The Morning Show, streaming now on Apple TV

Apple TV + launched with an air of mystery a couple of years ago. How on earth, despite its heavyweight status, could Apple break into the streaming market alongside the Big Boys Amazon and Netflix?

By seeking out the very best talent in acting, producing, writing and directing - that’s how. You’ve got Octavia Spencer in the thrilling Truth Be Told. Justin Theroux stars in the TV adaptation of his uncle’s best-seller The Mosquito Coast. And Lauren Ambrose is startlingly good in M Night Shyamalan’s Servant.

In short, Apple TV + isn’t packed with original content for your £4.99. But what IS there, is worth watching and, I think, well worth just under a fiver.

The channel’s star turn, The Morning Show (just returned for season two) is absolutely phenomenal, and is absolutely the best thing leads Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carrell have done in years.

Season one is available to stream now. Set against a backdrop of the rising #metoo movement, the sweethearts of American network programme The Morning Show, Alex (Aniston) and Mitch (Carrell) are shaken when allegations of misconduct surface.

Mitch is quickly cast aside, as the station, and all those working within it, scrabble to make sense of what’s happened. Did they know about Mitch? Should they have said something? Seeing her 15 year stellar career disappear in front of her very eyes, Alex sets sight on gaining control of the situation, with novice broadcaster Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon) caught up in the drama.

No one is left unscathed.

Season two picks up right where we left off, with bridges burned, and bridges to build.

This is drama at it’s very best. Sharply written and acutely observed. An unsettling commentary on the power of the media, and toxic masculinity.

Billy Crudup also stars as menacing, machiavellian boss Cory Ellison. One of my favourite writers and actors Mark Duplass plays producer Charlie ‘Chip’ Black, Tom Irwin is out-for-himself Fred, and Juliana Margulies is set to join this season as Laura Peterson. This is powerful stuff. Don't miss it.

Charlotte Smith-Jarvis

Norwich Evening News: Location, Location, Location's Phil and Kirstie visiting Wales and CheshireLocation, Location, Location's Phil and Kirstie visiting Wales and Cheshire (Image: Channel 4)

Location Location Location, Channel 4, Wednesdays, 8pm and streaming on All 4

I’m a bit of an old-fashioned TV viewer. I don’t subscribe to any streaming services, which makes me a terrible dinner party guest, because I’ve never seen whatever the hot show is that everyone else is watching on Netflix or Amazon Prime.

And generally, I’m not one for bingeing a series in one go, either – the exception was when I got completely addicted to Line of Duty earlier this year and suddenly found myself having to fit five series into three weeks before the start of series six.

If I’m engrossed in a drama, I much prefer to savour it and watch one episode a week – and at the time that it’s actually broadcast.

I’ve had to make a concession recently because of the Endeavour/Vigil Sunday night clash – I wish that the TV schedulers would consult me about these things first.

But because I don’t have thousands of boxsets available on demand, it means that there are sometimes lean times, viewing-wise.

At least I know I can always rely on Channel 4 to entertain me on a Wednesday evening.

In my house, Wednesday night is property night.

I’ve lost count of the number of hours I’ve spent on one of my most impressive hobbies: playing fantasy home search on RightMove.

And from 8pm onwards you know that you’ll always be able to find some combination of home-related shows presented by Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer/George Clarke/Kevin McCloud on the channel.

This week, after a six-week absence because of the Changing Rooms reboot, my favourite double act Pip and Kirstles are back with the original show that turned them into household names – Location, Location, Location.

It’s 20 years since the show first arrived on our screens – and while the haircuts have changed the format has retained most of its original features.

As was hilariously distilled down by comedians Mitchell and Webb in one of their sketches, each week Phil and Kirstie help house-hunters find somewhere they like, then they buy it, and then they live in it.

But as a nation we’re obsessed with property – even more so since the start of the pandemic, when many of us found ourselves spending more time at home than usual. And, of course, we’re nosey. So here’s to another 20 years, Phil and Kirstie.

Emma Lee

Norwich Evening News: Greg Davies presents Sky's reboot of Never Mind The BuzzcocksGreg Davies presents Sky's reboot of Never Mind The Buzzcocks (Image: ©Sky UK Ltd)

Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Sky Max, Tuesdays at 9pm

After nearly six years off our screens, the iconic music panel show Never Mind The Buzzcocks is back – and funnier than ever.

Picked up by Sky rather than its original broadcaster the BBC, this new eight-episode series is currently airing every Tuesday night, with funnyman Greg Davies at its helm.

Joining him are Noel Fielding and Daisy May Cooper as team captains, with comedian Jamali Maddix as a regular panellist. The four of them have great chemistry together, and from start to finish you’ll be in tears at how hilarious they are, alongside a rotating panel of guests which has so far included Nish Kumar, Little Mix’s Jade Thirwall, and singer Anne-Marie.

Paying homage to its predecessor, the show has largely kept its original format, and all the classic rounds we know and love are still there, including the Intros Round, Identity Parade and Next Lines. It’s as if the show never left us.

And as someone who’s been on a bit a nostalgia kick lately, and had actually been rewatching old episode online back when Simon Amstell was host (the show’s golden era, if you ask me), this reboot has come at the right time. It's certainly my midweek TV highlight at the moment.

Danielle Lett


What are you watching?

Tell us about the shows you’re enjoying right now. What do you recommend? Email charlotte.smith-jarvis@archant.co.uk