Documentary Review: The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez (Netflix)

Directed by documentary filmmaker Brian Knappenberger, The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez is a 2020 Netflix miniseries about the 2013 murder of Gabriel Fernandez, an eight-year-old boy from Palmdale, California, who endured prolonged abuse by his mother and her boyfriend. The documentary series offers an inside look at the trial, as well as an eye-opening investigation into the government systems that failed to protect Gabriel despite multiple reports and warning signs.

TV Review: The Stranger (Netflix) – Season One

Written by Danny Brocklehurst and based on the Harlan Coben novel of the same name, The Stranger premiered on Netflix in January 2020. The series follows a happily married father of two, Adam Price (Richard Armitage), whose life is turned upside-down after a stranger (Hannah John-Kamen) tells him a secret about his wife. The revelation has a devastating impact on his seemingly perfect life, catapulting him into a world of danger.

TV Review: Sex Education (Netflix) – Season Two

Created by Laurie Nunn and with the new series having premiered on Netflix in January 2020, season two of Sex Education sees the return of Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield) who, now in a relationship with Ola (Patricia Allison), must master his newly discovered sexual urges. Meanwhile, Moordale Secondary is in the throes of a Chlamydia outbreak, highlighting the need for better sex education at the school. With Otis’ sex therapist mother, Dr Jean F. Milburn (Gillian Anderson), enlisted to help, he must now try to avoid her finding out about his own makeshift sex clinic with Maeve (Emma Mackey), as his best friend Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) has his own issues to deal with.

TV Review: You (Netflix) – Season Two

Following on from the success of 2018’s first season of Netflix‘s You, developed by Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble and loosely based on the Caroline Kepnes‘ second novel, Hidden Bodies, the second series sees Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) move from New York to Los Angeles to escape his past. Here, he starts over with a new identity and meets avid chef Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti). But as Joe attempts to forge a new love and to avoid the fate of his past romantic endeavours, he soon begins falling into his old patterns of obsession and violence when his ex Candace (Ambyr Childers) shows up and he gets mixed up in helping out his neighbours, Delilah (Carmela Zumbado) and Ellie (Jenna Ortega).

TV Review: The Witcher (Netflix) – Season One

Based on the book series of the same name by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski, with this first series being based on The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny short stories, The Witcher was released on Netflix in December 2019. The series is set on a fictional landmass known as “the Continent”, and follows the journies of Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), a solitary monster hunter, and princess Ciri (Freya Allan), who are linked to each other by destiny.

My TV Watchlist 2019

Every year, I document every film that I’ve watched and reviewed them all using Letterboxd, and I record and review every book that I’ve read with Goodreads. So, I thought I would start doing the same with what TV series I watch in an attempt to encourage me to start reviewing them more, too.

I haven’t included any competition shows or reality TV shows that I watch, including things like The Apprentice, Masterchef, I’m A Celebrity, Strictly Come Dancing, or Made In Chelsea, but I have included series that I have watched this year to catch up with, which may have been released in a different year.

Here’s a list of the series that I watched in 2019:

Netflix

You (Season One) –

Told through Joe’s narration, You is a satire of popular romantic comedies, seeing the typical story of a man trying to win over the girl of his dreams from his point view, as Joe shows that he is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that nothing gets in his way.

Taking invasive and extreme measures to get the girl, Joe shouldn’t be a likeable character. But as disturbing as he is down inside, you can’t help but feel an attraction towards him. It’s wrong, but that’s what makes it oh so exciting.

You can read my full review here.

Sex Education (Season One) –

In the midst of dark thrillers and documentaries about serial killers, Sex Education is a refreshing comedy about a group of 21st-century teenagers.

Secondary school is a testing time, but Sex Education uses these obstacles and challenges in a comedic and sincere way. Things have changed a lot since I was in school, a time when I was outcasted for wearing more black than most and listening to different music, but younger people are a lot more accepting of people’s differing tastes in music, fashion, and sexual partners nowadays.

You can read my full review here.

