TELEVISION
TASKMASTER: SERIES 8 (DAVE)
What is it? A summer-season standby:
comedians put through bizarre mental
and physical challenges by Greg Davies
and Alex Horne.
Why should I watch it? Over eight
seasons, this cult favourite has carved
out a niche as the closest British
comedy has to its own Olympics,
offering much the same spectacle and
competitive fervour, but also, crucially,
regular chuckles.
Best competitor? This year’s favourite is
Car Share’s Sian Gibson, but don’t rule
out crafty Chase thinker Paul Sinha.I THINK YOU SHOULD
LEAVE (NETFLIX)
Inspired sketch show
from Andy Samberg’s
Lonely Island troupe; the
“Baby of the Year” skit is
already a classic.
SELECTION DAY
(NETFLIX)
Netflix India’s appealingly
gentle drama rounds off its
first season, with a few
surprises up the sleeves of
its cricket whites.WHEN THEY SEE US
(NETFLIX) This
dramatisation of the
Central Park Five case
shines new light on one of
America’s most notorious
miscarriages of justice.120 • JULY 2019
WHAT TO STREAM THIS MONTH:YEARS AND YEARS (BBC1)
What is it? Ambitious, underseen
social drama from writer Russell T
Davies, centring on the lives of the
thoroughly British Lyons family.
Why should I watch it? Unlike that
sector of TV that has settled
altogether cosily into the past, Davies
here pitches his characters into a
credible near-future in a bold fusion
of soap and science fiction. The
results are both intimate and far-
reaching, exhilarating and terrifying,
and supremely attuned to how
vulnerable we’ve become to the
slightest geopolitical fluctuations.
Best character? The superb
ensemble is headed by
Emma Thompson,
cast scarily against
type as TV
personality-turned-
rabblerousing
politico
Viv Rook.READERSDIGEST.CO.UK/CULTURE/FILM© BBC PICTURES / DAVEby Mike McCahill