The Custard TV Podcast

Matt, Luke and Dawn are back to celebrate the return of the best British drama series, Slow Horses as well as Jack Thorne's take on the hacking scandal in the form of ITV's The Hack. Netflix has Jude Law and Jason Bateman as a pair of unconvincing brothers. And from Apple, but now on BBC One and iPlayer comes adoption comedy, Trying.  There's also a quiz naming as many BAFTA drama series nominees. How would you do?

Luke and Matt are back aboard their TV Time Machine, heading to September 2000. FOX has a new anarchic family sitcom in Malcolm in the Middle, which is hugely significant as it gives us Bryan Cranston. Rob Brydon makes his debut as a taxi driver recalling the breakup of his marriage in the truly superb short-form comedy Marion & Geoff.  On Channel 4, a fresh-faced comic, Ricky Gervais, gets his own chat show, Meet Ricky Gervais which feels like an awkward hybrid between So Graham Norton and The Larry Sanders Show which sadly doesn't work. Also on Channel 4, Dylan Moran's cult comedy Black Books, which brought together Bill Bailey and Tamsin Grieg as a strange found family. Lastly, Channel 4 also has Faking it, which takes a Yorkshire women and attempts to turn into a posh girl.    

Matt and Dawn are joined by CustardTV Editor Luke to review four shows available this week. Firstly, Mare of Easttown creator Brad Ingelsby has a new show in the brilliantly tense and human Task available weekly on NOW, Sky and HBO. Next, there's another murder in the building so Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez are back recording their podcast for the fifth season of Only Murders in the Building on Dinsey+ and Hulu. Next, the creative team behind the US Office is back with an official spin-off in The Paper. But does it stand up? Finally, the trio watch what might be the first sketch shows we've covered in 5 years. Channel 4 are putting a lot behind, Mitchell and Webb aren't Helping but can it revive a long lost type of television? Lastly, Dawn quizzes the boys on British sketch shows. How many could you name?

TV is finally back in a normal rhythm, and that means the podcast is back! Matt and Dawn are joined by Dawn's podcast co-host Lucy from The Shipyard to review four shows available this week. It's September, and it's ITV, so by law, Sheridan Smith must portray a real person in a true crime drama. Sticking to tradition, she stars as Anne Ming, in, I Fought the Law, the story of a mother's fight for justice when her daughter's body is found in her own home. Next, the BBC has a crazy thriller inspired by The Hand That Rock The Cradle and others of that ilk. Eve Myles and the brilliant Gabrielle Creevy star in in The Guest. Already on Netflix, Surrane Jones stars in a crazy pollicital thriller that sees her husband kidnapped and become a 'Hostage' Lastly, and perhaps the most important show of the week, Channel 4's fixed-rig cameras return to Thornhill Academy for a second series of the probably brilliant Educating Yorkshire, over 10 years since the first. Then, Dawn and Lucy test their knowledge of TV's biggest slow burn relationships for our quiz.    

Matt and Luke hop abroad the TV Time Machine to look at the TV landscape of August 2000. He will soon have so many TV shows to his name and swimming pools full of money, but in August of 2000, Ryan Murphy debuted his first show on the teen skewing network The WB. The show, Popular, is a teen comedy with a strange mix of tones but some DNA of Glee, the show that made him a household name and a titan in the industry. Next, sketch comedy TV to Go, a sketch series billed as a show 'to skewer the annoyances of everyday life.' The forgotten series, featured Martin Freeman and Hugh Dennis, but unsurprisingly, the standouts are Sean Lock and Bill Bailey. Then, a show that would become a megahit, as Anne Robinson dons a cape for a new quiz show that would become a global hit in The Weakest Link. Finally, there's Scottish drama Tinsel Town, which is a hard show to pin down.  

Matt and Dawn welcome a new voice to the show, site contributor Ruthie Nugent, to review 4 brand new shows. First up, Jimmy McGovern's hard hitting single drama Unforgivable. Prime Video's The Assassin, which sees Keeley Hawes as a retired Assassin forced out of retirement just as her son arrives to visit. Next, Lena Dunham's first new project in years, this time for Netflix and London set RomCom homage Too Much. Lastly, the BBC are hoping they can continue their streak of popular reality series with Destination X, which, in theory, could be a Traitors and Race Across the World hybrid. That's the theory, anyway. Finally, Dawn challenges Matt and Ruthie to name as finalists of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here as they can.

