As the pandemic struck and a nation retreated to its living rooms, it seemed the perfect time for light and comforting shows to boom. The reality was anything but
As the reality of Covid lockdown dawned in the spring, the internet began filling up with well-meaning listicles: home-schooling tips; store-cupboard recipes; recommendations for stress-relieving TV shows (cooking, the countryside and cosy sitcoms all featured prominently). Yet as time went on, it became clear that the television that was cutting through was far from comforting. In fact, it was precisely the opposite: 2020 was the year of anxie-TV.
Michaela Coel’s BBC drama I May Destroy You, the Guardian’s best show of 2020, wasn’t just groundbreaking, it was utterly gut-wrenching. An exploration of the trauma of rape – and how that trauma interacts with the other pressures in protagonist Arabella’s life (racism, book deadlines, dysfunctional family dynamics) – the show evoked her psychological fallout with imagination and depth. Prior to its release, Coel said she had been concerned about how the heavy subject matter would land during a time of global crisis. But a news cycle churning with tension and suffering did nothing to dissuade people from diving into I May Destroy You’s own specific world of pain.
