Impeachment: American Crime Story
Director and producer Ryan Murphy has become a dab hand at taking the grittiest news stories of the 1990s and translating them into small screen dramas. First, he tackled the OJ Simpson trial, then the murder of Gianni Versace by spree killer Andrew Cunanan. Now, he’s taken on perhaps the biggest scandal of the decade, the affair between then President of the United States, Bill Clinton, and a 22-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky, in Impeachment: American Crime Story. Yet rather than focusing on the affair itself, the show instead delves into the dynamic of a different relationship, that between Lewinsky and her friend Linda Tripp, the colleague who secretly recorded their conversations and ultimately betrayed her. Starring Beanie Feldstein in the leading role and with Sarah Paulson as Tripp, it’s been produced by Lewinsky herself, promising to tell her version of the tale at last.
A Very British Scandal
Following on from the success of 2019’s A Very English Scandal, which told the story of Liberal Democrat MP Jeremy Thorpe and his affair with Norman Scott, comes this new chapter in the anthology series. Titled A Very British Scandal due to its Scottish heroine, it focuses on the fall from grace of the beautiful and glamorous Duchess of Argyll, whose indiscretions became tabloid fodder in the 1960s, landing her the nickname of ‘the dirty duchess’. The media frenzy began when the Duchess and her husband’s divorce became messy, as he leaked images of his wife in compromising positions with other men. It sees The Crown original cast members Claire Foy and Matt Smith reunited as the warring couple – we can’t wait to see if their chemistry translates to this new project.
Succession
It has been two years since the second season of Succession, the thinly-veiled dramatisation of the machinations of the Murdoch family, hit our screens in August 2019. Fans of the series, which has gained cult-like status, need wait no longer, as its third outing will be shown this autumn. First, though, it will premiere rather dazzlingly at the London Film Festival, in an honour not usually bestowed on TV shows. After the epic cliff-hanger of the finale, we can’t wait to finally see what’s next for the Roy family…
COURTESY OF HBO
Guilt
Another series returning after a two-year hiatus is Guilt, the BBC’s BAFTA-winning Scottish noir, which thrilled viewers back in 2019. Perfected over several years by writer Neil Forsyth, it explores the close and complicated dynamic between brothers, in this instance Max and Jake (played by Mark Bonnar and Jamie Silves). In the first four-part series, they find themselves trying to cover up a hit and run after accidentally killing an elderly man on their way home from a wedding in Edinburgh, while this second season picks up the action after Max has been released from prison. With a double murder taking place in the first episode, it’s sure to be just as nail-biting.
Ridley Road
Set to be our next period drama obsession, Ridley Road is the BBC’s adaptation of Jo Bloom’s debut novel of the same name. The series like the book is set in 1960s London and Manchester, shedding light on a little remembered chapter of British history. It focuses on the 62 Group, an anti-fascist Jewish organisation, created in response to the worrying rise in fascist feelings in England post World War II. Its heroine, Vivien, is a young Jewish hairdresser, who moves to Swinging Sixties London to find a former flame, only to become embroiled in the political landscape of the time.
Emily In Paris
Widely panned by critics yet loved by viewers, Netflix’s saccharine rom-com series Emily in Paris is back for a sophomore offering – music to the ears of anyone waiting to find out what happened after that cliffhanger. For those not in the know (where have you been?) the tongue-in-cheek series follows cheery American social media manager Emily (played by Lily Collins) who is transplanted to Paris by her boss, with the culture clash and language barrier often causing hilarious results.
Dopesick
The opioid crisis in America is very much still taking place, with millions addicted to substances like OxyCotin thanks to being prescribed them by their doctors, and now this new series, Dopesick, is set to focus on the architects of the tragedy. Based on Beth Macy’s non-fiction book, Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America, it stars Michael Keaton as a doctor and Will Poulter as a sales rep for Purdue Pharma.
The North Water
Fans of The Terror, this one is for you. Based on the novel by Ian McGuire, The North Water similarly takes the Arctic in the Victorian age as its setting, yet this time the action takes place on board a whaling ship, rather than a royal navy fleet. It stars Jack O’Connell as Patrick Sumner, a disgraced army surgeon who hopes for redemption on board the vessel as its doctor. Yet what he discovers is a rag-tag group of miscreants, led by murderous psychopath Jack, played with vim by Colin Farrell. As things head south for the expedition (no pun intended) Sumner must battle to survive.