In the summer of 2000, Channel 4 took a gamble. They devoted 7 weeks of their schedule (albeit, at 11pm) to a brand new show branded as a 'social experiment' which placed strangers in a house. Locked away from the public for 7 weeks, voted off by members of the group, Big Brother launched to little fanfare or expectation but slowly morphed into one of Channel 4's landmark series of the period and a huge word of mouth hit at the dawn of livestreaming and the rise of the celebrity magazine.   For this special episode of their TV Time Machine, Custard TV podcasters, Luke and Matt rewatch the key episodes of the very first Big Brother, looking at what makes it so compelling. What worked from the start and what didn't. 25 years on, the show seems quaint and gentle when compared to the show it would become, where fame hungry contestants would apply and launch careers off the back of their time in the house. The 'Nasty Nick' cheating scandal cemented the show as a must watch, with conversation reaching parliament, but looking back, was it really that much of a scandal?    There's also discussion on where Big Brother went wrong, the raft of programming that came after it and why it just doesn't have the same appeal in 2025 despite ITV flogging it. 

TV has been pretty quiet of late. That is, of course, unless you're a Wimbledon or Football fan. However, Luke, Matt and Dawn are back to review 4 new shows available on streaming Platforms and ITV2. Firstly, one of the best shows of the decade, The Bear, returns for its fourth season. It's fair to say that season 3 received a lukewarm response from critics and fans alike. Without spoiling it, season 4 is a huge improvement and gives fans who love what The Bear does well exactly what they want and perhaps more. Secondly, fresh from the huge success of The Queen's Gambit, writer Scott Frank is back with Netflix adapting the Danish novel Department Q and relocating the characters to Scotland for what becomes a gripping Slow Horses and Nordic Noir hybrid. Next, Apple TV+ has a 9-part crime thriller Smoke, which sees two fire investigators looking into two arsonists.  Finally, it's a rare trip for us to ITV2, for comedy Transaction about a trans woman who is called upon to work in a supermarket who suffer a PR nightmare. Then, what is quickly becoming the best part of the pod, our 3 strikes you are out quiz, where Dawn and Luke go head-to-head in naming Netflix Original Series.    

Matt and Luke are back aboard their TV Time Machine to journey back to June of 2000. June isn't a great time for television, and the four shows that debuted back in 2000 are proof of that. There's McCready and Daughter which is the first post EastEnders role for Patsy Palmer. Then there's BBC comedy Chambers which was a studio based sitcom about a law chambers which stars a post Corrie Sarah Lancashire, strange ITV comedy Up Rising about a neighbourhood and its residents. Finally, Alan Davies stars in BBC comedy A Many Spilntered Thing about a man who moans about having two women in his life. It's a strange, and quite frankly instantly forgettable set of shows but it's always interesting to look back at what works and what doesn't about these shows that have disappeared. 

Original host of the podcast, Luke, joins Matt and Dawn to review four new shows available this week. Firstly, there's queer coming of age drama What It Feels Like a Girl from BBC Three. Followed by cosy crime drama Death Valley starring Timothy Spall as a beloved TV detective who is coaxed out of his hermit lifestyle when a murder happens on his doorstep. Next, Apple TV+ continues their raft of 'nice guy comedy' with Owen Wilson golf comedy Stick. Lastly, the team feel too old for Disney+ FX comedy Adults about a group of Gen Z friends. There's also discussion of Hacks, Doctor Who, The Handmaid's Tale and Dawn quizzes us boys on cast members from Line of Duty.    

Matt and Luke board the TV Time Machine to look at the TV landscape of May 2000. Steven Moffat's relationship comedy Coupling begins on BBC Two. David Baddiel and Frank Skinner take to a sofa for their new format which sees them sit in front of an audience with no plans of what they're going to discuss, Baddiel & Skinner Unplanned. Guy Ritchie rides the success of Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels to bring Lock Stock... to the small screen with a less charismatic cast. There's also a new sci-fi anthology Urban Gothic, which might be one of the worst things ever watched on the podcast. 

