sat 23/08/2025

tv

What We Do in the Shadows, BBC Two review - the vampires of Staten Island are back

Markie Robson-Scott

The first series of What We Do in the Shadows, Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s mockumentary about vampires in Staten Island (a TV spin-off from their cult New Zealand-located film) was a joy, and although it’s a hard act to follow, it’s delicious to be reacquainted with these timeless Transylvanian transplants and their mission to conquer the Americas. At least, that’s what their master, a crumbling vampire baron, has told them to do.

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Freud, Netflix review - hysteria and horror

David Nice

Anyone expecting, as I was, a reverend and slightly earnest miniseries about Sigmund Freud's early professional years will be in for a surprise, and mostly in a good way.

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Das Boot, Series 2, Sky Atlantic review - multi-layered war drama goes from strength to strength

Adam Sweeting

Das Boot made an impressive debut early last year with its entwined narratives of war by land and sea.

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The World's Greatest Paintings, Channel 5 review - enthusiastic presenter but no dazzling revelations

Marina Vaizey

Andrew Marr’s art show is a lot of fun, although engulfed in almost overwhelming banality and cliché. Our enthusiastic presenter is a self-confessed addict of art.

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The Other One, BBC One review - entertaining odd-couple sitcom

Veronica Lee

This engaging sitcom created by comedian Holly Walsh has had a long gestation: this, the pilot episode, was first broadcast back in 2017 but Walsh's pregnancy meant that the six-part series commissioned at the time was filmed last year.

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Little Fires Everywhere, Amazon Prime review - in every dream home a heartache

Adam Sweeting

Reese Witherspoon has evolved into a growth industry on the new frontier of Big Television. Her production company Hello Sunshine has a heap of projects on the go with a range of networks, and following her success with Big Little Lies (for HBO), Little Fires Everywhere comes to you courtesy of Hulu (in the US) and Amazon Prime.

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A Very British Hotel Chain: Inside Best Western, Series Finale, Channel 4 review - let's hear it for Alasdair the hotel inspector

Adam Sweeting

It’s impossible to tell whether this reality-doc series (C4) came to praise Best Western hotels or kill it off entirely.

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Shutdown: The Virus That Changed Our World, Sky Documentaries review - a chaotic response and an uncertain future

Adam Sweeting

It’s too early for a definitive account of the Covid-19 pandemic, and this was very much a Sky News version of what we’ve been through so far. Although it seems the virus has peaked and we’re entering a tentative stage of partial de-lockdown, the message was relentlessly grim.

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Philharmonia, Channel 4 review - death on the podium

Adam Sweeting

Great idea to use a symphony orchestra as the basis for a TV drama, because all of human life is there.

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Space Force, Netflix review - fails to launch

Veronica Lee

Since Donald Trump's election as US President in 2016, I imagine satirists have slowly lost the will to live – as nothing they can write can outdo his buffoonery.

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