WOW #26
Slow Horses, Task, House of Guinness
Wedding season is sadly over, but now I have a bunch of babies to look forward to meeting on the horizon. Not mine! Several of my friends are currently pregnant, which got us thinking about the best shows to watch on maternity leave. If you’re about to start this chapter or just looking for a new show to binge, we came up with a few shows you might have missed with plenty of episodes for you to get stuck into:
This Is Us - Disney+
Brothers & Sisters - Disney+
Grey’s Anatomy - Disney+
Schitt’s Creek - Netflix
Any of the Real Housewives & Vanderpump Rules - Prime Video (Hayu)
Breaking Bad & Better Call Saul - Netflix
Parks & Recreation - U.co.uk
The OC - ITVx
Gilmore Girls - Netflix
Sex & The City (and if you must And Just Like That) - Sky / NOW
If you have any other recommendations, please feel free to share them in the comments below.
This week, I launched an Instagram account dedicated to all things WOW. Now you can get daily drops and hints of What’s On, When? If you’d like please feel free to give the account a follow here: whats.on.when
I’ve got three juicy dramas for you this week: the return of a modern cult favourite, the latest creation from the mind behind Mare of Easttown & the Irish version of Succession.
Slow Horses
Gary Oldman’s performance in Slow Horses was made for Smell-O-Vision. His turn as Jackson Lamb brings a whole new meaning to ‘smell the fart’ acting. I’m hard pushed to think of another role in recent memory that feels so completely embodied by an actor. He is back on grotesque form in the fifth outing of Apple’s fast-growing, fan favourite spy drama based on the Slough House books by Mick Herron.
The series picks-up with Lamb’s motley crew still reeling from the tragic events at the end of the last, each finding their own unsuccessful way to cope. Everyone except it would seem Roddy, who after Lamb, is probably the most cringe-inducing character. His arrival back on our screens is a classic with a quite literal spring in his step due to a newfound love in his life. Unsurprisingly his team find this revelation far too good to be true and immediately suspicions are raised. As with the with previous series, a different ‘Slow Horse’ tends to take the lead in the storylines and this time it is Roddy’s turn to take centre stage.
With the hapless hacker in the spotlight, this series promises to be the funniest so far but from what I have read also the darkest, which given the events that took place before the iconic credits (accompanied by the vocal stylings of one Mick Jagger) is unsurprising. In a week where Apple TV+ chose to delay the release of it’s new show Savant due to the sensitive nature of its content, I was quite shocked this was still allowed to be aired. However, part of what makes this show so watchable is the balance it strikes between comedy and drama. One minute you are watching an action scene which feels scarily close to current headlines, only for the next one to involve colleagues arguing over a packet of crisps.
Episodes will drop weekly, as is the typical way for Apple TV+ so I am unable to watch ahead but given how much I have enjoyed the past four series, I am sure this one will not disappoint. The other great thing about Slow Horses is, in this age of prestige TV where shows can take up to two years to return to our screens for a new series, series 6 has already been filmed and they will shortly begin production on series 7. So there is plenty more where this lot came from to come.
Series 1-4 available to watch now. Series 5 new episodes every Wednesday on Apple TV+
Task
Back in 2021, Kate Winslet joined a growing trend of stars from the big screen tackling roles for the small screen. Her performance in Mare of Easttown, was played with the same standard we have come to expect from an actor of Winslet’s calibre and was rightly award-winning. When I heard the creator, Brad Ingelsby was behind new drama Task, I had a good feeling. We are truly in peak autumn TV season with new dramas popping up almost daily so for one to cut through and grab the attention, it needs to be something special and for me, this really is.
Mark Ruffalo has one of the most expressive faces of any actor working today, it is really lived-in. You can see every emotion he is feeling written across his heavily furrowed brow making him perfectly cast in the role of exhausted-by-life FBI agent, Tom Brandis. He is brought back into the field from a weary desk job to assemble a ‘Task’ force when a small town is facing a series of mysterious robberies. His personal life is complicated, a father of three with his son currently awaiting sentencing in prison. I won’t go into the details because it will spoil things, but all is not what it seems.
We are also introduced to another struggling father, Robbie who is behind the string of robberies. The parallels between the two men are evident from the first episode, how easily ones life can descend into chaos when faced with a tragedy, no matter where you’re from and what you are willing to do to protect your family.
As with Mare of Easttown, the writing is what makes this show stand-out from the many of crime dramas on our screens. There are twists every episode but not in a cliché way. This isn’t a whodunnit, we know from the start Robbie is behind the robberies but rather a whydunnit and will he get caught. There are moles on all sides, and no one is to be trusted. The first three episodes have already aired so plenty of time for you to catch-up and get stuck in. I am very intrigued by where it is going and where it will all end for Tom & Robbie.
New episodes every Monday on Sky Atlantic & NOW
House of Guinness
It’s been a busy year for Steven Knight with the bare-knuckle boxing drama, A Thousand Blows lead by Stephen Graham (whose also having a pretty good one thanks to Adolescence), his recent announcement as the writer of the next James Bond film and now a new TV series based on the Irish brewing dynasty.
The cast is absolutely stacked with next-gen British & Irish actors including James Norton, Anthony Boyle and Louis Partridge who are all on deliciously good form in this spicy period piece. This is not a delicate drama like Downton Abbey, this is Succession with pints and punches. The opening sequence sets the tone, a funeral procession for the late Benjamin Guinness is met with violent clashes on the street and heated family disagreements behind ornate closed doors. The plot is simple, who will succeed him to take over the business and how will the four children cope in his absence.
Knight, as he famously did in Peaky Blinders, soundtracks 19th century Ireland with contemporary tracks from the likes of Fontaines DC & Kneecap. These combine with a visual style that oozes with attitude to instantly immerse you in the untold story behind one of the world’s most iconic beverage brands. The bold action sequences are executed with just as much impact as the quiet, tense conversations that take place in dark rooms. Deals are struck, hands are forced and emotions are manipulated as the young family navigate their vast wealth and overwhelming responsibilities.
There are moments when the accents slip which can be a bit distracting, however I am over half way through already and enjoying it thoroughly. It doesn’t take it’s self too seriously and I am sure plenty of dramatic licence has been taken but in the skilled hands of Knight and his talented young cast this is a highly entertaining watch. It makes me very excited about what he will bring to the Bond franchise in the hopefully not too distant future.
All Episodes available to watch now on Netflix