Matt is joined by regular contributors Dawn Glen and Mo Walker to review four new shows available this week. First, there's the second season of Rian Johnson's exquisite procedural Poker Face, which finally returns after a long wait. Next, the BBC has their take on the Lockerbie disaster in the calmly told The Bombing of Pan Am 103. On ITV, there's new crime drama Code of Silence, whilst on Apple TV +, there's an adaptation of the Murderbot book series. There's also discussion around the surprises at the BAFTA's as well as a new TV quiz to finish which will have you screaming as you listen!

In a change of pace, Matt is joined by Luke to assess how they are feeling about the TV we've had so far this year. Has it been a good year so far? Have there been many original hits? Have the returning favourites lived up to expectations? Can terrestrial television still be part of the conversation? Enjoy this free flowing conversation between two TV lovers.

Matt, Dawn and Mo are back to review the new shows available this week. On ITV, there's a second series of medical thriller Malpractice. It's an odd show to bring back given that it wasn't a big show or overly discussed but it would appear that ITV are hoping this will be a returning series featuring a team who are brought in to investigate medical malpractice. On Prime Video, Amy Sherman Paladino is back for ballet drama Étoile. As a big fan of the Gilmore Girls, Bunheads and The Marvellous Mrs Maisel, how to the trio feel about this new show which sees fictional dance schools in New York and Paris swap dancers. Finally, on Netflix, there's relationship drama The Four Seasons which sees three couple spend four holidays together. Spoiler, its one of the warmest and surprising shows of the year with a great cast which includes Tina Fey, Colman Domingo and Steve Carell.  There's also discussion on Doctor Who, Race Across the World, Andor and Hacks.

Matt and Luke hop back aboard their TV Time Machine to look at the TV landscape of April 2000. On ITV, there's comedy Bob Martin, starring Michael Barrymore who somewhat spoofs his own career as a narcistic game show Bob Martin. On the BBC Two, Louis Theroux gets to know Jimmy Saville in a documentary that has come to dominate Theroux's career. On Channel 4, there's Paul Abbott's bold but baffling two-part drama,  The Secret Life of Michael Fry about a council worker who finds himself out of his depth in a Welsh town. Finally, Luke gets quizzed on the charts of the time.

Matt, Dawn and Sarah review new Sky Max travelogue Joe Lycett's United States of Birmingham, which gives Sarah the opportunity to talk eloquently about the city she loves.  Then, Unforgotten writer Chris Lang has a new mystery series on U&Alibi featuring a ton of familiar faces. There's also a sweet hidden gem in Canadian drama North of North which is now available on Netflix.

Matt and Dawn are joined by Doctor Who superfan Suky to discuss the second series of Russell T Davies' take on the iconic character. They also review an episode of the seventh series of Black Mirror which is available on Netflix. Finally, a show that the team genuinely can't get their heads around with quirky Apple TV+ show Government Cheese. There's also discussion on the best show to return this week, season 4 of Max comedy Hacks.

Dawn and Mo join Matt to review 4 shows available this week. First, the BBC's latest tense crime drama entitled Reunion, the shows centres around a deaf man being released from Prison. Next, Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate shine in brand new Disney+ dramedy, Dying for Sex. Based on the podcast of the same name, it centres around a woman who goes on a journey of sexual exploration following a diagnosis of Stage 4 Breast Cancer. Next, over on BBC and iPlayer, Ben Miller and Sally Philips star in gentle Aussie comedy Austin, which sees Miller's character learning his has a son with autism. Finally, on Apple TV+, John Hamm is back in suave businessman mode in Your Friends and Neighbours.

Dawn and Tyler join Matt to review the week's notable TV. First, BBC One's gangster drama This is City is Ours starring Sean Bean. Next, Netflix's lavish comedy murder mystery from Shondaland, The Residence. Then, Apple lampoons Hollywood in Seth Rogen's comedic satire The Studio. Finally, the trio breaks down the Season 2 finale of Severance discussing where the show could go from here.

Matt and Dawn are joined by the original Custard TV podcaster, Gary Redrup to review 3 shows available this week.   They begin with the truly staggering Netflix drama series Adolescence, which might be the most discussed and praised British drama in a very long time. It is a marvel in both writing and filmmaking. All 4 episodes are filmed in one single shot. It's a truly incredible achievement. Next, over on ITV, they take a look at Protection, a new disposable thriller and on Apple TV+, there's limited series Dope Thief.