Is This The Best TV Show Of The Year?

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They said it might never be done. Rivals, the Jilly Cooper novel has finally been adapted for TV and it is all that could be hoped for. Marina & Richard break down the show and why Cooper is a powerhouse of literature. There is a beef brewing on YouTube as some of the platforms biggest stars, KSI, Logan Paul and DanTDM take aim at one another over… kids snacks? Paparazzi are still hounding celebrities with Sydney Sweeney giving an insight into the lengths some are going to in order to photograph her. After a brief period of moral correction, have we gone back to some of the darker days of celebrity reporting? Recommendations: Richard: The English Teacher (Disney+) Marina: Alma’s Not Normal (iPlayer)

Inside This Episode

The Franchise: Marina attended the London Film Festival where three episodes of The Franchise were premiered, a new TV show for which she is one of the writers. Marina and Richard quote some fun euphemisms employed to avoid giving negative feedback.
YouTube Controversy: The hosts dive into YouTube drama, particularly involving Logan Paul, KSI, and MrBeast, and their new product, Lunchly. They highlight backlash from YouTubers and fans accusing the trio of exploiting their younger audience with low-quality lunch products.
KSI’s Music: KSI’s new song, Thick of It, gets mentioned as being particularly bad. Marina describes it as possibly the “worst song” that even an AI would reject.
YouTuber Culture: A discussion follows on the increasing cynicism in YouTube’s brand monetisation, highlighting how influencers turn followers into consumers.
Prime Drink Backlash: They reference KSI and Logan Paul’s energy drink, Prime, noting its initial scarcity-driven hype, and how it’s now discounted, losing its premium appeal.
Rivals: The episode covers a deep dive into Rivals, a new TV adaptation of Dame Jilly Cooper‘s 1988 novel, airing on Disney+. The adaptation was carefully developed with attention to the original’s tone, and features David Tennant, Aidan Turner and Katherine Parkinson.
Paparazzi and Public Life: The hosts discuss how the paparazzi continue to invade the lives of public figures, comparing today’s culture to the early 2000s, when stars like Britney Spears were ruthlessly hounded.

Media Mentions

Television Shows:

Rivals (Disney+, based on Julie Cooper’s novel)
Pam and Tommy

Books:

Rivals (Jilly Cooper)
The Rutshire Chronicles (Jilly Cooper series)
Riders (Jilly Cooper)
The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous (Jilly Cooper)
The Silence of the Lambs
The Satanic Verses
A Brief History of Time

Music:

Thick of It by KSI

Hot Takes

“KSI has a song out at the moment, which has somehow got caught up in all this, called Thick of It. It’s genuinely the worst song.”
“It’s genuinely like AI would look down on its nose at this. This is like a version of AI that they never even rolled out.”
“The reviews have not been very mixed”
“Prime has been valued between $3 and $8 billion. You know, if they sell it, then there’s nothing. It’s, like, worth nothing. It’s something completely different… Yeah. It’s fizzy water.”
“[Logan Paul’s podcast is so popular that] Trump asked to be interviewed on his podcast in the summer because they think that they’re… a hotline to bro votes.”
“Rivals is a total riot. There are glances in it that I’ve laughed at more than entire episodes of sitcoms.”
“[Jilly Cooper] is OG Cotswolds, not like one of those awful people from London who are in it now.”
“I try not to break the glass on the expression ‘a new low’ too often, but let’s do it for today” [referring to KSI’s song]
“They are sort of robber barons really… because they are the absolute kind of dominant personalities of YouTube, these people.”
“It really does suggest to you that everything has eaten its tail quite long ago” [referring to YouTubers reacting to videos of reactions]
“Look at KSI’s song and name a worse one. Honestly, I’m stunned by it. It’s really genuinely extraordinarily bad.”
“This is the thing: when you say you’re starting a business, what you’re not doing… is you’re not going into the lawyer’s meetings… you’re not running the business. What you are is front people for a business.”