BCG Daily Thursday 19th March 2020

News

Press clippings

Feel Good. Mae (Mae Martin). Copyright: Objective Productions

Feel Good review

Mae Martin comedy packs interesting themes, but the romance is lacking.

Mr Josh, The News Trace, 19th March 2020
Kate & Koji. Image shows from L to R: Kate (Brenda Blethyn), Koji (Jimmy Akingbola). Copyright: Hat Trick Productions

Kate & Koji review

It's not brilliant, but I'd like it to do well. Somehow, though, in post-Brexit Britain I can't see it being a mainstream hit, though I'd love to be proved wrong. Whatever the Guardian might say I think its heart is in the right place.

Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 19th March 2020
Anneka Rice

Why Anneka Rice got the urge to find her waxwork head

Ahead of her second stint at raising a laugh for Radio 4 in Help! My Head's in Wookey Hole, she gave BBC News an honest reflection on her experience of fame.

BBC, 19th March 2020
Kate & Koji. Image shows from L to R: Kate (Brenda Blethyn), Koji (Jimmy Akingbola). Copyright: Hat Trick Productions

Kate & Koji, review: a poor imitation of Rising Damp

Perhaps it will be a hit. The success of Mrs Brown's Boys shows there is definitely an appetite for big-hearted, broad comedy accompanied by audience laughter. But I'm not sure that sympathy for asylum seekers sits comfortably in that genre.

Anita Singh, The Telegraph, 19th March 2020
Kate & Koji. Image shows from L to R: Kate (Brenda Blethyn), Koji (Jimmy Akingbola). Copyright: Hat Trick Productions

Kate & Koji review

Kate & Koji is funny - and funny enough to make me snort with laughter. The script is well-honed by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, who wrote Outnumbered. But what raises this show far above the ordinary are the performances by Brenda Blethyn and Jimmy Akingbola as the title characters.

Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail, 19th March 2020
Tom Stade

Review - Tom Stade: You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet!

Playful yet dark cautionary tale from comedy's bad boy.

Jay Richardson, The List, 19th March 2020
Rhys James

Review - Rhys James

Talk about comic timing. On Friday, Rhys James was cracking coronavirus gags to a sold-out but half-empty Leicester Square Theatre. A couple of days later, the theatre closed indefinitely, owing to... Christ, do we even need to say it?

Will Noble, Londonist, 19th March 2020
Mawaan Rizwan. Copyright: Sun Lee

Mawaan Rizwan named one of the '30 under 30' to watch

Mawaan Rizwan has made the 30 Under 30 list of hotly-tipped movers and shakers compiled by financial magazine Forbes.

Chortle, 19th March 2020
Motherland. Meg (Tanya Moodie)

Tanya Moodie interview

As she wins a TV breakthrough award for playing alpha mum Meg in the BBC comedy, the actor talks about faith, focus and her passion for the stage.

Ellen E. Jones, The Guardian, 19th March 2020
Feel Good. Mae (Mae Martin). Copyright: Objective Productions

TV review: Feel Good, season 1 episode 1

It's rare for the first episode of a sitcom to feel fully formed, often they take a while to find their feet and for the characters to develop in to being realistic individuals, or if not realistic, at least bloody funny. So we should cherish Mae Martin's sitcom debut as it comes out of the gate feeling like it's a world which has existed for a long time, and all of the characters are perfectly realised from the very beginning.

Alex Finch, Comedy To Watch, 19th March 2020
Feel Good. Image shows from L to R: Mae (Mae Martin), George (Charlotte Ritchie), Malcolm (Adrian Lukis), Linda (Lisa Kudrow). Copyright: Objective Productions

Feel Good's the queer friendly romcom we need right now

Romantic comedies are the best, and anyone who says otherwise is deluded and wrong IMO. And at a time like this, I think we could really do with some comedic, slightly mushy relief. Enter: Feel Good, a new Channel 4 comedy series written by and starring stand up comedian Mae Martin.

Paisley Gilmour, Cosmopolitan, 19th March 2020
Friday Night Dinner. Image shows from L to R: Jackie (Tamsin Greig), Adam (Simon Bird), Martin (Paul Ritter), Jonny (Tom Rosenthal)

Interview: Robert Popper

No one is more surprised at the success of the Channel 4 comedy Friday Night Dinner than its creator, Robert Popper.

Stephen Armstrong, The Times, 19th March 2020
This Country. Image shows from L to R: Kerry Mucklowe (Daisy May Cooper), Lee 'Kurtan' Mucklowe (Charlie Cooper). Copyright: BBC

Daisy May Cooper expecting second child

This Country's Daisy May Cooper has shared some happy news with fans by announcing that she's pregnant with her second child.

Amy Johnson, Yahoo, 19th March 2020

Review: Feel Good has Fleabag vibes

Mae Martin writes and stars alongside Lisa Kudrow in a clever six-episode show about chasing straight girls and chasing highs.

Jude Dry, IndieWire, 19th March 2020

Videos

TV & radio

Class Dismissed. Copyright: BBC

Class Dismissed

Series 5, Episode 4 - The Dramatic Announcement

Mr Christopher makes a dramatic announcement but is fuming when no-one seems bothered.

Radio 4
2:15pm
45 min
Pam Ferris

Moving The Goalposts

Mattie is finding words more and more difficult to find. She is bloody-minded, startling truthful but has a wicked sense of humour too.

Meet The Richardsons. Image shows from L to R: Jon (Jon Richardson), Lucy (Lucy Beaumont), Jonathan Ross

Meet The Richardsons

Series 1, Episode 4

The Richardsons finally get to attend the showbiz event of the year: the Jonathan Ross Halloween party. Lucy's excited, especially when she meets Jason Donovan at the party, but she's not as excited as Jon who has an audition to be a voice in a Pixar film - his lifelong dream.

Breeders. Image shows from L to R: Ally (Daisy Haggard), Paul (Martin Freeman), Young Ava (Jayda Eyles), Young Luke (George Wakeman). Copyright: Avalon Television

Breeders

Series 1, Episode 3 - No Accident

Ally attempts to acclimatise to Michael's continued presence while Paul, suspected of intentionally hurting his mum, begins to question if his accident-prone son's frequent injuries might actually be his fault.

BBC Radio 4 Extra
10:30pm
30 min
Newsjack. Copyright: BBC

Newsjack

Series 22, Episode 6

Kiri Pritchard-McLean, with help from Ed Easton, Chiara Goldsmith and George Fouracres, continues to cover the news with material written by the public - albeit with no public in the room as the coronavirus means recording without a studio audience. This week a look at high fashion during the virus, meet the last items on the shelves in the supermarket, and a look at virtual work friends.

Radio 4
11pm
30 min
The Stand Up Sketch Show. Alfie Brown

Alfie Brown's School Of Wrong

Comedian Alfie Brown finds himself deep in conversation with Marie Le Conte on the subject of British politics and politicians and the inner workings of their meeting rooms, bars and secret nooks.

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