| The Guardian - Culture: TV & Radio | | | | 'A new low': explicit UK show Naked Attraction causes a stir in the US | | by Adrian Horton Oct 4, 2023 | | The dating show, where people are judged on their naked bodies, has become a much-discussed hit after landing on streaming, with detractors in its wake I vaguely remember the first time I heard about Naked Attraction, the British reality series in which singletons judge prospective partners in the nude, which premiered on Channel 4 in 2016. The show prompted a series of incredulous headlines about the premise, casting and general shock of full frontal nudity on TV, to which I reacted with something along the lines of “how can this be real?” And then I promptly forgot about it, because a show about people matter-of-factly assessing a bunch of strangers by their genitals would simply never air on US television, given its particular blend of titillating, prudish, and regulated; the most archetypical American dating show remains The Bachelor, which has a distinct flavor of Instagram Christian modesty. Such tameness, at least on network television or in the US version of Love Island, is at odds with the unsentimental frankness of Naked Attraction, which has unsurprisingly rattled American viewers upon its arrival to US streaming. Since the show’s six seasons landed on Max last month, it’s become an object of consternation, curiosity and clear obsession; it’s topped the service’s most-watched list for two weeks. Continue reading... | | | | | 'There's bombshell after bombshell': will Blue Therapy be the wildest reality TV ride of the year? | | by Leila Latif Oct 4, 2023 | | After three million people tuned in for the online version of this therapy show for Black couples, Channel 4 have turned it into an explosive series. Brace for controversy In a world where we are on our seventh series of Naked Attraction’s genital unveilings, it’s hard to imagine there are many boundaries left for British reality television to break. But In Love & Toxic: Blue Therapy pushes at a more subtle taboo – Black people going to therapy. That may seem relatively innocuous, but it’s full of couples baring their souls on screen, admitting to infidelity and insecurities and uttering ludicrous statements such as: “But I’m a bad bitch!” It’s quite the way to challenge a stereotype the show’s creators wanted to battle against: that therapy is “exclusively for middle-class white people.” Channel 4’s latest series is one of the most fresh, fun and subversive reality TV debuts of the year. It is not entirely new, however. It has been adapted from the hit 2021 YouTube show Blue Therapy, an outrageous but surprisingly complex portrait of Black people’s relationships that was named “the most explosive reality show of the year”. Continue reading... | | | | | | | Beckham review – the candid, riveting truth about the footballer's life | | by Rebecca Nicholson Oct 4, 2023 | | This absolutely star-packed docuseries is a fun, gossipy watch full of blunt, entertaining interviews. Every episode just flies by Towards the end of last year, the comedian Joe Lycett cracked the shiny veneer of Brand Beckham when he challenged former “gay icon” David to justify his very well-paid gig as an ambassador for Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal and LGBTQ+ people face persecution. The response was tepid at best. You might, then, see the four-part Netflix documentary Beckham as part of a process of smoothing over the lines again. It turns out to be a surprisingly candid look at the life and career of one of the most famous footballers of all time, and it certainly is a rollicking ride. Beckham, the series, joins a long line of recent sport-based blockbusters that are so entertaining they hold plenty of appeal, whether you’re a Manchester United season ticket holder or more of a Victoria Beckham type (“I wasn’t into football then; I’m not into football now,” she says, plainly). Director Fisher Stevens – who also plays Hugo in Succession, and whom we occasionally hear off-camera asking the questions – has found a rich and vibrant tone here. He follows Beckham around his country house as the man takes great care over mundane, Alan Partridge-esque tasks, such as collecting honey from his beehives or ensuring the kitchen is spotless and exactly to his standards. Beckham seems to respond well to the gentle air of piss-taking, and is self-deprecating in return. Continue reading... | | | | | Partygate review – a giant, exploding grenade of a TV show | | by Jack Seale Oct 3, 2023 | | Every snog-filled, debauched Covid-era party in Number 10 is shockingly depicted in Channel 4’s jaw-dropping docudrama. It’s a vital document of national shame Nobody died because the staff of 10 Downing Street threw office parties throughout the Covid lockdown, and yet it’s what finally brought down Boris Johnson’s government. More than mass casualties or millions in lost public money, the discovery that the people setting the rules didn’t feel those rules applied to them was what stuck in the collective craw. Channel 4’s furious docudrama Partygate pinpoints why that was the case. Set between the outbreak of Covid in early 2020 and the spring of the following year, Joseph Bullman’s film has Johnson himself as a peripheral presence, played by a lookalike filmed from behind and voiced by Jon Culshaw. Our protagonists are the aides, advisers, PR people and junior civil servants around him – most of whom are named, real people. Continue reading... | | | | | Jailed: Inside Maghaberry Prison review – a gripping look at the UK's most dangerous jails | | by Lucy Mangan Oct 3, 2023 | | Stephen Nolan’s bruising confrontations with inmates and staff in a high-security facility make for powerful TV. Systemic problems are on display everywhere ‘If I’m entirely honest, he comes across as likable,” says Stephen Nolan, shaking his head as he leaves an interview with a 6ft 6in Lithuanian man serving 10 years for beating a man to death in an alleyway. “And that battle is why I’m here.” Nolan is a Northern Irish journalist who has been given unprecedented access to a high-security prison in County Antrim for serious and paramilitary offenders. The result is a powerful and gripping series, Jailed: Inside Maghaberry Prison, in which Nolan interviews prisoners and staff to find out – well, how that whole loss of liberty, societal need for punishment and opportunity for rehabilitation to prevent recidivism thing is working out. It is delivered in six tight, punchy half-hour episodes that give you much to think about, once you’ve stopped reeling from the impact. Continue reading... | | | | | The Great British Bake Off: episode two – live | | by Scott Bryan Oct 3, 2023 | | The 11 remaining bakers return to the tent for biscuit week. Will we see any more of those Hollywood hugs? And will Prue manage to match last week’s beaver-based innuendos? Last week we sadly said goodbye to Amos, whose killer whale failed to kill the competition. He also had a photo of a killer whale on his workstation. It was probably placed there by producers, but I like to think it was there for inspiration. As there are so many bakers at the moment it can be rather difficult to remember who is who. So here is a cut out and keep guide of stuff that happened with each of them last week* Continue reading... | | | | | |
