Thanks to our army of Talented People with time to scour and sample the various catch up services, we are brimming with recommended new series and singles to watch on these long locked down days. And as we’re all in the same boat, we’ve decided to start a series of blog posts by you, for you, to suggest new treats ready for that point of deciding on your next few hours’ of delicious screentime investment. Enjoy!
This week, Kim Rossiter & Julia Bond give us their picks, crossing genres from dating to art and crime…
Grayson’s Art Club, Channel 4 Mondays 8pm
I’m a huge fan of Grayson (not least because he presented the Grierson that First Dates Hotel won late last year) and I think his Art Club show is a brilliant example of a series that is better because of lockdown and how that has impacted on filming. I love the slow pace of it, and seeing Grayson and his wife Phillipa amble around their home studio. It’s a window on a world we would never normally get. I also love the inclusion of the general public, not just pictures of the art they’ve been creating at home, but the video calls he does with them. If we weren’t in lockdown I wonder if he would spend as much time with Joe Public, but I love that he does. There’s also a celeb or two each week who creates a piece of art, which is revealing and entertaining. It’s a funny show that you don’t have to do art to watch.
Twin, iPlayer/BBC4
This Norwegian crime drama series is fab, with lots of twists and story reveals. It’s the story of Ingrid, who when she accidentally kills her husband, she asks his twin to assume his identity. The cinematography is beautiful and it’s so wonderfully Scandi; if you don’t mind subtitles, check this series out. I haven’t finished it yet, so no spoilers in the comments please!
Love Is Blind, Netflix
The latest dating reality format from the producers of Married At First Sight dropped on Netflix on 13th Feb and has been viewed by 30 million households so far. For the first ten days of the ‘experiment’ men and women go on dates in pods where they can hear, but not see one another. The couples only see one another once the men’s proposals have been accepted. The climax of the series is when the couples are at the altar – do they say “I do” and get married, or “I don’t” and walk away forever? There’s lots of American vernacular “we have such a strong connection” etc and I couldn’t help wondering if this series would work with our British sensibilities and dating culture, but it is widely addictive (I’ve ignored my children and husband for the last few days!!) and very entertaining.
Red Dwarf, Dave (UKTV Play) – An ‘oldie but goldie’, the ultimate escapist space comedy series to prevent us all going ‘space crazy’ in lockdown and always reminds us that even in a very out of date spaceship… the jape of the decade is always possible.
Tiger King, Netflix – Need I say more?
Celebs Go Dating, Channel 4 (All4) – All the first date awkwardness, and cringes you need to live vicariously with in lockdown.
Shane Dawson / Jeffree Star, YouTube – The YouTube documentary series you never knew you would be obsessed with, make up, a robbery, behind the influencers drama and how you create a makeup release step by step.
Thanks for these recommends ladies! Do send us in your own favourites (hello@talentedpeople.tv) from frivolous & fun to deep & meaningful, along with why you recommend them, and you could be featured too 🙂
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