Backstage - TV & Film

This week on Backstage, Stevie gives us the goss on what to catch at London Film Festival. We go through the dystopian drama Brave New World and are moved by a conversation with Jim Parsons and his feelings about new Netflix queer film The Boys In The Band.There is a little bit of escapism with Emily In Paris, and we ask two questions: Why is Fargo no longer set in Fargo? And are any of you tired of the Walking Dead yet? Welcome to Backstage. Enjoy! Please do subscribe if you like what you hear and do get in touch using backstage@sky.uk – we love emails!

This week, we have a quick chat about Emmy wins and what is worth watching in this quite upside down 2020.We talk about Amazon Prime's remake of 'Utopia' and change pace to the soapy-drama of BBC's 'Life'.Stevie finds out who exactly Grayson Perry is as he speeds across the United States in Channel 4's 'Grayson Perry's Big American Road Trip', as well as a lovely conversation about a league of royal spies for Disney Plus.Welcome to Backstage. Enjoy! Please do subscribe if you like what you hear and do get in touch using backstage@sky.uk – we love emails!

This week we have an emotional conversation with Paris Hilton about her new YouTube Originals documentary, ‘This Is Paris’.We get into it with the new Millie Bobby Brown produced Enola Holmes on Netflix, and we get closer to the Cuckoo’s Nest with Ryan Murphy’s Ratched.We also touch base with Ewan McGregor as he relays his passion for electric motorcycles since riding through Southern and Central America for Long Way Up, and we talk about Tom Hollander’s role as a beleaguered father in the BBC adaptation of David Nicholls’ ‘Us’. Enjoy! Please do subscribe if you like what you hear and do get in touch using backstage@sky.uk – we love emails!

This week, we get eerie with HBO/Sky collaboration The Third Day featuring Naomie Harris and Jude Law, as we heavily anticipate his live streaming to make it that much weirder.We question the colonial implications of ITV’s Sunday offering Singapore Grip as Claire speaks to actress Georgia Blizzard about her insufferable character in the show.We also head across the Channel to the controversial French film Cuties, while Stevie taps into his inner teen with Netflix’s Julie and the Phantoms… And no one knows what to do with the Duchess. Enjoy! Please do subscribe if you like what you hear and do get in touch using backstage@sky.uk – we love emails!

It’s one of Amazon’s most watched shows, and now The Boys is back for a second season. While Katie and Stevie couldn’t be any more excited, Bethany is reserving her judgement. With more graphic violence and gore than you can shake a stick at, it’s certainly not for the faint hearted.Netflix blasts into space with its ambitious space drama Away, starring Hilary Swank as a conflicted captain on a mission to Mars. The team have mixed reactions to some of the no-gravity scenes, achieved with the help of wires and some super slo-mo acting. One thing they do agree on is that space seems to get better phone reception than all of the WFH locations they’ve so far explored in their own flats.We go back to the roots of a popular Swedish detective in Young Wallander, also on Netflix. While the show doesn’t hold back on the torso shots (proving that lead actor Adam Palsson hasn’t been slacking in the gym), it’s Scandi-crime credentials are slightly less forthcoming. For those that don’t like subtitles though, this English-language interpretation does mean you can skip all the pesky reading and concentrate on the gratuitous upper-body nudity.Meanwhile, Disney’s big blockbuster of the year premieres on their streaming service Disney +. The latest in their long line of action re-makes, Chinese actress Liu Yifei stars in the hard-to-fill lead role. With more attention paid to the original 6th century folk tale than the 1998 cartoon version, Stevie educates everyone when he explains what the name Mushu actually means (Spoiler alert: Mushu the dragon, voiced by Eddie Murphy in the Disney original, isn’t in the remake. There is a phoenix.). While it’s a decent re-telling, everyone wonders if kids will have the stamina to actually sit through the $200m (£150m) epic.And in possibly the craziest film the Backstage gang have ever reviewed, Charlie Kaufman latest movie I’m Thinking Of Ending Things comes to Netflix. Starring a pair of Jessies – Irish actress Jessie Buckley and American actor Jesse Plemons – this genre-confounding movie will keep you on your toes and most likely make you question the meaning of life, the universe and everything…Please do subscribe if you like what you hear and do get in touch using backstage@sky.uk – we love emails!

