Gef Box: Is it Eurovision Time Already?

Eurovision already? That time’s gone fast. Question is, will anyone get nul points this year?

Eurovision

After the victory of Kalush Orchestra in Turin, Ukraine should traditionally host the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. But due to Russia’s invasion of the country, the contest cannot be held there. Instead, the BBC will host Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool.

This week, there will be plenty to get your teeth stuck into! There are three shows, with two semi-finals and the grand final.

Tune into BBC One for the first semi-final on Tuesday and the second on Thursday. Then, for those of you who didn’t snag tickets to see it live, gather your family and friends to watch the grand final on the TV on Saturday night. It officially kicks off at 8pm.

Presenting the show will be Alesha Dixon, Hannah Waddingham and Julia Sanina, while other stars such as Mel Giedroyc, Rylan, Scott Mills, Claire Sweeney, Sam Quek and Timur Miroshnychenko will be chiming in as well.

And don’t worry, your favourite guy from the commentary box will also be there. Graham Norton will be hosting the grand final alongside Waddingham and Dixon and Sanina!

This year’s entry for the UK is Mae Muller with ‘I Wrote A Song’. What does everyone think of it?

Here is last year’s winner from Ukraine.

Binge-worthy box sets

Jury Duty

Ever thought about what a mashup between The Truman Show and The Office would look like? Well, it looks exactly like this.

Ronald Gladden has signed up to be part of a documentary about jury service. However, what he doesn’t know is that everyone else in the show is an actor and the case he’s overseeing is fake. None of it is real.

For three weeks, Ronald is faced with a confusing trial, many aspects of which keep going wrong. He also has to deal with a whole cast of odd characters along the way. What’s formed is a really heartwarming and laugh-out-loud mockumentary sitcom that shows Ronald to be the true hero of the series.

It’s easily bingeable as it’s cut into 30 minute episodes. Watch it on Amazon Freevee.

Crashing

A comedy about a group of twenty-somethings who live in a disused London hospital. They are part of the property guardianship scheme, an arrangement that allows people to cheaply rent empty and often delapidated buildings.

It was Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s first television project, which she wrote and starred in. Crashing aired in 2016 on Channel 4 and only ever had one season, but what a brilliant series.

I found this on Netflix a few years ago and found it so refreshingly sharp and darkly funny. What originally put me on to it was when I saw the cast included Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton, Doctor Who), an actor I discovered in childhood when I would come home from school and watch a show called Leonardo and he has since been in some of my favourite shows.

Find it on Netflix and on All4.

Jump in anywhere

The Chef Show

Actor and filmmaker Jon Favreau presents his own cooking show, alongside chef Roy Choi. They spend their time making delicious food and interviewing celebrity guests about their careers as well as cooking and food.

This series came about after Favreau trained under Choi in preparation for his 2014 film Chef. Don’t worry, they do spend an episode revisiting some of those magnificent dishes shown in the film – including Scarlett Johansson’s pasta, which always got my appetite going.

Guests include Tom Holland, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Seth Rogan.

Much like the film it follows on from, nothing is as mouth-watering as this, so be prepared to feel very hungry after watching!

It’s on Netflix.