Pilot TV Podcast

Champion of the green team Ser Gwayne Hightower aka Freddie Fox joins us on the show this week to fill us in on the latest developments in House Of The Dragon, plus we dissect this year’s Emmy nominations, which saw Shōgun and The Bear (*cough* not a comedy *cough*) leading the pack. Elsewhere, we take a look at Apple’s Gilliam-esque reimagining, Time Bandits, head into police training with ITV’s Piglets, and experiment with the latest spin-off in The Good Wife franchise with Elspeth on Sky Witness.

Stars of Apple’s Lady In The Lake Natalie Portman and Moses Ingram join us on this week’s show despite a few technical hiccups. Plus we end up unearthing a cold case in BBC1’s very pointed Jenna Coleman police drama The Jetty, welcoming Danny Dyer back into the family with Mr. Bigstuff on Sky Max and getting our sandals on for some gladiatorial action in Those About To Die on Prime Video. All this despite Kay being stuck at home and having to beam into the studio via the wonder of modern technology, braving the sweltering heat of her office to do so (there’s a whole window drama, you have no idea).

Most films and TV shows are shot entirely out of sequence, so we went full Method on this week’s podcast and decided to record the entire show out of sequence to see what it’s like (and because we had an appointment with Rapman, but that’s another story). The result? Anarchy. And possibly madness. Still, amidst the carnage, the discussion of a Pilot OnlyFans, and the cancellation of another of James’ beloved shows, we still found time to tackle Apple’s darkly comedic robot drama Sunny, and two BBC2 shows: Michelle de Swarte’s Spent and Istanbul set police drama The Turkish Detective.

We may not have been able to cover The Bear last week but fear not, because our food order arrived in time for this week’s show and our take on The Bear’s third season is finally ready to go. Plus, not only do we fall under the spell of Prime Video’s My Lady Jane, but stars Rob Brydon and Anna Chancellor stop by to share parenting tips from this anachronistic alternate history. Not enough? A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder lands on iPlayer and speaking of murder, we manage to do exactly that to this week’s listener question.

We may not be able to review Netflix’s Supacell until the next Pilot+ but that didn’t stop the show’s creator, Rapman, from dropping by to talk all about his Black superhero saga. And while we’re talking about things we couldn’t review, there’s a whole debacle about The Bear (a Bearbacle?) that plays out this week, so if you’re joining us to find out what Carmy and the gang have been up to, you may be disappointed. We do join Hugh Bonneville for Douglas Is Cancelled, however, and head off to Spain with Eva Longoria for Land Of Women. So there’s that, at least.

We’re dancing with dragons on this weeks shows as two of the stars of House Of The Dragon join us on the show: Matt Smith and Fabien Frankel. Plus, we take a look at WWII family drama We Were The Lucky Ones on Disney+, renew our gym membership with the second series of Peacock on BBC3, and head out into space with Lena Headey for the arrival of space lighthouse sci-fi series Beacon 23, which arrives on Disney+. All that and Boydy, who hosted the screening of the Inside No.9 finale (he may have mentioned it) provides his definitive list of the best nine episodes of the show.

We have a guest double bill this week as Danai Gurira drops by to talk about taking up Michonne’s sword again in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, and Sam Spruell also joins us to talk all things Fargo. Plus we put Jake Gyllenhaal in the dock in Apple TV+’s remake of 1990 Harrison Ford thriller Presumed Innocent, House Of The Dragon roars back onto Sky, and Under The Bridge takes a look a girl violence when it arrives on Disney+. All that and we share with you the details of the great Pilot TV marriage proposal that never was…

Eric star Benedict Cumberbatch and creator Abi Morgan both stop by this week to chat all things Eric, which recently debuted on Netflix. Plus, this week’s slate includes Channel 4’s adaptation of Candice Carty-Williams’ novel Queenie, BBC1’s drama about a gay couple navigating the adoption system in Lost Boys And Fairies, and another jaunt into biographical fashionista territory with Becoming Karl Lagerfeld on Disney+. And the team put their heads together to figure out who their ideal timelord companions would b

We Are Lady Parts is back, back back! And to celebrate, writer and creator Nida Manzoor is on the show talking to Helen O’Hara. Plus Vicky McClure is also with us this week, chatting Insomnia on Paramount+. Meanwhile, James gets to zombiesplain his little socks off as we tackle the latest Walking Dead spinoff, The Ones Who Live, which brings Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira back into the fold, and Steven Knight’s The Veil comes to Disney+, putting Elisabeth Moss on mission as an MI6 agent trying to crack a possible terrorist.

Trying returns to Apple this week and not only are we reviewing it but Rafe Spall and Esther Smith are with us on the show to talk all about it. Plus we’re up all night with Vicky McClure in Paramount+’s adaptation of Sarah Pinborough novel Insomnia, and ITV gives us a dose of witness protection Tasmania style in Bay Of Fires. Elsewhere we unpick the recent TV BAFTAs and have a little fun with Spotify’s AI chapter headings.

