gray on Netflix ending explained: Who was the mole? And how does it set up season 2?
Out of nowhere, a TV drama so under-the-radar it doesn't even have its own Wikipedia page has become a Netflix favourite, spending the last week nestled inside its most-watched Top 10. First screened on Australian streamer Stan in 2023, eight-part Gray stars Academy Award nominee Patricia Clarkson as an on-the-run spy brought back into the CIA to track down the traitor helping to bump off agents left, right and centre. A gender-flipped Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy you could say. So, who was the mole? Did the eponymous returnee survive the numerous threats to her life? And what was with all of those paper birds? Here's what went down in the eventful finale. Gray on Netflix ending explained Did Cornelia go rogue? In the previous episode's cliffhanger, we saw Cornelia Gray (Clarkson) blowing the brains out of the Korea infiltrator she was tasked with rescuing. But unlike her shell-shocked colleague Sara (Lydia West), who witnessed the execution first-hand, boss Tagg (Rupert Everett) didn't seem too surprised about the development. "Not everything is black and white," he told Sara on her return, revealing that, thanks to an experimental interrogation tactic known as IEP, the man in question was about to leak information that would have put millions of lives at risk. You've been framed On the warpath after Cornelia burned his house down while searching for incriminating evidence, ex-lover operative Chase (Shawn Doyle) decided to frame her by putting a bullet in the head of Sara's poor husband Andy (Benjamin Sutherland). Cornelia, of course, had already fatally poisoned Sara's secret agent stepmother Tessa (Fiona Highet) and was the prime suspect for the death of her father, too. So it was relatively easy for the wicked Chase to convince his grief-stricken co-worker that the ruthless assassin was responsible. And soon she, too, was baying for blood. Of course, Cornelia's no stranger to a bit of framing herself. She had already doctored snaps of field agent Gold (Wendy Crewson) fraternising with Russian big baddie Orlov for potential leverage. And on discovering Gold had just been drugged – but not fatally, as intended – by Tagg's right-hand man Rousseau (Tim Rozon) over those photos, she decided to make the latter her next fall guy. Agent Abbott (Jamaal Grant) was then informed that Rousseau blackmailed Chase to get into CIA division Cerberus, a lie which then continued to spiral out of control. So, who really was the mole? All was revealed during Cornelia's rooftop confrontation with Chase. Here, she produced evidence that his pocket bible contained contact info for Orlov, and that before killing the Russian, she'd used the IEP on him to confirm their connection. She then proposed that he had been leaking insider information since he joined the agency, ultimately causing the deaths of Sara's dad and numerous other Americans. Chase essentially confessed to his duplicity and tried to justify it, too ("What people in the world think we need is peace. No, The world needs balance."). But Cornelia then decided to let the man who'd repeatedly put her own life in danger walk away – perhaps due to their history. "I didn't come to kill you. I came to tell you I own you," she explained (kinda) before the pair passionately kissed in a laughable moment which suggested Gray was about to turn into a '90s erotic thriller. Battle to the death Now aware that he had been set up, a vengeful Rousseau then headed for the guest house where Cornelia was staying and the pair engaged in a battle to the death. But just as the former's strangling technique looked to be working, he was distracted by the latter's bombshell revelation that he and Chase are half-brothers. Cornelia then whipped out her favourite pair of paper-cutting scissors and forcefully stabbed Rousseau in the neck. "Oh look, Carrie's come home from the prom," Tagg quipped after being greeted in the kitchen by the blood-splattered antiheroine, Everett and Clarkson's verbal sparring being one of the show's highlights. The birthday party Cornelia no doubt wished she'd stuck to running a small-town tea shop when just hours later, she had to deal with another maniacal workmate, on this occasion at her estranged granddaughter's birthday party. This time, it was her unlikely friend Sara that was the threat, turning up announced and determined to kill who she thought had offed her entire family. Cornelia did admit to murdering Sara's stepmother, but she insisted that Tessa both killed her mother and lured her agent father over to the dark side. The clearly distressed Sara initially seemed to accept this version of events and both retreated for a more amicable chit-chat in her car. The future While Gray's finale answered the show's big question, it left several loose ends. In the closing montage, we learned that Rousseau's somehow still alive, gasping for breath just as Tagg was about to start the clean-up operation. Will his boss finish the job, or allow him to recover and seek vengeance? But even if Rousseau dies, Cornelia isn't safe. In a mysterious conversation with Abbott, Sara revealed a desire to "isolate" her from Tagg, suggesting she hasn't entirely bought her story. And then there's her son-in-law George (Jonathan Kim). While taking a family photo at the party, Cornelia noticed Chase's name on his phone's recent calls list. Is George a spy too? And was his nice-guy plan to bring his mother-in-law back into the fold just a ruse? "When people try to kill me, it really pisses me off," Cornelia remarked to Tagg in the walk-and-talk closing scene. It seems like she may need to get used to it... View Green Video on the source website All eight episodes of Gray are now available to stream on Netflix – sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Check out our Drama hub for all the latest news. If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide or visit our Drama hub for more news and features. Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.