sat 26/07/2025

tv

The Split: Barcelona, BBC One review - a soapy special with seasonally adjusted sentimentality

Helen Hawkins

Maybe it was the timing, even though most of the action takes place in bright sunlight, that made The Split’s two-parter uncharacteristically soft-centred. This was a Christmas-but-filmed-last-summer special, often a guarantee of a mushy mash-up. And indeed, it was as if writer Abi Morgan had started channelling Richard Curtis. 

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Best of 2024: TV

theartsdesk

They say cinema is dying (you never know, they may be wrong), but you can’t help noticing the stampede of movie stars towards TV and streaming. Many of 2024’s most memorable shows had a big-screen name attached, even if it was impossible to be entirely certain that it really was Colin Farrell inside all those prosthetics as he romped his way through the gripping second season of The Penguin (Sky Atlantic).

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Gavin & Stacey: The Finale, BBC One review - hilarious high five to an indelible cast of characters

Helen Hawkins

The most hyped special of the season came to a cosy comedy ending with pairings accomplished, evil witch Sonia and her coven dispatched and the usual everyday chaos reinstated. Tidy.

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All Creatures Great and Small, Christmas Special, Channel 5 review - Mrs Hall steps into the spotlight

Adam Sweeting

Since its revival in 2020, All Creatures Great and Small has drawn big audiences internationally and become Channel 5’s biggest hit, even if there have been occasional grumbles about how it takes liberties with James Herriot’s original books.

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Death in Paradise Christmas Special, BBC One review - who killed Santa Claus?

Adam Sweeting

Though Death in Paradise is an Anglo-French production filmed in Guadeloupe, in the French West Indies, the Frenchness seems to have mysteriously leaked away.

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Strike: The Ink Black Heart, BBC One review - protracted, convoluted puzzler lifted by its leads

Helen Hawkins

The man whose name sounds like a major aviation accident, private detective Cormoran Strike, is back, with his sidekick Robin, for more of the lobster quadrille that is their relationship.

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Black Doves, Netflix review - Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw battle against the implausible

Adam Sweeting

It’s rare to spot Keira Knightley in a TV series, and it’s no doubt a sign of changing times that she’s starring in this six-part spies-and-guns caper, penned by Joe Barton (of Giri/Haji and The Lazarus Project fame).

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Senna, Netflix review - the life and legend of Brazil's greatest driver

Adam Sweeting

Brazilian Formula One triple-champion Ayrton Senna was already legendary during his lifetime, but his fatal crash at Imola in 1994 brought him virtual deification in his home country. The Brazilian government declared three days of national mourning, and half a million people turned out for his funeral.

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Landman, Paramount+ review - once upon a time in the West

Adam Sweeting

Is there only one Taylor Sheridan? His output is so prolific you’d think there must be half a dozen of them. Although little acknowledged in the UK, over the last decade Sheridan has been amassing an extraordinary string of credits that has made him one of the most significant players in Hollywood.

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Paris Has Fallen, Prime Video review - Afghan war veteran wreaks a terrible vengeance

Adam Sweeting

You might assume that the “Has Fallen” in the title of this Anglo-French thriller connotes the presence of Scottish lunk Gerard Butler (as in Angel Has Fallen, London Has Fallen and Olympus Has Fallen), but there’s no Gerard in sight.

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