A Knight of the Seven KingdomsNow/HBO Max
Departing from the doom and gloom of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, this lighter, funnier Westeros spin-off was infinitely more enjoyable from the off. Ser Dunk and Egg are a duo worth rooting for as they prepare for the tourney, with Dunk chasing his dream of becoming a knight. Of course, the series isn’t without gore – and the Targaryen twist sent things into a blood-soaked spiral. But its simpler storytelling and (mostly) sweet characters made us excited to be back in George RR Martin’s world.What we said: “Perhaps the fact that it is not going to set the world on fire, either literally within the show or metaphorically without it, is the point. The real world is now too Westeros-like for us to cope with any more.” Read the full reviewAmandaland Photograph: BBC/MermanBBC iPlayerLucy Punch has created one of the best TV antiheroes in years. Insufferable? Yes. But the divorced middle-class mum/influencer/kitchen shop worker Amanda cracks us up so much that, by this second series, we just want her dream of moving into a bigger house in SoHa to come true. With Philippa Dunne as her longsuffering friend/dogsbody Anne, and Joanna Lumley also on board as Amanda’s overbearing mother, this really is a celebration of some of the best women in comedy.What we said: “Amanda slots neatly into a lineage of British comedy icons; file her next to the delusional, narcissistic, indefatigable likes of Alan Partridge and David Brent.” Read the full reviewBait Photograph: AmazonPrime VideoPatrick Stewart as the voice of a dead pig’s head. Guz Khan as an entrepreneur trying to disrupt the taxi market with Muber – the Muslim Uber. An attempt to pursue a thief in a London pedicab pumping out UK garage classics. Riz Ahmed’s semi-autobiographical story of an actor striving to become the next James Bond sounds like a straight-up comedy. But it plays out as the woozy tale of a borderline breakdown induced by the pressures of fitting into the mainstream, while staying true to the community you come from. After all, how does a British actor of Pakistani heritage justify taking the role of a white neocolonialist icon? “If I played Bond, he wouldn’t be white!” protests Ahmed. “Yeah, but you would be,” comes the response. Surely the most wry, witty and brilliant look at cultural identity we’ll watch this year.What we said: “Bait overcomes any viewer skepticism by rooting the silly fun of set-pieces such as the Bond fight send-up in an emotionally authentic family drama.” Read the full reviewChildren of the Blitz Photograph: BBC/Minnow Films/John CheethamBBC iPlayerGiven that anyone who can actually recall the Blitz is now at least pushing 90, television of this kind goes beyond mere documentary-making and enters the realm of historical record-building. This 90-minute film which spoke to Blitz survivors from all corners of the British Isles was enlightening and deeply touching: there was testimony that reminded viewers that childhood trauma often lasts a lifetime but also stories of resilience and redemption. The death of the wonderful Patsy Moneypenny between filming and broadcast was a poignant reminder that, in terms of preserving these memories, time is running out. Essential viewing.What we said: “A huge story is told via dozens of tiny, shattering personal reflections. Ted Bush in Cardiff remembers going to the pictures with his dad. When they returned home, they found a pile of rubble: Ted’s father’s first response was to retrieve his son’s Hornby toy train from the remains of their house.” Read the full reviewHeated Rivalry Photograph: Sabrina Lantos/APNow“I’m coming to the cottage.” It’s the sexy, squeal-worthy hockey romance that has taken the world by storm and unleashed the sheer star power of Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie. Based on Rachel Reid’s novels, the story of pro hockey players Ilya and Shane who pretend to loathe each other but have secret trysts then fall for each other hard is a gorgeous queer love story in the butch world of pucks and padding. It’s pumped full of sex, sure, but it’s also packed with beautiful moments, from Storrie’s soul-bearing monologue in Russian to their blissful days together in that lake house. It’s such a global smash that there are now Heated Rivalry raves. Sing it with me now: “All the things she said, all the things she said!”What we said: “In any romance, opposites attract – and soon Shane and Ilya are at it like knives. Knives with fancy hotel rooms and perfect bottoms and legs.” Read the full reviewIndustry Photograph: BBC/Bad Wolf Productions/HBO/Simon RidgwayBBC iPlayer/HBOIndustry is no longer the show it started as; long gone are the slanging matches on the brutal Pierpoint trading floor. But that is no bad thing: the fourth season was outrageously scandalous. Harper (Myha’la) and Yasmin (Marisa Abela) are the only original finance grads left standing now, and trying to straddle friendship with rivalry. But this is about way more than big money. Overdosing journalists! Bloody bust-ups! Claims of incest at a Marie Antoinette party! Heck, the writers even sent Yasmin off on a Ghislaine Maxwell trajectory. The next season has been confirmed as the last and, while this feels right, the nightmares we have witnessed suggest it will end with the bang of all bangs.What we said: “In digging deeper than it has previously dared into the tortured psyches of its leads, it manages to be more disquieting and more relatable than ever.” Read the full reviewLast One Laughing UK Photograph: AmazonPrime VideoSo stellar was the lineup of this brilliantly daffy gameshow’s first outing, it was easy to be blindsided into thinking it would be impossible to replicate. Thankfully, it was no such thing, with another starry bunch of comics being sublimely silly as they attempt to spend six hours without cracking a smile. Sam Campbell dressed in a giant cockatoo costume! David Mitchell putting on the most committed – and tuneless – musical theatre performance ever seen on TV! Alan Carr trying to operate a sausage-making machine live on stage! Here’s to another 1,000 series.What we said: “Leaves me helpless with laughter at least once an episode.” Read the full reviewMaking Life on Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure Photograph: BBC Studios/PABBC iPlayerWho’d have guessed that the 100th year of the broadcasting legend’s life would see some of his greatest work? Anyone who’s ever watched his shows. Alongside Wild London’s delightful look at the UK capital’s nature – he’s giddy about pigeons! – and Secret Garden’s take on the wildlife found by suburban homes, he also greeted his centenary with some stunning retrospectives. Chief among them was this raucously entertaining tale of how he created his first masterwork, Life on Earth – and from tales of donkey allergies and dodging political coups to being terrorised by giant tortoises, it’s a hugely entertaining watch. It also, naturally, covers the story of his encounter with Rwandan gorillas, with whom he also reunited this year in Netflix’s A Gorilla Story. But it’s this BBC show’s relentless stream of fantastic yarns that make it the standout in a year of phenomenal Attenborough shows.What we said: “They changed TV history. The joy now is in learning that along the way, they had the time of their lives.” Read the full reviewMalcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair Photograph: David Bukach/DisneyDisney+It really shouldn’t have worked. Some of the cast hadn’t acted in decades. Even the show’s creator was sceptical about reviving the 00s family sitcom. And yet, this four-episode special catching up with the titular Malcolm in adulthood, as he attempts to weasel out of his parents’ 40th wedding anniversary, is absolutely glorious television. The cast’s chemistry is as effervescent as ever, the zingers just as sharp and it remains the best TV portrayal of how it’s possible to both love your family and find them a source of meltdown-inducing rage. It’s all driven by Bryan Cranston’s ludicrously committed turn as dad Hal, in which he necks dangerous amounts of hallucinogens and has a reckless dalliance with glitter. His OTT makeup in the final scene has to be seen to be believed. It’s one of the funniest moments of the year – if not the funniest.What we said: “Surely everyone involved will have seen the magic they have created here and get to work on a full new series.” Read the full reviewMargo’s Got Money Troubles Photograph: Allyson Riggs/Courtesy of AppleApple TV
