Boarders; Police Interceptors; Inside the Rage Machine; Small Prophets

“There is something about Boarders that feels very real. Perhaps this is because, despite its meeting-of-worlds premise, the show pulls from life. [Daniel Lawrence] Taylor had the idea for the show after reading an article about Black children who received scholarships to Rugby school – and also incorporated some of his experiences attending Royal Holloway as a Black south Londoner. It’s obvious from watching that the show has a primarily Black writers’ room, capturing mundane details such as asking your friends to call your mum “auntie”, and the frustration of having nowhere to get your hair done in predominantly white areas. Rather than feeling like a wink and a nod to Black audiences, these touches give the show depth. And the teenagers talk in the way young Black Londoners actually talk, which still feels striking for a BBC show in 2026.”
Micha Frazer-Carroll, The Guardian

“Well done to the coppers of Lancashire Constabulary. They’re fighting a losing battle against rampant shoplifting, hindered by weak laws. But they’re tackling the crime wave with gusto, unlike some other forces that appear to have given up in the face of theft on an industrial scale by organised crime gangs. And they’ve come up with the perfect name for their crusade: Operation Vulture. They’ve even got a nifty logo - a cartoon of a ratty-looking carrion bird, legging it with ill-gotten booty under both wings. Police Interceptors: Taking Down The Shoplifting Gangs highlighted the sheer scale of the crisis, which has been driving small retailers out of business for a decade as well as forcing up prices in supermarkets.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail

“Rules is rules and so I must shape with care my response to Inside the Rage Machine, a documentary about how social media is run. The shortest, most honest, most accurate review I could provide would read: “We’re doomed. We’re all doomed,” before advising you to start prepping a bunker now – use your last moments before pulling the plug on the internet to order supplies or buy an isolated homestead in Montana, then gather a go bag and … just go, people. Go.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“Mackenzie Crook’s series hasn’t been perfect but it has been as near as dammit. It has been a gentle piece of surreal genius, soothing medicine for a world on fire, focused on ordinary human beings with humdrum lives and private agonies. I’m glad Kacey (Lauren Patel) showed the presence of mind to ask the prophets, who always answer with the truth, to reveal the six winning lottery numbers. I mean, what else are mystical prophets for?”
Carol Midgley, The Times