Abducted In Plain Sight (Documentary) –

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry for most of it but, despite the mind-boggling circumstances that sees this poor girl taken from her home – twice! – it is still a true story about child kidnapping and sexual abuse. Fair play to this family for admitting to their absolute idiocy for a lot of this, because they do open up to many of their failings that could have prevented much of this from happening, but it is so difficult to get your head around a lot of what happens to feel any pity towards them. However, I do really sympathise with Jan’s naivety, as you really can be forced to believe anything at that age, which I don’t think is something that all viewers will understand.

You can read my full review here.

Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes (Documentary) –

It didn’t focus on some of the worst things that Bundy did – I was looking for details about the decapitated heads apparently found in his house, comments on him sleeping with bodies long after he had killed them, questions about how he admitted to 30 murders but that they thought it was a lot more. Instead, what we saw was Bundy’s charming persona, his escapes from jail, the way he made police officers believe that he was somebody else entirely – all the kinds of things that you would normally congratulate a man for if he wasn’t brutally killing women in the meantime.

But I suppose that’s what’s so shocking about Bundy, the reasons why not even his wife believed that he had killed anybody. I just think the balance was a little off with this documentary, and it’s no wonder people are coming away from it going “Well, yeah, he was hot!” because it doesn’t leave you with the impact of just how much of a cruel, disgusting monster he was underneath it all.

You can read my full review here.

Our Planet (Season One) –

Review to come.

The Disappearance of Madeliene (Documentary) –

Although Madeleine went missing over 12 years ago now, her case is still one of the UK’s biggest mysteries, with new suspects still being questioned even today. It’s such a huge case that we all seemed to make our minds up about a long time ago, so I think it’s a very relevant series to remind us of the life of a young girl who may or may not still be out there.

It is an incredibly insightful documentary seen from many different perspectives, showing interviews with many of the people involved, including the former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command, the British businessman who supported the McCanns financially, the McCanns’ former spokesperson, and the former head of the PJ investigation, as well as many other journalists and investigators.

You can read my full review here.

The Umbrella Academy (Season One) –

Feeling much closer to the Watchmen series in that these superheroes are a bunch of misfits who haven’t had the best starts in life, who are still messed up and making mistakes, who often act selfishly rather than for the good of others, the series is a lot darker in tone and is more about a family being brought back together than a save the world epidemic. Although, they do have to come together to save the world, in a way.

You can read my full review here.

Dirty John (Season One) –

Based on truth, Dirty John is a thrilling story that combines a crime heightened with abuse, manipulation, and betrayal, with a central family drama about courage, trust, and the strength of a family bond. The family relationships are explored remarkably well as the series explores how one’s desires can cause you to act in the strangest ways and of how easy it is to be blind-sighted by someone so seemingly caring.

You can read my full review here.

After Life (Season One) –

Full of his outspoken and often blunt sense of humour, the series is also full of heart. The comedy is certainly dark at times, but the emotion behind it all is just as present. It definitely shows a different side to Gervais, one of aged experience as his character learns to see the positives in the mundane and tedious rituals of the everyday. You will awkwardly laugh and maybe even shed a tear as you watch a character pivot between life and death, who you hope will come out better on the other side.

You can read my full review here.

Black Mirror (Season Five) –

With a series like Black Mirror, you expect to be thrown in at the deep end with a warning of how technology is advancing, but this is definitely a much more stripped back series. Technology and advances aren’t pushed in your face to make you fearful of the future. Instead, this series uses concepts which we already have – social media platforms, VR gaming, and simple AIs – to show you their everyday dangers (or possible benefits).

You can read my full review here.

The Confession Tapes (Season Two) –

Review to come.

Mindhunter (Season Two) –

Review to come.

The Innocent Man (Documentary) –

Released 12 years after Grisham’s 2006 book, the 2018 series gives more up to date information on the case and also focuses more on Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot, who are still in prison despite their innocent pleas. Even more so, the story works so well on-screen because it puts faces and voices to the names of those involved. The book is quite difficult to get into because there are so many names to try and place that it does get confusing, so it is the perfect book to be adapted. This allows the audience to get to know the men that Grisham detailed in his book much more personally, and as you start to realise that there is no real case or any evidence against them, you can’t help but sympathise with the men involved.

