Screen: June TV Roundup

There have been some outstanding television programmes over the past couple of months, including a few that are likely to dominate the awards discussion over the next year. Yes, they were amid my nominations for this year's Dorian Awards (Golden Globes voting uses a different calendar). in this roundup, I'll start here with three new shows, then three final seasons and finally four returnees...

Half Man
From Baby Reindeer writer Richard Gadd, this is a staggeringly bold drama about the push and pull between two stepbrothers from Glasgow. Niall and Ruben are expertly played by Jamie Bell and Gadd himself, with star-making turns by Mitchell Robertson and Stuart Campbell as teens. But it's the unflinching nature of the writing that makes this show essential, taking a riveting look through at connection, masculinity and identity with mind-bogglingly layered situations. It's violent and harsh, but there's a real sense of affection woven into the badly strained nastiness. And this is a rare case in which editing the story out of sequence actually adds a proper kick, forcing us to pay attention. (BBC)

Big Mistakes
Created by Dan Levy and Rachel Sennott, this bonkers crime comedy centres around Levy's Pastor Nicky and his agent-of-chaos sister Morgan (Taylor Ortega), who gets them entangled with a mobster (Mark Ivanir). As things escalate, the plot feels increasingly silly, but it remains watchable simply because the cast is so strong. The ace card here is Laurie Metcalf as the siblings' mother, so self-absorbed with running for mayor that she hasn't a clue what's going on with them. The story has a freewheeling structure that easily carries us along through eight half-hour episodes. And these people are just about the right kind of ridiculous to make us want to see more of them. (Netflix)

Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Bold and full of intensely outrageous moments, this comedy centres around a family that has serious impulse control issues, but the deep and very messy love they have for each other is riveting to watch. Powerhouse performances bring these people to life, including Elle Fanning in the title role as a single mother who finds an inventive way to make ends meet, Michelle Pfeiffer as her spiky mother and Nick Offerman as her ex-wrestler, ex-addict dad. Plus extraordinary turns from Marcia Gay Harden, Greg Kinnear, Michael Angarano and especially Nicole Kidman. There's nothing simple about this show, but it's funny and bracingly honest about things most television programmes are terrified to touch. (Apple)

T H I S   I S   T H E   E N D

Hacks: series 5
With a steady stream of starry cameos, this comedy charges confidently through to its big finale with another series of episodes that mix snappy humour, entitled attitudes and warm emotion. Of course the entire show has been about the relationship between jaded veteran standup comic Deborah (the great Jean Smart) and her cynical young writing partner Ava (Hannah Einbinder), so it's nice that the storylines honed in on their interaction. Meanwhile, there was plenty of nuttiness from their agents (Paul Downs and Megan Stalter) and a flurry of side characters from throughout the seasons. It's so much fun we don't mind too much that the various plotlines all feel rather undercooked. (HBO)

Euphoria: series 3
Jumping ahead a few years, this season shifts from a teens-messing-around-with-drugs drama into intense crime thriller with young people trying to survive against very steep odds. Anchored around the seriously gifted Zendaya, who gives Rue a wonderfully textured soul, the show feels like it is pinging from one tragedy to the next, and it becomes clear that no one is going to escape writer-director Sam Levinson unscathed. Plot turns are astonishingly harsh, the violence is darkly haunting and the seediness is sometimes overpowering. But the actors are all on fire, especially Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, Colman Domingo, Maude Apatow, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Alexa Demie (HBO) 

The Boys: series 5
Barging into its full-on final season, this raucously violent show sets up that long-anticipated final confrontation between Karl Urban's scabrous antihero Billy and Antony Star's supervillain Homelander. The true protagonist Hughie (Jack Quaid) also gets a personal arc with conflicted goodie Starlight (Erin Moriarty). And side characters have their own kicks, including favourites Frenchie and Kimiko (Tomer Capone and Karen Fukuhara), plus Jensen Ackles and Cameron Crovetti as Homelander's father and son, respectively. It's all as deliberately ugly and abrasive as always. Even with various requisite over-grisly endings, this is an astute, timely look at the true nature of power and heroism. (Prime)

B A C K   F O R   M O R E

The Four Seasons: series 2
Breezing through another eight episodes, this outrageously watchable show catches up with three couples over another year of joint holidays. This is pure joy distilled into a TV series. The dynamics both within and between the couples have shifted, largely due to Ginny's (Erika Henningsen) impending motherhood and Anne's (Kerri Kenney) lingering bitterness. And both Kate/Jack (Tina Fey/Will Forte) and Danny/Claude (Colman Domingo/Marco Calvani) have their own relationship issues. The first-rate cast excels at this engaging, fresh mix of comedy and drama. Notable flourishes include a flashback episode with Steve Carell, plus a trip to Italy that beautifully redefines Claude. (Netflix)

