TV SHOWS OF THE YEAR
1. FLEABAG (BBC Three for BBC1)
The first series of Fleabag was a delight but nothing prepared us for the second, a comedy tourde-force that scorched everything in its path. Writer and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge effortlessly captured the zeitgeist of so many modern relationships, high on sex, low on emotion, and ultimately unsatisfying. When she eventually fell in love, it was with our own Andrew Scott, who instantly became known as Hot Priest, a tag that will follow him for the rest of his life.
With her knowing nods and winks to the audience, WallerBridge made us coconspirators in her life, and when she walked away in the final frame, aware that what she wanted never would be hers, her final look still was a triumphant ‘don’t worry about me – I’ll be fine’. It was staggeringly audacious television, often eye-wateringly rude, but with a massive marshmallow heart. Sublime.
2. THE VIRTUES (Channel 4)
Director and co-writer (with Jack Thorne) Shane Meadows used his own childhood sexual abuse as the starting point for this searing fourpart drama, as Liverpudlian Joseph returned to Ireland to confront the demons haunting him since his childhood in an orphanage. At times bleak but by turns howlingly funny and always utterly human, it was a nimble tightrope act blending heartbreak with redemption of sorts.
As Joseph, Stephen Graham was astonishingly naturalistic – not far behind were our own Niamh Algar, Helen Behan and Mark O’Halloran. I barely could breathe watching the last half hour, an emotionally shattering finale to the drama of the year.
3. YEARS AND YEARS (BBC1)
We first met the Lyons family on New Year’s Eve 2020, when the United States launched a nuclear attack on a fortified island being built by the Chinese, then followed them over the next 15 years as the world sunk deeper and deeper into peril. The scattergun approach to the dominant themes of the era – populism, the migrant crisis, the insidious role of technology in everyday life – often was overwhelming but mostly dazzling. The standout star was family matriarch Muriel, played by 84-year-old Anne Reid. Her monologue about why the world ended up as it did – ‘it’s all our fault’ – was the most galvanising dialogue ever served up by Russell T Davies (Queer As Folk, Dr Who), and cemented his status as one of the greatest writers working in television today.