You can read my full review here.

Stranger Things (Season Three) –

This latest season of Stranger Things is much of what we love about the series as a whole: horror, monsters, a group of young characters on a terrifying adventure but loving every minute of it, adult comedy, plenty of interrogations, battles of wit and nerdiness. Only this time, there’s a whole lot more hormones involved.

Beginning with a great return to the series, the first episode is set a year later as we are reintroduced to the gang after they have all moved on from the events of season two. They’re happy with their less-chaotic lives as, instead of facing supernatural terrors, they begin to experience the emotional rollercoaster of first-time relationships, as we get to see the group soak up all the fun of finally being allowed to act their age for once. Friendships may be tested, but it’s great to get to know the characters better. Especially Eleven, as we are able to see her in a new light, acting like a normal teenager for once.

You can read my full review here.

Thirteen Reasons Why (Season Three) –

This season definitely tackles the issue of sexual assault on a much bigger level, exploring the issue of sexual assault in relation to players of college sports much more widely, as it is still a very relevant and widespread topic. It is this issue, after all, what this series stemmed from.

It’s the exploration of this issue that is what’s best about this season. Characters such as Jessica, as well as other victims of sexual abuse, are seen trying to rebuild themselves, trying to not let their pasts define them. And it’s great that this season has allowed time for us to see this development, to not just end on these characters remaining victims, but to see them come out on the other side.

You can read my full review here.

Tell Me Who I Am (Documentary) –

It’s a wonderfully staged documentary as director Ed Perkins allows the two men to share their stories, providing Marcus with a platform to finally tell Alex the truth. Knowing that something harrowing is going to be revealed from the start, its set-up is suspenseful and full of mystery, but at its core is a profoundly moving and thought-provoking story. It’s definitely one that I would struggle to sit through again, but it’s one that I admire Marcus for sharing.

You can read my full review here.

The Confession Killer (Documentary) –

Review to come.

Sky

Tin Star (Season Two) –

Review to come.

Game of Thrones (Season Eight) –

Whilst I agree with some of the negative points made, I’ve remained very open-minded about the season in that I knew that there were so many ways for the season to conclude, that not every character I liked was going to get the outcome I had hoped for them, and that the over-complicated theories that we’ve been discussing for the past two years were probably too extreme.

The final series does leave a lot left unanswered and some early franchise suggestions are made redundant, but I feel like we, as an audience, pushed for Benioff and Weiss to give us a final season and for them not to drag out it out, to prevent us from growing bored of the series like we have with others. So I don’t hold it against the writers for the season feeling rushed and for it not being as well written as previous seasons. I understand people’s frustrations that it could have been better developed, but it was the viewers who called for a quick wrap up, so it was obvious that everything was going to move at a much quicker pace.

You can read my full review here.

True Detective (Season Three) –

Review to come.

Big Little Lies (Season Two) –

This may not have been the series that we all thought it was going to be; Season Two isn’t a simple drama set in a police station as The Montgomery Five are investigated about their involvement in Perry’s death. Instead, it is a brilliantly well-written exploration into the consequences of keeping secrets. Exploring how one person’s actions can affect relationships between husbands and wives, mothers and daughters, mothers and sons, children and their grandparents, and how these behaviours ripple throughout generations, Big Little Lies is a well-rounded series that looks deeply into the effects that Season One had on all of these characters and their families.

You can read my full review here.

Chernobyl (Miniseries) –

A masterfully created series with stunning cinematography, a haunting score, and phenomenal performances from an ensemble cast, Chernobyl is a brilliant dramatisation of a harrowing historical event. It’s a gripping series that largely benefits from its brilliant pacing, not letting the sense of danger and dread fade away as it builds up to a final episode that has a lot to say. Most of all, it’s incredibly insightful that’s polished with historical accuracy, giving tonnes of in-depth detail about a catastrophe that we all know something about. It’s truly eye-opening, relaying the events on the day and the months that followed, all the while exploring the very human side to the story and, subsequently, the cost of ignorance that allowed such an error to occur.

