From Russell T Davies’s Aids-era opus to royal family bombshells with Oprah, here are the television highlights of the year up to now
Mitchell and Webb returned after a four-year wait with a second helping of Simon Blackwell’s cuckoo-in-the-nest comedy. And the duo’s talent for red herrings and all-out Peep Show-style ridiculousness meant it somehow outdid the ace first outing.
What we said: “In setting and ambience, Back is as drearily British as Brexit, but its dense dialogue – roughly every third word is hilarious – ensures it is also kin to glossy American cousins such as Succession (written by Blackwell’s old collaborator Jesse Armstrong) and Veep (on which Blackwell has writer and executive producer credits), all of which can be traced back to a common ancestor in Armando Iannucci’s The Thick of It. It is only Back’s characters that are parochial; everything else about this show is world class.” Read the full review
