Bergerac's back!
This week's best telly includes a modern re-imagining of classic crime drama Bergerac, Jodie Whittaker stars in Netflix's new drama from Jack Thorne, Toxic Town, Christina Hendricks and Paddy Considine leave Chris O'Dowd's new comedy drama for Sky Atlantic, Small Town, Big Story and Dope Girls transports us back to the streets of Soho in 1918.
Plus there's the return of Britain's Got Talent, Dave Gorman: Modern Life is Goodish and a new season of Abbott Elementary.
Here are 7 TV shows you can't miss this week...
1
RETURNING TALENT SHOW
BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT
Saturday 22nd February at 7pm on ITV1
Britain's Got Talent is BACK! And this time, the live semi-finals are weekly rather than nightly, meaning more weeks of BGT on our screens than ever before, promising more jaw-dropping talent and unforgettable moments.
With a life-changing £250,000 cash prize and a spot on the prestigious Royal Variety Performance up for grabs, the stakes are higher than ever as returning to the judging panel will be Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli, and guest judge, KSI.
Fan favourites, Ant and Dec are also back to guide audiences through the journey of discovering the next Britain’s Got Talent winner who'll follow in the footsteps of 2024 victor, Sydnie Christmas.
As the competition kicks off, the first set of talented hopefuls take to the stage with dreams of impressing the judges and securing their place in the live semi-finals.
EPISODES CONTINUES WEEKLY
STREAM ON ITVX
2
BRAND NEW DRAMA
DOPE GIRLS
Saturday 22nd February at 9.15pm on BBC One
BBC One's newest drama Dope Girls, inspired by a forgotten time in history, brings the Soho streets of 1918 vividly to life.
It is the end of World War One. As Britain celebrates the Armistice on the streets of London, men return from the front expecting to rejoin society and pick up where they left off, but a newly empowered generation of women are loath to simply return to the kitchen.
Using Soho’s expanding illicit underground clubland scene as their playground, women explore previously unimaginable opportunities on either side of the law. Dope Girls depicts in visceral delicious detail the birth of the modern nightlife industry guided and gilded by hard fought female endeavour.
6 EPISODES CONTINUES WEEKLY
STREAM ON BBC IPLAYER ALL EPISODES AVAILABLE
3
RETURNING COMEDY
DAVE GORMAN:
MODERN LIFE IS GOODISH
Monday 24th March at 9pm on U&Dave
After a seven-year hiatus, Dave Gorman is BACK with a brand new series of Dave Gorman: Modern Life is Goodish, and after dusting off his computer, his clicker and his favourite checked shirts, Dave will once again be casting an eye over modern life in his own unique style combining stand-up, visual storytelling, and real-world experimentation.
Dave turns his attention to the areas of everyday life we normally take for granted- scrutinising the absurdities and contradictions that continue to fascinate and infuriate him.
In the first episode of series six, Dave probes modern life’s follies... fake search engines, big tech’s rules and a wager that goes too far!
3 EPISODES CONTINUES WEEKLY
STREAM ON U ALL EPISODES AVAILABLE
4
RETURNING COMEDY
ABBOTT ELEMENTARY
Wednesday 26th February on Disney+
This week, Abbott Elementary finally returns to the UK on Disney+ with the first 8 episodes from its fourth season. The rest of the episodes will drop later this year.
If you're yet to fall in love with Abott Elementary it's a hilarious US workplace comedy, following a group of dedicated, passionate teachers (and a slightly tone-deaf principal) as they navigate the Philadelphia public school system.
Despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed in life, and though these incredible public servants may be outnumbered and underfunded, they love what they do, even if they don’t love the school district’s less-than-stellar attitude toward educating children.
In season four, the construction site of a new golf course causes issues at Abbott, forcing the teachers to find creative solutions; an HR representative visits the school and following their kiss in season three, Janine and Gregory's relationship status is revealed.
STREAM ON DISNEY+ 8 EPISODES AVAILABLE
5
BRAND NEW DRAMA
TOXIC TOWN
Thursday 27th February on Netflix
Based on one of the UK’s biggest environmental scandals, Jack Thorne's new Netflix drama Toxic Town is the story of the people at the heart of the Corby poisonings.
It focuses on the mothers, who took on a David and Goliath battle for justice, the series traces through the years of their fight as a terrible truth comes to the surface.
It stars Jodie Whittaker as Susan McIntyre, Aimee Lou Wood as Tracey Taylor, Claudia Jessie as Maggie Mahon, Robert Carlyle as Sam Hagen, Brendan Coyle as Roy Thomas, Rory Kinnear as Des Collins as well as Stephen McMillan, Lauren Lyle, Joe Dempsie, Michael Socha and Karla Crome.
4 EPISODES
STREAM ON NETFLIX ALL EPISODES AVAILABLE
6
BRAND NEW COMEDY DRAMA
SMALL TOWN, BIG STORY
Thursday 27th February at 9pm on Sky Atlantic
Small Town, Big Story, Sky Atlantic's new six-part comedy-drama from the mind of Chris O'Dowd, tells the story about the fictional town of Drumbán, a rural village full of secrets on the border of Ireland and another world.
It follows what happens when Hollywood TV Exec Wendy Patterson, played by Christina Hendricks, returns to the Irish border town after 20 years, choosing to film her big budget TV show I am Celt, there. When the production rolls into town, it throws the spotlight on a secret that’s been kept hidden since the eve of the Millennium.
A decades-old secret she shares with respectable local doctor and family man, Séamus Proctor, played by Paddy Considine.
EPISODES CONTINUES WEEKLY
STREAM ON SKY AND NOW ALL EPISODES AVAILABLE
7
BRAND NEW DRAMA
BERGERAC
Thursday 27th February at 9pm on U&Drama
It's this week's big new drama as Damien Molony takes on the role of Jim Bergerac in the modern re-imagining of the classic crime drama set in Jersey, Bergerac, which ran for nine series between 1981 and 1991 and starred John Nettles in the lead role.
Unlike the original hit from the 80s, the new series, written by Toby Whithouse, will see one character-led murder mystery run across all six episodes, in place of a new storyline each episode.
When we first meet Jim Bergerac, he's a broken man, grappling with grief and alcoholism following his wife’s recent death. His mother-in-law, Charlie, played by Zoë Wanamaker, is concerned Jim isn’t putting his daughter Kim first and when a woman from a wealthy Jersey family is murdered, Jim must fight through his personal struggles to become the formidable investigator he once was.
With a troublesome convict resurfacing from his past, Bergerac is required to call on his sharp investigative instincts and past successes to navigate the intricate family dynamics, and watchful eyes of the police force, in order to solve the case.
Read my interview with Damien Molony on Wednesday.
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