This episode marks the Pilot TV debut of Empire’s very own Sophie Butcher, filling in for work-shy slacker Kay who’s STILL on holiday. Sophie shares with us some of her favourite shows, plus we finally pin Boydy down on a definitive (laminated!) list of his favourite films so he can’t keep attaching that label to every one he talks about. Elsewhere, we’re delving into competitive teenage athletics in The Gathering on Channel 4, seeing Ian Rankin’s Rebus get reborn on BBC1, and seeing if there’s still some life in the clone saga in Orphan Black: Echoes, which finally lands in the UK on ITVX.

We have TWO special guest this week. The first is the star of Dark Matter and all-round screen legend Jennifer Connelly, who joins us to discuss that series. The second is Swindon native all-round Pilot legend Beth Webb, who jumps back in to the show to cover for Kay, who’s on holiday. As well as getting ourselves back into quantum superposition for Dark Matter on Apple, we also tackle the final series of Inside No. 9, the fourth series of The Young Offenders and the new RTD era of Doctor Who, plus James has a lot to say about a certain kissing scene that appears to have traumatised him since last week.

Martin Freeman and Tony Schumacher — the star and creator respectively — join us this week to chat The Responder, which returns for its second series. Plus, we investigate some Tudor crimes with Shardlake and some cold war espionage with Spy/Master. None of which can prepare you for what Boyd’s been watching this week, which not only sees a surprise sprint for the finish line with a show he’d been behind on, but a rather unexpected ‘factual’ show, that dovetails with this week’s listener question to see a podcast far more concerned about measurements than it has any right to be.

Big ‘Dris himself joins us on the show this week, talking to Kay about Sonic spin-off Knuckles, which comes to Paramount+. Elsewhere, we’re back on the Baby Reindeer beat again this week, seeing as we made such a shambolic show of reviewing it on last episode (in fairness, it wasn’t entirely our fault), and now that everyone’s talking about it, we though it only fair to give it a proper viewing. Plus we revisit The Big Door Prize on Apple, and head off to hang out with the druids in The Red King on Alibi.

Walton Goggins and Lesley Sharp join us on this week’s show. Not together, of course, because the former is with us to chat Ghoul life in Prime Video’s Fallout and the latter is here in her capacity as head of MI5 in ITV’s Red-Eye. And speaking of Red-Eye, we review that show, which sees Richard Armitage on the flight from hell, as well as Glaswegian BBC comedy Dinosaur and the return of Belfast police drama Blue Lights, also on the Beeb. Plus we record our first proper podcast in the new studio, run through our (somewhat belated) 100 Greatest TV shows list, and dispense with a listener question in record time.

Sometimes we at the Pilot TV podcast are the very embodiment of calm, dignified professionalism. This is not one of those times. An early recording prompts unfettered anarchy this week as the team go full Joanna Page, cover a postbag slot we’ve done before and only half review one of the shows (we had our reasons). But all of that’s okay, becasue Star Trek Discovery’s Sonequa Martin-Green joins us on the show to talk about her final voyage, plus we watch Kate Winslet become a dictator, Jill Halfpenny turn into the lodger from hell and (almost) see a show about a stalker. Absolute chaos.

Not only do we have a 3 Body Problem Spoiler Special with the showrunners now available over on Pilot TV+, but stars John Bradley and Benedict Wong also drop by this week to chat about the show. Elsewhere, we’re raging over the unjust and unforgivable cancellation of The Lazarus Project (for shame, Sky!), examining this year’s RTS awards, and explore our objects of televisual desire — not to mention reviewing this week’s shows, of which there are FOUR (because who needs to go outside?). Colin Farrell takes the gumshoe beat in Sugar on Apple TV+, Romesh Ranganathan’s back dodging his problems in Avoidance, Star Trek: Discovery takes its final voyage, and Steven Knight’s This Town takes us back to 80s Belfast (and Birmingham).

We’re all about the Bolsheviks this week, as Ewan McGregor returns to our screens for A Gentleman In Moscow on Paramount+ and drops by this podcast to tell us about his Muskovite adventures first hand. Plus, we explore the chaotic life of Nicola Coughlan’s character in Channel 4 comedy Big Mood and catch up with Diane Morgan’s similarly anarchic antics in series 2 of Mandy on BBC2.

Loki, Luther and We Own This City star Wunmi Mosaku joins us this week to talk all things Passenger, a supernatural mystery show coming to ITV on Sunday at 9pm. Plus we finally get to talk about 3 Body Problem in full and reveal whether Netflix’s new show from the creators of Game Of Thrones could crack Kay’s anti sci-fi armour. Opinions divide quite spectacularly on the other shows this week, specifically Kristen Wiig-starring period piece Palme Royale on Apple TV+ and Anthony Mackie-starring apocalyptic road adventure Twisted Metal on Paramount+.

Is there a Falcon in the house? Yes there is, in fact, because Anthony Mackie joins us on this week’s show to talk apocalypse survival, not listening to Taylor Swift, and of course Twisted Metal, which comes to Paramount+ next week. Elsewhere, James has a revelation about 3 Body Problem, Kay ponders the existential dilemma of slow-burn TV, and we get into this week’s slate, which includes the hunt for Lincoln’s killer in Manhunt on Apple TV+ and the return of ITVX’s The Dry. And then there’s Love Rat, a show on Channel 5 that might have been genetically engineered in a lab to give James a breakdown.