What to Watch — 4 March 2017
Sometimes a person can fall in love and not even realise it. You might still be searching for the one and not even realise what’s been in front of you all along.
I’ll be honest, the end of Mad Men hit me pretty hard. It has been two years now and the absence of that show in my life has never been properly filled. But this week I had a moment of self-realisation. Mad Men isn’t coming back, but I’d already met another show.
Friends and family all knew before I did. I wouldn’t stop talking about Catastrophe. I’d bring it up in unrelated conversations. I’d find myself wistfully thinking about it while daydreaming out the window.
I’ve found my special show. And this week it is back for a third series with the commitment of a fourth to follow. If you haven’t yet seen the show, make the effort to see it — a more earthy, emotionally stirring, and completely human comedy I have never seen.
New this week
Catastrophe — Channel 4 (UK)
Season 3
A comedy following an Irish woman and an American man who make a bloody mess as they struggle to fall in love in London.
Clumsy lust, instant pregnancy, and genuine disaster provide the foundation for this flaming hovel of a relationship.
In a mess of events always in danger of slipping out of their grasp, Rob and Sharon must also learn to deal with her largely awful friend; his eccentric Bostonian mother; and attempt to navigate the choppy waters of their ever-more-complicating lives.
Can Sharon, “an extraordinarily good-smelling woman” and Rob, “a sturdy love-maker” steer through the increasingly thorny situations they find themselves in and still find time for an emergency shag in a stairwell?
Stars: Sharon Horgan, Rob Delaney, Mark Bonnar
Taken — NBC (US)
Prequel to the Liam Neeson film franchise. The the origin story of younger, hungrier, former Green Beret Bryan Mills as he deals with a personal tragedy that shakes his world. As he fights to overcome the incident and exact revenge, Mills is pulled into a career as a deadly CIA operative, a job that awakens his very particular, and very dangerous, set of skills.
Stars: Clive Standen, James Landry Hébert, Simu Liu
When We Rise — ABC (US)
‘When We Rise’ chronicles the personal and political struggles, set-backs and triumphs of a diverse family of LGBT men and women who helped pioneer one of the last legs of the U.S. Civil Rights movement from its turbulent infancy in the 20th century to the once unfathomable successes of today. The period piece tells the history of the gay rights movement, starting with the Stonewall Riots in 1969.
Stars: Rachel Griffiths, Mary-Louise Parker, Guy Pearce
Broadchurch — ITV (UK)
Season 3
The eight-episode series focused on the sexual assault of a local woman in the fictional, close-knit coastal town of Broadchurch in Dorset, England. The series continues the focus on the effect of Joe Miller’s trial and Danny Latimer’s murder on the families and community
Stars: David Tennant, Olivia Colman
Chicago Justice — NBC (US)
Just like their brethren in the Chicago P.D., the State’s Attorney’s dedicated team of prosecutors and investigators navigates heated city politics and controversy head-on, while fearlessly pursuing justice. As they take on the city’s high-stakes and often media-frenzied cases, they must balance public opinion, power struggles within the system, and their unwavering passion for the law. And it all starts with a gut-wrenching case when one of Chicago’s finest is shot in the line of duty.
Stars: Philip Winchester, Jon Seda, Joelle Carter
