Hello world! Welcome back to another blog! Today I will be giving out more TV shows I've been watching and how I feel about them. As always these are my views as everyone is different.
WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS.
World on fire:
My first recommendation is World On Fire, casted by the incredible Victor Jenkins.
This is the second series, and we open in 1941, where Harry (Jonah Hauer-King) is still doing his best to save Kasia (Zofia Wichłacz), and Lois (Julia Brown) wanting happiness after losing 2 of her loved ones between the end of series 1 and the start of this one. This may not be a show where I should aim to audition for it (unless I get a smaller role), but it’s one of those shows that’s helped me reignite the reason to work in this industry in the first place.
What I like about this show is like series 1, it shows the reality of the brutal world that is WW2, along with how it affects those personally. It also presents topics that are still relevant today, which include suicidal thoughts, something that Lois experienced, and I really get how she feels, as I definitely had those moments where there was no point in being here. Series 2 also brought new characters. I could go on about it forever, but I’ll just mention one that stood out for me, which was the appearance of Greg Sulkin, who played David, a Jewish RAF fighter pilot who at first doesn’t take life to seriously, but then when he crashes in France, with the help of Henriette (played by Eugénie Derouand), he starts to realise that he shouldn’t take it for granted. He also played Mason in the Disney show wizards of Waverley Place, as Alex Russo's Werewolf boyfriend. The role he played in this show is so different compared to what I assumed would be his first appearance in TV, and I must also say that he ages like fine wine, as between his first tv appearance until this show, he hasn’t changed abit. It’s safe to say I want to learn the secret to his youth.
Overall I would give this show a solid 5 out of 5. The writing was beautiful, the reality of a historical moment was immaculate and I was definitely hooked from the title sequence onwards. I really do hope for a third series after that.
Boiling Point:
The next recommendation is Boiling Point, created and co-directed by the incredible Philip Barantini and casted by Shaheen Baig.
This show takes place 6 months after the events of the film (which if you’ve not seen on Netflix I highly recommend that you do) and stars Vinette Robinson as Carly, who has now opened her own restaurant point north, and has taken most of her old staff from Andy’s (Stephen Graham) old restaurant with her.
This show was the one I was looking forward to the most, as not only was the creators journey to the show was emotional and inspiring, it had drama, suspense and topics which I connected to deeply. These included Jamie’s mental health spiraling and the pressure he felt to do a good job. I also found Jake's storyline touching because as someone from a working class background, I know what it’s like to try and earn an income to help me be more independent. And even though financially I’m okay, I still connected to Jake's storyline on so many levels. I even found Robyn’s story moving as I have a family member who suffers with the same thing she has. I won’t say what but all I will say is once you’ve watched it you’ll see what I mean.
Overall I would give this show also a 5. It was high stakes, moving and it also showed the realities of our chefs today working in hospitality. And as someone who worked in the hospitality sector, I know the feeling of the pressures to keep the public happy all to well.
The Long Shadow:
My final recommendation is The Long Shadow. This is based off the real life crime of The Yorkshire Ripper, casted by Victor Jenkins and directed by Lewis Arnold.
This show had all the major stars, and had 114 people casted in the show. After listening to the casting process on an Act On This podcast it was so amazing how they brought everything together. I also commend Lewis Arnold for directing all 7 episodes as with it also being a real life story, he had a lot of responsibility to deliver it well, which he did.
One of the many stars that stood out was David Morrisey who played George Oldfield. He was one of the detectives who took part in looking into The Yorkshire Ripper, who later on suffered from health conditions. My guess was because of how big the case was I felt he had more pressure to complete it, which led to his health deteriorating. And I commend Morrisey for taking on a high role like this. The ensemble were also brilliant. These included actors from Daniel Mays, Katherine Kelly and Molly Wright and talent I’ve never seen before like Daisy Waterstone as Jaqueline Hill. All of these actors brought the whole piece together. And the time frame of how many days it took to solve the case was insane.
Overall I would give this show a 4.75. Whilst I still don’t know the full story of The Yorkshire Ripper, to tell a story based on real life events is an achievement in itself. And once again I commend Lewis Arnold for directing all 7 episodes and Victor Jenkins for casting all of the roles in it.
And those were my TV recommendations. I hope you enjoyed this read and let me know your thoughts on them.
See you soon for another blog. Until next time...
This is The Autistic Actress signing off :)
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