You can read my full review here.

Euphoria (Season One) –

Review to come.

911 (Season Two) –

Review to come.

Temple (Season One) –

Review to come.

Watchmen (Season One) –

Review to come.

BBC

The Victim (Miniseries) –

Review to come.

Line of Duty (Season One) –

Review to come.

Line of Duty (Season Two) –

Review to come.

Line of Duty (Season Three) –

Review to come.

Line of Duty (Season Four) –

Review to come.

Line of Duty (Season Five) –

Season Five of Line of Duty may not be as gritty or gripping as its previous seasons, but it’s what they’ve been leading up to. Who is H? And can we trust Hastings?

Becoming the highest-rated drama of the year so far, this season enables us to see an AC-12 investigation from the side of the criminals. With even more twists and turns, undercover cops, bent coppers and shock revelations than ever before, it’s no wonder that this has become one of the UK’s best series.

You can read my full review here.

Three Girls (Miniseries) –

Review to come.

Death In Paradise (Season Eight) –

Review to come.

Luther (Season Five) –

Review to come.

MotherFatherSon (Season One) –

Review to come.

Louis Theroux – Mothers On Edge (Documentary) –

Review to come.

Louis Theroux – Most Hated Family In The World (Documentary) –

Review to come.

Louis Theroux – The Night In Question (Documentary) –

You start off watching this thinking, “It’s great to see a documentary looking at a rape case from the other point of view for a change,” because false allegations do happen a lot and they can ruin people’s lives, just as much as a proven case can.

But both sides of the case open up the same issues. It becomes a test of personality as to whether you believe and trust somebody since there is often nothing else to rely on. And that’s the problem with Saif Khan. I wanted to trust him and to believe in his courageous honesty. But, innocent until proven guilty and all that, you know that there’s something dodgy about him. He’s cocky and completely unsympathetic, so it’s no surprise that it doesn’t all add up about his recollection of the date when it all comes down to the facts.

You can read my full review here.

Wanderlust (Season One) –

Review to come.

Years and Years (Season One) –

Set in a dystopian near-future, it is an incredibly relevant series. We’re worried about the leaders who are currently in charge of the world, we’re worried about the UK’s place within it, and we’re worried about a future that seems all too inevitable – politically, environmentally, and self-destructively. What Years and Years does is to speculate on how bad things could get when we elect people who put their egos first. It presents us with plausible insights into a state that we are heading towards, with more advanced and intrusive technologies, outspoken and reckless leaders with ulterior motives, and stricter laws on immigration.

You can read my full review here.

Killing Eve (Season Two) –

A great follow-up to an impressive first season with just as many twists and turns and an equal measure of shocking violence balanced perfectly with comedy and a prominent seductive tension in the air. Although Phoebe Waller-Bridge, head writer on the first season, has taken a step back, there’s still some great writing in this series with many standout lines of dialogue. Eve and Villanelle’s chemistry is what will keep you engaged in this tense cat and mouse chase, but it’s certainly a culture-filled adventure worth keeping up with.

You can read my full review here.

The Capture (Season One) –

The Capture is one of those series where you know that something much bigger and complex is going on from the very beginning, so you’re constantly waiting for something to catch you out as soon as something seemingly straightforward starts to unravel. With The Capture, the premise around military equipment and technology also means that it’s not going to be an easy plot to follow or predict, so it is a series that you have to take your time with and allow yourself to feel overcome with information before it starts to piece together in your head.

You can read my full review here.

Serengeti (Season One) –

Review to come.

The Dublin Murders (Season One) –

Review to come.

Seven Worlds, One Planet (Documentary) –

Review to come.

His Dark Materials (Season One) –

Review to come.