Teenagers doing the Duke of Edinburgh Award get a lot more than they bargained for in new Prime Video film Get Duked. While Stevie wonders if rabbit poo really has hallucinogenic properties, Claire’s been chatting to the cast about what it was like running around in the countryside together.Strike is returning to the BBC with Strike: Lethal White. It’s the latest detective drama based on one of JK Rowling’s books. The team wonder if the author’s recent comments will put people off watching and Katie isn’t sure lead character Cormoran Strike is a good influence on lazy boyfriends everywhere.Everyone’s favourite watch of the week is the compelling I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, which is coming to Sky Crime and Now TV. The true crime documentary mixes the hunt for a serial killer and rapist, with the personal story of a woman who became obsessed with solving the case – writing a book that the show is based on. There’s a lot going on but it manages to avoid being confusing or hard to follow. Katie’s been chatting to Gaz Coombes from Supergrass who are back together, though not playing the series of festival sets they expected to this summer. Find out what she asked that got us wondering how much the band actually like each other.And after talking about it for months, Claire has finally seen Tenet. She reviews both the film and the cinema-going experience in a post-lockdown world.Please do subscribe if you like what you hear and do get in touch using backstage@sky.uk – we love emails!

The gang is back together on this week's Backstage, as Claire returns from sunning it up on the coast!And the excitement doesn't stop there - Billie Piper and Lucy Prebble's new Sky Atlantic show I Hate Suzie is very, very good. Claire chats with Daniel Ings, who plays Suzie's husband Cob, about the project. Less exciting, however, is Disney+'s new family film The One And Only Ivan. It's got a stellar cast, and some great CGI animals, but it might even be too boring for some of your kids, let alone the grown-ups!Not one, but two teen movies for you this week. Babyteeth is out in cinemas now, and Chemical Hearts is on Amazon Prime. One's great - the other, not so much.And it's the devil himself - or is it? Netflix's Lucifer is back for part one of its fifth season, but something isn't quite right with the Hellish prince. Something also isn't quite right with the acting.Plus, Katie got to speak to actual living legend, Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood, about his new art project, and there's a hint of some new music on the way...Get in touch via email. We'd love to hear from you: backstage@sky.uk

Two Russians agents release a miniature nuclear weapon in a 5-star London hotel. But former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko is not the only victim? For the full series, search 'Polonium & the Piano Player.'From Sky News StoryCast.

Hot...sweaty...no, we're not reviewing Little Birds again! It's just absolutely baking here in England, and Stevie can't believe Bethany and Katie don't have air conditioning.There's still plenty to talk about this week, despite the heat!Katie's favourite Bear Grylls is back with a new show on Amazon Prime which has the longest title known to humankind - World’s Toughest Race: Eco Challenge Fiji. It has conches, medallions, and Bear back-flipping from a helicopter, but it's not enough to impress the team. Heartwarming new comedy Ted Lasso is available now on Apple TV+, which follows a pretty clueless American football coach as he tries to teach "soccer" (actual football) in England. Hear what Jason Sudeikis had to say about his time in the UK and his thoughts on our comedies. Creatures from hell and white supremacists are both here to terrify characters in the new HBO and Sky Atlantic series Lovecraft Country. With a unique, fresh take on sci-fi and horror, the team are thoroughly impressed. Listen to their review...if you dare...And - The Fresh Prince Of Air as a drama? Well, it's happening! Hear the story of how and why in this week's episode. As usual, we love hearing from you - email backstage@sky.uk and we may get back to you!Now, where's that glass of ice water...

While Claire is off on her jollies, Bethany Minelle is back - and she's just as excited about Black Is King as Katie and Stevie. The gang talk costumes, music, and whether anyone, really, can compare themselves to Beyonce.Series three of Netflix's real estate reality show Selling Sunset is out now - but the team aren't sold on it. Producer David is drafted in to defend the online hit - can he persuade them to watch more of it?No persuasion needed for the team to watch Mandy, which is written, directed by, and stars Diane Morgan. It has Doberman Pinschers, naked sushi, and tarantula bashing - what's not to love?And have you ever wanted pictures to be judged by photographer-to-the stars Rankin? Listen to find out how a new Sky Arts show might help you...Plus; the team discuss the BAFTA TV awards; Katie talks about her new favourite show that sees a journalist trying to avoid getting "shivved" in prison; Stevie pulls out a spectacular Valley Girl impression; and hear the aftermath of Bethany batting away a wasp.(Cover photo: Travis Matthews/Disney Plus via AP)