The Comeback: series 3
Lisa Kudrow's inventive comedy returns, following on from its 2005 and 2015 runs. It's also tackling another bracingly current industry issue, while catching up on the next chapter in the life of Kudrow's astonishingly nuanced alter-ego Valerie Cherish. This time, her manager (Dan Bucatinsky) lands her the lead role in a sitcom that's written by AI, creating mixed emotions: the cast and crew have jobs, but writers don't. Using dry humour, the topical discussion is cleverly woven into the fabric of the show, so it's more provocative and less flashy than, say, The Studio. And the ensemble is simply wonderful, in both new and returning roles. Andrew Scott is particularly strong as a slippery studio head. (HBO)

Scrubs: series 10
The hospital sitcom is back, after its nine-season run from 2001 to 2010, with its distinctive mix of fast-talking wit and heartwarming sentiment. Returning cast members Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, Donald Faison and Judy Reyes are joined by Joel Kim Booster as a nemesis doctor and most enjoyably Vanessa Bayer as a hapless HR officer. And it works well because it shifts the leading characters from rookies into the veterans, now in charge of a new group of ridiculous but of course brilliant interns. What makes this entertaining is the lively writing, with rapid-fire banter, extended sight gags and rather a lot of very silly jokes that poke fun at things like masculinity and political correctness. (ABC)

Alpha Males [Machos Alfa]: series 5
Increasingly tangled in knots, this Spanish comedy continues to put its characters through the wringer as they attempt to grapple with the interplay between gender and society. At this point, the four men are on their own, planning a patriarchal commune away from women. But of course they are quietly breaking their own rules. Meanwhile, their exes are having their own journey, trying to build strong female lives while also continually blurring the lines. The actors are a bit more grounded this time around, which makes the rapid-fire storytelling feel marginally less inane. But the way it pings around between the various story threads is still rather exhausting. (Netflix)

GUILTY PLEASURES: Britain's Got Talent, The Traitors US, Race Across the World, Drag Race (UK vs the World 3, All Stars 11).

NOW WATCHING: Spider-Noir, Good Omens 3, Man on Fire, Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, Widow's Bay.

COMING SOON: The Bear 5, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 4, Sugar 2, The Vampire Lestat, Zorro, Heartstopper Forever.

Previous roundup: APRIL 2026 > 

Critical Week: Happy place

We're halfway through Lockdown 2.0 in London, beginning to worry that if this doesn't work Christmas might be cancelled. But we'll try to stay positive. Movies I watched this week were a real mixed bag. One of the most challenging was the arthouse horror Black Bear, starring Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon. It's a smart, freaky exploration of creativity and control. Plaza also pops up in Happiest Season, an unusually intelligent Christmas rom-com starring Kristen Stewart and Dan Levy.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Collective • Mangrove
Supernova • Roobha • Born to Be
FULL REVIEWS >

The week's guilty pleasure was the utterly bonkers Chinese action romp Vanguard, starring Jackie Chan as the head of a global spy agency. The most disappointing film was the all-star Come Away, a mash-up origin story for both Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. It's a good idea that never quite comes together. Even worse is Buddy Games, a painfully unfunny lads comedy starring Josh Duhamel, who also directed, produced and cowrote the script. More watchable was the uneven Finding Steve McQueen, which chops around to recount the largest bank heist in US history. 

Off the beaten path, Mosul is an American-made film set in Iraq during the battle against Daesh, and it's a riveting, powerfully involving thriller that has an emotional kick. There were two very sexy films from Brazil: Divine Love is a provocative drama set in a near-future Christian community, while Dry Wind is a stylised collision of gay machismo. And from Romania, the documentary Collective is one of the most urgent films of the year, exploring a political corruption scandal in the style of a heart-stopping journalistic thriller.

I have the usual random collection of movies to watch this coming week, including Steve McQueen's Red White and Blue, Charlie Hunnam and Jack O'Connell in Jungleland, Vanessa Kirby and Ellen Burstyn in Pieces of a Woman, the Scottish holiday movie Lost at Christmas, the psychological thriller Muscle, the Zoom thriller Host, the Danish horror The Ringmaster and the documentaries Zappa and Markie in Milwaukee.