Vienna Blood (Season One) –

Review to come.

War Of The Worlds (Miniseries) –

Review to come.

A Christmas Carol (Miniseries) –

Review to come.

ITV

Vera (Season Nine) –

Review to come.

Hatton Garden (Miniseries) –

Review to come.

Cleaning Up (Season One) –

Review to come.

The Bay (Season One) –

Review to come.

Cheat (Season One) –

Review to come.

Deep Water (Season One) –

Review to come.

Sanditon (Season One) –

Review to come.

The Widower (Miniseries) –

Review to come.

A Confession (Miniseries) –

The story of Stephen Fulcher is a remarkable one. He is the kind of detective that we would all want to be leading a case if it involved somebody that we personally knew. Yet to see the way that Fulcher’s actions were criticised and used against him is incredibly eye-opening.

This is not only a great series because it gives us an insight into a deeply saddening true story, but also because it brings to light the changes that need to be made in the judicial system and the profound questions that need to be asked when the police are found at such a life or death crossroad.

You can read my full review here.

The Accident (Miniseries) –

Review to come.

Channel 4

Three Identical Strangers (Documentary) –

Combining archival footage, re-enacted scenes, and present-day interviews, I love the way this story played out and how the documentary was edited together. It really got you interested in this story and makes it look fun. And then BAM! The constant revelations about a story that’s almost impossible to believe start rolling in.

The real deal-breaker is how poorly the scientific study was put together and that nothing has come off it. It’s said that the study was done as part of an undisclosed scientific “nature versus nurture” twin study, to track the development of genetically identical siblings raised in differing circumstances. But the documentary questions some doubts about the subject and asks whether the scientists were actually looking into how mental illnesses can run in a family.

You can read my full review here.

Leaving Neverland (Documentary) –

This documentary hits hard with me but I will try to hold back my anger and disgust and justify my opinions a little. I also know that many people still believe that he is an innocent man and that there’s a lot of controversy around these men’s testimonies, so it’s a difficult documentary to review when there’s still so much discussion going on about the credibility of it.

So all I was say is this: Whether you believe that these men were sexually abused or not, Michael Jackson’s behaviour – the behaviour is proven and not in any doubt – was completely inappropriate as it was. I can’t understand why it wasn’t questioned why he had a new little boy to hang around with every year or so and that he was allowed to stay with them unsupervised. Whether things went any further than them only sleeping in his bed or not, Michael Jackson definitely had a lot of issues.

You can read my full review here.

The Virtues (Miniseries) –

Exploring themes of violence, abuse, addiction, exploitation and revenge, The Virtues is a hard-hitting but compassionate drama that you will be thinking about long after watching.

A real slow burner, it takes a while to get into as there are many scenes of Graham drinking, burping, and just generally struggling through the day, so it’s difficult to get invested straight away. But you know that the series is building up to a big revelation, and you know that Joseph has buried something that is absolutely going to rip him apart when he finally confronts it.

You can read my full review here.

The Handmaid’s Tale (Season Three) –

The latest season of The Handmaid’s Tale really emphasises the fear of living in a totalitarian society and shows hope of June fighting at the forefront of a revolution, but it goes back and forth too often to really show any progression. By the end of this third season, her efforts have barely made a dent. That is until the final episode when the series really gets back to its roots, but is it all too late?

On a whole, I feel like the season is lost in its direction, especially with its relationship to Margaret Atwood’s novel which the series has long surpassed. There are certainly many moments of greatness weaved in and out, but any time that the season shows any glimpse of hope, the next episode unwrites any development that it has built up to.

You can read my full review here.

Fox

The Walking Dead (Season Nine – Part Two) –

Review to come.

American Horror Story (Season Nine) –

Heavily influenced by classic horror films such as Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween, AHS 1984 begins as a homage to the slasher genre and relies on the cliche horror tropes and stereotypes that we are used to seeing to brings together their best qualities and build on them with a fresh approach.

