What to Watch This Week

The Graham Norton Show

Graham Norton will have Dame Helen Mirren, Sir Patrick Stewart, Pedro Pascal, and Ariana DeBose on his sofa this week. They will be chatting up a storm about everything from Shazam! Fury of the Gods to the new season of The Mandalorian.

There will also be music from singer-songwriter Freya Ridings, who will be performing her current single Weekends.

Known for getting his guests talking candidly, Graham Norton is applauded as the best talk show host on telly. There is a real magic in the way he can get people talking to one another comfortably, especially ones you wouldn’t expect to get along. In the past, we’ve seen the likes of Harry Styles and Sir Ian McKellen talking Lord of the Rings, Chris Pratt and John Bishop on job ads, and Meryl Streep and Mark Ruffalo bonded when Ruffalo gave the star a smooth compliment.

Watch it on BBC One at 10.40pm on Friday or stream any episode on BBC iPlayer.

Carnival Row

You could use any number of words to describe this series but I’ll settle on a dramatic fantasy crime for now. Carnival Row follows a human detective and a fairy who rekindle an affair in a Victorian fantasy world filled with mythological immigrant creatures whose homelands were invaded. With tension simmering between the two, its second season sees a string of murders reveal a dangerous foe.

Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevigne star in this one. I wouldn’t have put them together and wasn’t too convinced immediately but by episode two I was hooked.

The first episode in the second season of Carnival Row premiered on Amazon Prime Video last week. The rest of the 10 episodes will be aired weekly on the platform.

Binge-worthy box sets

Am I Being Unreasonable?

Nic is a lonely mum, grieving a loss she can’t tell anyone about. Of course, it’s a comedy.

Feeling trapped in her own life, Nic navigates life and marriage with uncertainty. Her only source of joy is her son Ollie. That is until Jen moves to town and Nic finds solace in her, confiding in Jen about her anguish and misgivings. However, it’s not long before things become difficult again and Nic’s past begins to threaten her family.

Created by and starring Daisy May Cooper, this series is genius in highlighting the mundanities of life and making them both funny and heartbreaking all in one beat. Lenny Rush, who plays Ollie, is an unexpected triumph. Seeing a snippet of his performance in the trailer was what motivated me to give this show a try.

Stream the full six episodes on BBC iPlayer.

Specials

Pamela, a love story

Following the massively popular Hulu show Pam and Tommy, which aired last year, Pamela Anderson finally gets a chance to put her own words on the record or as she puts it, ‘take control of the narrative for the first time’.

The actress and model shares her story, detailing her rise to fame, rocky romances and her infamous sex tape scandal. Never-before-seen footage is woven throughout the documentary, showing personal journals and giving Anderson the opportunity to put her own thoughts and feelings out into the world.

Opening on Anderson inserting a tape into a video player, she watches videos of herself and Tommy when they were dating. One is of a trip to Venice, another is labelled ‘When Pammy Met Tommy’. It feels very intimate, but she herself makes the point that everyone has already seen much more than she ever thought they would.

Many have applauded Anderson already for her honesty and it’s striking to see her telling of events in comparison to what was re-enacted in last year’s mini-series.

Watch the film on Netflix.