Critical Week: Take a stand

The world seems to be falling further apart by the day, with insane chaos within the governments of both the UK and the US (which has the added nightmare of an imminent election). So it's been nice to have a tiny bit of normality return with more press screenings, including the international premiere of The Eight Hundred, China's biggest blockbuster ever, which looks awesome on the Imax screen. It's a thrilling battle epic on a jaw-dropping scale. The other big movie this week was The Devil All the Time, an epic backwoods morality tale featuring formidable performances from Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson and Riley Keough.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK: 
Spiral • Rocks • I Used to Go Here 
For They Know Not What They Do
FULL REVIEWS >>

Other films this week included the collection of to-camera monologs in Coastal Elites, which is a bit preachy for its own good; David Cross on an intrepid and rather charmingly hapless true-life wilderness adventure in The Dark Divide; Ciaran Hinds traversing France in the quirky and almost silent comical road movie The Man in the Hat; and the stylish and rather nutty The Wall of Mexico, a nicely blurred satire about culture and ethnicity.

This coming week's films include Millie Bobbie Brown in Enola Holmes, Kevin James goes villainous in Becky, Alison Steadman in 23 Walks, Nicole Beharie in Miss Juneteenth, Francois Ozon's Summer of 85, the teen adventure Shortcut, the romantic drama Two of Us and two documentaries: Little Girl and The Painter and the Thief. I also have my first theatre press night - review coming soon.

Screen: Spring TV Roundup

During lockdown, it seems that television is my only break from the movies - theatre, museums, just walking through the city are out! And with all the movies streaming online, the only thing different about watching TV is that it doesn't feel like work. We said goodbye to a few favourite shows recently, even as we are making quite a few new discoveries. And with streaming services multiplying, it's not easy to keep up. But I'll do what I can...

WAVE GOODBYE

Schitt's Creek: series 6

This Canadian comedy seems to have snuck up on the world. While the first two seasons were a little uneven, I've stuck with it simply because comic geniuses Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy are on peak form. Meanwhile, Dan Levy, Annie Murphy and the surrounding cast have turned potentially cartoonish roles into their own loveable icons. Each year the show got better - deeper, funnier, more resonant - and it's a rare series that has gone out at its very best. It's also unlikely that we'll see another show that so adeptly mixes absurd humour with sophisticated comedy while continually surprising us with earthy emotion. It's already missed.

The Good Place: series 4

Funny and fiendishly smart, this inventive comedy left us wanting more even as it wrapped up its four-year, 50-episode run in a beautifully imagined series finale that will likely make this show a cult classic. The frankly awesome cast (Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, William Jackson Harper, Jameela Jamil, Manny Jacinto and especially D'Arcy Corden) deserves to be haunted by these roles for the rest of their lives. Each episode is bracingly intelligent even as it retains its riotously silly approach, and the series ended in a way that was hilarious, full of emotion and bursting with profound insight into the meaning of existence. Indeed, shows rarely go out on such a delirious high. Heaven indeed.

Future Man: series 3

Continuing at its breakneck pace, this insane sci-fi comedy thriller just keeps throwing Josh Hutcherson's hapless Futterman from one high-energy crisis to the next, barely pausing to catch a breath amid a constant barrage of outrageous verbal and visual humour. Along the way, Hutcherson has developed a terrific sense of camaraderie with costars Eliza Coupe and Derek Wilson without ignoring their distinctive character flaws. From a trio of bickering idiots, they've become an endearing bickering family. This final season features a lot more shameless galloping through timelines than before, which gives the show a deranged Quantum Leap sensibility. Thankfully, it's as profane as ever. And the finale is brilliant (shout-out to composer Halli Cauthery).

Modern Family: series 11

It's been a long run for this family, and some of the later seasons have been a little uneven. But there are moments of classic comedy in every episode, and perhaps the most notable thing about the show is how the expanding cast has aged so well, especially the children who grew up on-screen to skilfully steal scenes from the adults. Having the same writers since day one has helped, making serious themes accessible through silly character-based humour. This final season gave each actor a lot to play with, plotting journeys for each character as they head off into various carefully crafted directions. They may have ended up scattered all over, but I wouldn't bet against a reunion.

SAY HELLO

Tiger King

It took me awhile to get round to watching this, and when I did I instantly understood why the buzz was so strong. For a documentarian, these big cat obsessives were a gift, providing constantly shifting stories and an excess of personality, crazy hair and multiple spouses. Each of these nasty people has his or her own brand of insanity. Some are stubbornly likeable (Joe Exotic) while others are inexplicably despicable from the get-go (Carole Baskin). That the audience feels so strongly about them is part of what makes this such compelling television. And the way each episode deepens the craziness as well as the mystery makes it almost impossible not to binge. Brilliantly shot and edited into a must-see.