It does move away from this basic premise eventually, giving more twists than probably all of the previous seasons combined. But with so much going on, it’s hard to appreciate the depth to it at the time of watching. When you look back on the series, the quality of the writing and complexity is definitely all there, it’s just not so obvious when there are so many characters and timelines to piece together

You can read my full review here.

Film Review: The Irishman

Directed by Martin Scorsese and based on the 2004 biographical book I Heard You Paint Houses by former homicide prosecutor, investigator and defense attorney Charles Brandt, The Irishman was released on Netflix this month. It chronicles the life of Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), an alleged mafia hitman who confesses to a crime that he committed when working for the Bufalino crime family, headed by Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci). Now older, the WWII veteran once again reflects on his most prolific hits and, in particular, considers his involvement with his good friend Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino)’s disappearance in 1975.

Film Review: Marriage Story

Directed and produced by Noah Baumbach and released on Netflix this month, Marriage Story follows a stage director (Adam Driver) and his actor wife (Scarlett Johansson) as they struggle through a grueling, coast-to-coast divorce that pushes them to their personal and creative extremes.

Documentary Review: Tell Me Who I Am (Netflix)

Directed by Ed Perkins, Tell Me Who I Am tells the story of when 18-year-old Alex Lewis wakes up from a coma after surviving a motorcycle accident to a world that he doesn’t remember. He has forgotten everything: his home, his parents. He can’t even remember his own name. The only thing he does know is that the person sitting next to him is his identical twin brother, Marcus. Alex relies on Marcus to to give him his memory back; to tell him who he is. But the idyllic childhood Marcus paints for his twin conceals a dark family secret. Now, after decades of hiding the painful realities of their past, Alex and Marcus go on a journey together to face the truth and finally discover who Alex really is.

TV Review: Thirteen Reasons Why (Netflix) – Season Three

Developed for Netflix by Brian Yorkey and based on the 2007 novel Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, the third season of Thirteen Reasons Why sees Clay (Dylan Minnette) and new-girl-at-school Ani (Grace Saif) investigate their friends – Jessica (Alisha Boe), Justin (Brandon Flynn), Alex (Miles Heizer), Zach (Ross Butler), Tony (Christian Navarro), Tyler (Devin Druid) – into the disappearance of Bryce Walker (Justin Prentice).

Documentary Review: The Innocent Man (Netflix)

The Innocent Man is an American true-crime documentary television series based on John Grisham‘s 2006 book The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town which debuted on Netflix in December 2018. The series follows the true story of a small-town justice gone terribly awry, revolving around the conviction of former major league star Ron Williamson from Ada, Oklahoma for the murder of a 21-year-old cocktail waitress named Debra Sue Carter in 1982. The crime wasn’t solved for five years, when Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz were finally arrested and charged with capital murder. Ron Williamson was sent to death row. But the reasons why were never clear. With no physical evidence, the prosecution’s case was built on junk science and the testimony of jailhouse snitches and convicts. The book details the facts around the case up until 1999 when, after serving 11 years on death row, Ron was exonerated by DNA evidence by the Innocence Project and released from prison.

TV Review: Stranger Things (Netflix) – Season Three

Created by the Duffer Brothers, Matt and Ross, Stranger Things returns for a third season as the group reunite in the summer of 1985, when the new Starcourt Mall has become the focal point of the town. With the gang on the cusp of adulthood, romance blossoms and complications begin to alter the group’s dynamic. But emotions must be put aside when the group starts noticing strange things happening around Hawkins once again. Now, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) and her friends – Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Will (Noah Schnapp), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Max (Sadie Sink), Steve (Joe Keery), Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), and Nancy (Natalia Dyer) – will have to band together when they discover that Russians are trying to re-open the upside-down and that the Mind Flayer is still alive.

TV Review: The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix) – Season One

Created by Mike Flanagan and a re-imagining of the 1959 novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House premiered on Netflix in October 2018. The story follows five adult siblings – (Michiel Huisman), Shirley (Elizabeth Reaser), Luke (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), Theo (Kate Siegel), and Nell (Victoria Pedrettias) – and flashes between past and present as they confront haunting memories of their old massion, Hill House, and the terrifying events that drove them and their parents – Hugh (Henry Thomas) and Olivia (Carla Gugino) – from it.

