Here are our top telly choices for you to curl up and enjoy over the coming weeks
Adolescence – Netflix
“Created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, Adolescence is the powerful new Netflix drama about a 13-year-old boy accused of murdering a female classmate. Lingering long in the mind, it explores the modern masculinity crisis and the malign influence of social media. The performances are intense and haunting, with characters tracked in different settings by the innovative use of single-take shots.” – Ciara, Art Director
Big Boys – Channel 4
“I recently finished series three and the finale of Big Boys, the Channel 4 comedy about a group of friends navigating university in London. It’s a semi-autobiographical telling of comedian Jack Rooke’s own experiences of coming out and dealing with the grief of losing his father as a teenager, so there are moments of pure emotion weaved throughout the series, but mostly it is fun, nostalgic and quite cheeky. The final episode has to be one of the most well-written and beautiful portraits of grief I have ever seen on a screen – I cried a river, but in a good way.” – Klara, Editor
Amandaland – BBC One
“I’m only one episode into Amandaland, the spin-off of the outrageously funny and successful Motherland series, but I’m already a little obsessed. It follows the posh character of Amanda, played perfectly by Lucy Punch, as she moves to a new location, tries to be a ‘cool mum’ to her teenage children, juggle a career as an influencer, and generally keep up with the Jones’ with hilarious consequences. Co-created and written by Sharon Horgan and featuring a stellar supporting cast including Joanna Lumley, former Irish Country Magazine cover star Siobhán McSweeney and the comedically-blessed Philippa Dunne, I am delighted to hear that it has already been renewed for a second season!” – Claire, Digital Journalist
Toxic Town – Netflix
“I had never even heard of what’s dubbed the “British Erin Brockovich” until I tuned into this riveting new limited series on Netflix. Starring Jodie Whittaker and Aimee Lou Wood (who give incredible performances), the four episodes dramatise the true story of the Corby poisonings, one of the UK’s biggest environmental scandals. A group of mothers were forced to take on a David and Goliath court battle to seek justice for their children, who were born with birth defects, the result of mismanagement of toxic waste materials from a steel mill. It’s enraging and heartbreaking, but ultimately an empowering story of holding those who have wronged others accountable, and the power of women coming together.” – Niamh, Deputy Editor
The 1% Club – Amazon Prime Video, ITVX or Virgin Media Television
“It’s always good to have a quiz show you enjoy that is suitable for the whole family and The 1% Club is a fun one that tests logic, brainpower and common sense. The contestants’ goal is ultimately to try to answer a question only 1% of the country can get right but they have to answer a lot more questions to get to that final round. It’s a great programme to watch with your family as friendly competition is the name of the game and, in the British version, presenter Lee Mack has great craic pitting sibling players against each other or pretending not to judge people when they tell him what they’d spend the €100k prize pot on! There’s also a US version (see trailer) that is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.” – Claire, Digital Journalist
Special Mention: The White Lotus S3 Episode 5 ‘Full Moon Party’ – NOW TV and Sky
If you’re not watching The White Lotus every week and counting down the days until the next episode drops, well, we can’t relate to that. However, if you have been left ‘shook’ after the jaw-dropping exploits of the most recent episode, you are definitely in good company! Sam Rockwell’s monologue will go down in history as one of the most surreal TV moments of recent years and we can only imagine that nominations will be rolling in for Jason Isaccs, Parker Posey and Walter Goggins come award season. Click here for a brilliant meme recap of some of the wildest moments of the episode but be warned, it contains many spoilers.