Star Trek: Picard

There's a freshness to this show that breathes life into an entire franchise (see also The Mandalorian), simply because it never takes itself too seriously. Patrick Stewart is terrific revisiting his iconic character, pulled out of retirement for a rogue mission with a ragtag team of people in need of redemption. The evolving plot is fascinating, especially as it so stubbornly refuses to go in the direction we (or indeed Picard) expect it to, spiralling off into new directions, crossing paths with favourite characters from the past, and remaining beautifully grounded in the people rather than the settings or ideas. That said, the ideas are big ones, echoing current events in subtly clever ways.

Devs

Alex Garland carries on his existential tone with this series about a tech company that's exploring the very nature of reality to predict the past and future. Or something like that. The central idea is very fuzzy, but the way the show spirals out its narrative is clever and involving, with strong characters that provide big emotional kicks along the way. Nick Offerman has a wonderfully woolly presence as the company founder whose oddly overwrought obsession with his daughter's death drives the premise. Alison Pill gives another coolly intense, vulnerable performance (see also Picard). But the show's heart is the awkward connection between Sonoya Mizuno's central character Lily and her ex-boyfriend Jamie, sublimely underplayed by Jin Ha.

Unorthodox

Based on a true story, this four-part series is insightfully made, getting into the head of teenage bride Esty (Shira Haas) as she escapes from an ultra-orthodox Jewish community in New York. It's easy to understand why she might sneak away and run to Berlin. The sideplot in which her husband (Amit Rahav) and his rather shady cousin (Jeff Wilbusch) come after her feels a bit dramatic, but it's delicately underplayed. Much more gripping is Esty's own journey of self-discovery, not just of this big, strange world but also of her place in it, and who she actually is aside from the locked-down version of herself she was always told to show.

Quiz

The true story of the "coughing major", this three-part series makes the most of its fragmented structure, spiralling around to assemble the story from two primary perspectives. Most impressive is that it never actually takes sides, presenting the known facts and letting the audience grapple with the implications. Performances are simply awesome from Matthew Macfadyen, Michael Sheen and Sian Clifford. And it's finely directed by Stephen Frears to dig far beneath the headlines and the period (including the fact that the notorious Who Wants to Be a Millionaire episode was taped the day before 9/11). It may not be the final word on the ongoing legal case, but it's thoughtful and provocative.

The Outsider

Murder mysteries aren't usually my thing, but this one stars the unmissable Ben Mendelsohn and Cynthia Erivo. It's also based on a Stephen King novel, so it's packed with flawed characters in a story that continually takes unexpected, horrifically incomprehensible turns. The snaky plot offers a clever slant on the monster-predator premise, which keeps it riveting even when the writing, direction and editing become a bit indulgent, deliberately making things far more confusing than they need to be. Thankfully the ace cast members create complex characters we can really root for, even amid some dark personal issues.

I Am Not Okay With This

There's a refreshingly snarky edge to this brisk comedy about a teen trying to work out a sense of who she is and how she's connected to the people around her. Sydney (Sophia Lillis) loves her best pal (Sofia Bryant) but instead finds herself in a relationship with a cute-dork neighbour (Wyatt Oleff). She's also discovering that she has some rather outrageous super powers. And she's afraid to tell anyone about any of this. The way the story develops has a wonderfully off-the-cuff sensibility, remaining carefully within the perspective of these messy teens, while referencing classics from The Breakfast Club to (ahem!) Carrie. Where it goes bodes well for a second season.

COME BACK

Ozark: series 2

Diving immediately into this family's intense life in southern Missouri, this show gets scarier with each episode. The key shift this season is the way Marty and Wendy (Jason Bateman and Laura Linney, better than ever) take their separate agendas to a whole new level, ultimately ending up in battle with each other even as they're pinched by both a nosey Fed and an escalating drug cartel war. It's beautifully written and played with complexity and intrigue. And the fabulous Julia Garner and Janet McTeer get to root around in their characters too. There's a tendency to over-egg the knotted plotlines, but don't worry: just relish how these people deal with the double-dealing.

The New Pope: series 2

Paolo Sorrentino continues the photogenic, surreal journey of Pope Pius XIII (played with wry glee by Jude Law), which began with 2016's The Young Pope. Having received a heart transplant from a Muslim, Pius lies in a coma, so after a riotous false start the Vatican cardinals appoint a new Pope (John Malkovich, no less). And just as he gets into his stride, Pius wakes up. The witty scripts swirl around issues of power and faith in wickedly clever ways, and the cast is excellent across the board. With flat-out spectacular imagery, Sorrentino has a terrific skill for bringing modern touches into this fusty world, playfully pointing out the difference between what the church is and what it should be. 