TV Review: Black Mirror (Netflix) – Season Five

Written and created by Charlie Brooker, Black Mirror returns to Netflix with a fifth series compromising of three episodes – Striking Vipers, Smithereens, and Rachel Jack and Ashley Too.

With a series like Black Mirror, you expect to be thrown in at the deep end with a warning of how technology is advancing, but this is definitely a much more stripped back series. Technology and advances aren’t pushed in your face to make you fearful of the future. Instead, this series uses concepts which we already have – social media platforms, VR gaming, and simple AIs – to show you their everyday dangers (or possible benefits).

TV Review: After Life (Netflix) – Season One

Created, directed by, and starring Ricky Gervais, After Life aired on Netflix in April 2019. The six-episode series follows Tony (Gervais), whose life is turned upside down after his wife (Kerry Godliman) dies from breast cancer. He contemplates suicide, but instead decides to live long enough to punish the world for his wife’s death by saying and doing whatever he wants. Although he thinks of this as his “superpower”, not caring about himself or anyone else, his plan is undermined when everyone around him tries to save the nice guy they used to know.

Documentary Review: The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann (Netflix)

The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann is a true-crime documentary that was released on Netfix in March 2019, which takes a detailed look at the disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann, who vanished from the seaside resort of Praia de Luz in Portugal while on holiday with her family in 2007.

TV Review: The Umbrella Academy (Netflix) – Season One

Developed for Netflix by Steve Blackman and Jeremy Slater and an adaptation of the Dark Horse Comics comic book series of the same name, created by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, The Umbrella Academy aired in February 2019. The series follows oddball billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore) whose death brings together his adopted children – Number One/Luther (Tom Hopper), Number Two/Diego (David Castaneda), Number Three/Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Number Four/Klaus (Robert Sheehan), Number Five (Aidan Gallagher), and Number Seven/Vanya (Ellen Page) – who are collectively known in their childhood as The Umbrella Academy, for the first time in years.

TV Review: Dirty John (Netflix)

Created by Alexandra Cunningham and based on a true story, Dirty John aired on Netflix in February 2019 and is based on the articles and breakout true-crime podcast from Los Angeles Times reporter Christopher Goffard. The series tells the story of how the seemingly perfect life of Debra Newell (Connie Britton) is disrupted as she falls for a handsome doctor, John Meehan (Eric Bana). But when their fast-tracked romance creates tension between Debra and her two daughters Terra (Julia Garner) and Veronica (Juno Temple), leaving the girls no choice but to investigate the man who has swept their mother off her feet, their lives spiral into secrets, denial, manipulation, and ultimately, a fight for survival for an entire family.

TV Review: You (Netflix) – Season One

Netflix‘s American psychological thriller series, You, which was released in December 2018 and developed by Greg Berlanti and Sera Gamble, follows a clever bookstore manager, Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) and is based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Caroline Kepnes. When Joe meets and falls in love with a customer, a graduate student and aspiring writer named Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail), he quickly becomes obsessed with her. Relying on his savvy Internet know-how, Joe will stop at nothing and will get rid of every obstacle in his way to make the woman of his dreams fall in love with him.

TV Review: Sex Education (Netflix) – Season One

Created by Laurie Nunn and premiered on Netflix in January 2019, Sex Education follows a socially awkward high school virgin, Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield), who lives with his sex therapist mother, Dr Jean F. Milburn (Gillian Anderson). Otis and his best friend Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) aren’t the kind of people who get invited to the best parties. But when Otis’ home life is revealed at school, Otis realizes that he can use his specialist knowledge to gain status. So, he teams up with social outcast Maeve (Emma Mackey) to set up a clinic to deal with their fellow students’ weird and wonderful problems. Through his analysis of teenage sexuality, Otis realises he may need some therapy of his own.