The past week’s television lineup delivered a captivating array of dramas and documentaries that left viewers spellbound. From a daring adaptation of a beloved novel to a gripping tale of a man living a double life, the small screen served up stories that were impossible to look away from. Here’s a closer look at the most riveting shows of the week.
Rivals: A Bold and Witty Jilly Cooper Adaptation
Dominic Treadwell-Collins and Laura Wade’s eight-part adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s 1988 “bonkbuster” novel Rivals burst onto screens with a bang. The opening scene, set aboard the iconic Concorde, features Tory minister Rupert Campbell-Black (played with rakish charm by Alex Hassell) engaged in a mile-high tryst with a journalist. It’s just the first of many steamy encounters in this unabashedly sexy series.
Set against the backdrop of the fictional county of Rutshire, Rivals follows the scandal-filled lives of the wealthy and privileged. Sex is everywhere, from naked tennis to full-on “rutting montages.” But it’s a specific brand of British upper-crust sex – slightly chaotic and bumbling, yet still titillating. The sprawling cast is uniformly excellent, but it’s Danny Dyer as the sweet and emotionally intelligent Freddie who nearly steals the show.
Rivals revels in its 1980s setting, with plenty of period-appropriate details and a soundtrack filled with hits like Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love.” Some viewers may be put off by the fox hunting scenes, but overall, this adaptation is big, bold, witty, and unapologetically fun.
Mr Loverman: A Powerful Tale of a Secret Life
Nathaniel Price’s eight-part BBC One drama Mr Loverman, adapted from Bernardine Evaristo’s novel, takes an unflinching look at homophobia through the story of a 75-year-old closeted gay Antiguan man living in London. Lennie James is stunning as Barrington, who has spent decades hiding his sexuality and his relationship with his childhood love Morris (Ariyon Bakare).
Sharon D Clarke is equally impressive as Barrington’s long-suffering wife Carmel. The toxic dynamic between the couple, who have two adult daughters together, is painful to witness at times. Carmel and her church group express virulently homophobic views, unaware that Barrington himself is gay.
Throughout, there are stunning performances, particularly from James and Clarke, who are locked in a relationship death spiral that’s as relentless as it is loveless.
– Observer TV reviews
While the show does become somewhat repetitive in its second half, the performances and the rarely-told story of an older, gay, Black British man make Mr Loverman well worth watching.
Life and Death in Gaza: The Struggle to Survive
Natasha Cox’s powerful BBC Two documentary Life and Death in Gaza offers a ground-level view of life in the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the May 2023 conflict between Israel and Hamas. The film follows four ordinary Palestinians as they attempt to navigate the chaos and destruction.
- Khalid, a physiotherapist whose clinic is destroyed, tries to continue serving as a medic for wounded children.
- Adam attempts to get himself and his sisters across the Egyptian border before it closes.
- Aya, a university student, is repeatedly displaced, ending up in a tent city.
- Aseel, pregnant with her second child, sees her newborn daughter as a symbol of hope amidst the devastation.
Much of the documentary is filmed on shaky phone cameras, lending it a sense of urgent immediacy. The juxtaposition of current destruction with images of Gaza’s formerly vibrant neighborhoods is haunting. Life and Death in Gaza is a difficult but necessary watch that brings the human toll of the conflict into sharp focus.
So Long, Marianne: Leonard Cohen’s Greek Love Affair
The new ITVX drama So Long, Marianne transports viewers to the Greek island of Hydra in 1960, where a young Leonard Cohen (played by Alex Wolff) falls in love with his muse, Marianne Ihlen (Thea Sofie Loch Naess). Named after Cohen’s famous song, the eight-part series is a sensuous, sun-drenched evocation of a bohemian artist’s colony.
Filmed in color-saturated hues, So Long, Marianne explores the passionate but complicated relationship between the sensitive Cohen, who struggles with depression, and the free-spirited Ihlen. An impressive ensemble cast brings to life the hedonistic world of Hydra’s expat community.
With music playing a central role, the show features many of Cohen’s most beloved songs. While the idea of the “muse” may seem dated, Marianne is portrayed as a fully realized character, not merely an object of inspiration. Based on the first episode, So Long, Marianne promises to be an intoxicating portrait of young love and artistic awakening.
From a racy romp through the British upper crust to a searing exploration of the human impact of armed conflict, this week’s television offerings transported viewers through a gamut of emotions and experiences. Each of these shows, in its own unique way, used the power of storytelling to illuminate facets of the human condition – the way we love, the secrets we keep, the resilience of the spirit in the face of adversity. They are a testament to the enduring power of the small screen to captivate, move, and provoke audiences.