Sex Education: series 2

Carrying on from the moment it left off, this show might have improved by becoming even more unapologetic about its title topic. Instead, the usual TV prudeness seems to be creeping in, as the scripts feel oddly embarrassed about sex and sexuality while still being rather pleased with themselves for having the nerve to touch on hot potato ideas. Thankfully, the cast is still superb enough to bring the interaction to vivid life, with Asa Butterfield offering even more layers to Otis, and Gillian Anderson continually surprising us with Jean's droll straight-talking. The side characters are nicely developed much deeper as well, so let's hope the writers have the nerve to push them further.

The Trip to Greece: series 4

After Britain, Italy and Spain, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon (with director Michael Winterbottom) find another sun-drenched corner of southern Europe to visit. This time the show has echoes of Ancient Greek history, myths and philosophy woven in among the improvisational goofiness, as the duo visits insanely delectable restaurants, picturesque locations and historical sites. The odd black-and-white mythological flashback feels a little out of place, as does some generally murky meta-plotting. This is echoed in how Coogan seems unusually downbeat all the way through this series, which adds a hint of moody darkness to his banter with Brydon.

Grace and Frankie: series 6

Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin continue to find comedy gold as this sometimes daft show taps into properly meaningful issues without ever getting too serious. The chemistry between Fonda and Tomlin (and Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston) is a joy to watch, whether they're giggling or crying together, and everyone in the surrounding cast has also deepened their roles beyond initial stereotypes. Some of the plotting feels badly contrived, perhaps overreaching for such a cheerful little show. But the ideas, humour and emotion are consistently engaging, adding thoughtful topicality and emotional resonance to the laughter. Alas, next season is set to be the final one.

CATCH UP

Unbelievable

Simply stunning, this devastatingly powerful drama traces the case of a serial rapist through the eyes of two detectives (the towering duo of Merritt Wever and Toni Collette) and one extremely complex victim (a bravely nuanced Kaitlyn Dever). Based on true events, the show unfolds with bracing authenticity, taking an angle rarely explored in a crime series: namely, a purely female perspective that is nuanced through the eyes of various characters. And there isn't a moment that exploits or sensationalises the crime. So not only is this finely written and directed, engaging and intensely emotional, but it's also deeply, powerfully important.

The Kominsky Method: series 1-2

I watched the entire first series on a flight from London to Los Angeles, wondering why I'd never seen it before. Then when I got home, I binged the second season. Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin are on peak form as an ageing actor and his agent struggling to keep up with life in Hollywood, generally making their own problems worse in the process. The writing is often laugh-out-loud hilarious, with some properly astute touches, and the guest stars are a lot of fun too. Each episode is a joy to watch as it spirals around the edges of standard sitcom territory, adding smart observations into each scene. 

Castle Rock: series 2

With a plot that's only tangentially connected to the first season, this series ramps things up quite a bit. The dense storyline is much more action-packed and also rather less internally engaging. But the enjoyably mashed-up echoes of Stephen King's novels are still very clever, with the best connections being the subtlest ones. And the cast is excellent, anchored by Tim Robbins, Lizzy Caplan, Barkhad Abdi and Elise Fisher. So it's perhaps forgivable that the writing has a tendency to slip into simplistic hyper-violence rather than grappling with the intriguing themes that are gurgling loudly under the surface. 

GIVE UP

Avenue 5: A rare misfire from Armando Iannucci, this space-set comedy seems to continually miss the point of its own premise. Characters are enjoyably annoying, but all of them are loathesome. Even the gifted Hugh Laurie and Josh Gad can't make much of these idiots. Maybe it gets better, as it's been renewed for a second season. But no.

Kidding: Sorry, I recognise the genius of how this show is put together, and Jim Carrey's performance is seriously great (as are those from Catherine Keener, Judy Greer, Frank Langella). But the relentless sadness of the show just wore me out, and I simply couldn't get back into it when I started watching the second season.

NOW WATCHING: Little Fires Everywhere, Tales From the Loop, Outer Banks, Feel Good, Run, Dave, Homeland (8), One Day at a Time (4), Insecure (4), Killing Eve (3), What We Do in the Shadows (2).

COMING SOON: Hollywood, The Eddy, Space Force, Fargo (4), Star Trek Discovery (3), Dead to Me (2).