The Cage, Secret Service, and Amandaland. With guest Jack Thorne

Rivals, Believe Me, Gary, and Off Campus. With guest Steve Coogan

Yes, we’re back in Rutshire this week as the team (well, one of us) gets to dive back into the world of Jilly Cooper’s bucolic shagathon for Rivals series 2 (1:32:54), speaking of which, we also explore the other sexy ice hockey drama with Off Campus on Prime (1:43:52), get surprised by an unexpected new episode of The Bear (1:39:58), and look into the police mishandling of a notorious serial sex offender in Believe Me on ITV (1:17:59). Plus Steve Coogan sits down in the Pilot TV studio to chat Netflix’s Legends (47:39-1:06:22), the team mull over a selection of particularly ill-conceived character arcs, and there’s even more bee chat than last week as our apian allies drop by to make their feelings about the podcast known first-hand. Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!

The Cage, Secret Service, and Amandaland. With guest Jack Thorne

This week’s show sees us pick up some of last week’s biggies with Tony Schumacher’s heist drama The Cage on BBC1 (1:38:54), Gemma Arterton-starring spy show Secret Service on ITV (1:14:57), and the second series of Amandaland, which also lands on the Beeb (1:26:27). Plus uber-screenwriter Jack Thorne chats through his craft with James (43:21-1:06:26), and we take a look at the evolution of small screen storytelling from the episodic shows of yore all the way up to binge-worthy one-drops. Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!

Half Man, Prisoner, and Widow’s Bay. With guest Richard Gadd

Is it us or is it getting hot in here? No, it really is but only because Steph has been messing with the air conditioning in the studio (true). Luckily, this didn’t both Richard Gadd, who joins us on this week’s show to talk becoming a beefcake and scaring the shit out of Jamie Bell in his Baby Reindeer follow-up Half Man on BBC1 (58:36-1:10:02). But that’s not all, because the team also investigate Sky’s new thriller Prisoner (1:28:10), which bears a striking resemblance to Jonathan Ross’ new Handcuffed show, only with more machine guns, and Apple’s quirky supernatural comedy Widow’s Bay (1:35:40). Plus, if you’ve ever wanted to know what each of the team’s most embarrassing celebrity anecdotes were then this is the episode for you! Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!

Criminal Record, Beef, and Mint. With guests Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo

Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo are on this week’s pod to talk Criminal Record season 2 on Apple TV, which we also review even though James wanted us to wait until he gets back from holiday next week because he’s watched the whole thing already. We also review Beef and Mint. That’s not a new cookery show. They’re two separate programmes, one called Beef and one called Mint.

Euphoria, Big Mood, and The Miniature Wife

Euphoria makes its long-awaited return to our screens this week, after a four year hiatus. But can it possibly meet Boyd’s lofty expectations when it lands on Sky/HBO Max (47:06)? And speaking of Sky, Matthew Macfadyen and Elizabeth Banks’ size-shifting comedy The Miniature Wife also lands on that platform (1:01:04), and hit comedy Big Mood returns for another run on Channel 4 (1:11:05). Plus, we bust out our (metaphorical) turntables to thrash out our favourite TV needle drops, there’s a lot of unnecessary watermark chat, and you’re all invited to Steph’s birthday party. Except James. Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!