thu 10/07/2025

tv

Magnum P.I., Sky 1 review - slick and formulaic remake of Eighties original

Adam Sweeting

Perhaps inspired by the success of the revived Hawaii Five-O, CBS and Universal have gone back to the Eighties, and back to Hawaii, to see if the venerable Magnum P.I. could benefit from a similar overhaul. Early evidence suggests that as formulaic American dramas go, it’s… sort of business as usual.

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Cold Feet, Series 8, ITV, review - mortality lite

Jasper Rees

How much more is there to say about the thrills and spills of midlife? Cold Feet made a surprisingly nimble return to ITV a couple of series ago after a long furlough. There was little evidence of stiff joints or saggy bottoms in Mike Bullen’s writing as he welcomed a gang of teens to the cast list.

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On Drums... Stewart Copeland!, BBC Four review - no drummer, no rock'n'roll

Marina Vaizey

On Drums was inhabited by a parade of fine-looking young and middle aged multi-ethnic anglophone drummers, all introduced by Stewart Copeland, the American drummer of the Police.

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Catastrophe, Series 4, Channel 4 review - final series starts strongly

Veronica Lee

Some may have thought that Catastrophe (Channel 4) had neared the end of the road with the third series, but I disagree. It was still managing, with some deftness, to pull off the difficult trick of mixing broad humour with serious themes of love, attraction and the difficulties of parenthood.

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Call My Agent!, Netflix review - French movie stars turn out for witty and waspish TV show

Adam Sweeting

Read theartsdesk review of Call My Agent!, Series 4

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Brexit: The Uncivil War, Channel 4 review - Benedict Cumberbatch gets the best tunes

Jasper Rees

One day this all will be over. Give it half a century. In 50 years' time, there will be documentaries in which today’s young, by then old, will explain to generations yet unborn exactly how and why Britain went round the twist in 2016.

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Luther, Series 5, BBC One review - welcome return for Idris Elba's maverick 'tec

Saskia Baron

“Can you breathe?’ “Yeah.” “Shame, that”. Another ne’er-do-well is being banged to rights after a chase through container stacks in the dark. Luther is back, and he hasn’t upgraded his Volvo or changed his tweed coat – but we don’t really mind, do we?

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Escape at Dannemora, Sky Atlantic review - Ben Stiller's breakout drama impresses

Jasper Rees

The facts of Escape at Dannemora (Sky Atlantic) are notorious in America. Convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York. Indeed a less enquiring version of the story might have been called Escape from Dannemora. But the preposition is key.

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Les Misérables, BBC One review - Dominic West looks the part in new Victor Hugo adaptation

Adam Sweeting

There’s no singing, no Hugh Jackman and no Anne Hathaway, and the dolorous tone of Andrew Davies’s new adaptation of Victor Hugo’s sprawling novel is established in the opening scene.

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Best of 2018: TV

theartsdesk

Bruce Springsteen once sang about there being "57 channels and nothin' on". Those were the days. Now we have so much to watch (including Netflix's Springsteen on Broadway) that all the world's remaining elephants couldn't remember them all.

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