Our Live 350th episode turned out to be a live 349th episode (because maths) but that didn’t stop it from being a storming night at Kings Place in London. Why? Because on this episode our trio became a quartet and we were joined by the magnificent Russell T Davies, who was anointed as an official Co-Pilot. Much hilarity ensued (just wait till you get to Boyd’s review of Butterfly) as we tackled everything from AI to Masterchef and everything in between. Audience questions were answered, cake was eaten and a good time was had by all.

(Episode 349)

Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!

We have a double whammy of guests this week as Adrian Dunbar joins us to chat Ridley on ITV. Plus Paul Wesley chats to us about returning to the bridge as Kirk in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Meanwhile, Scottish shagfest Outlander gets a spinoff series with highland origin story Blood Of My Blood on MGM+, and Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne return for another round of Platonic on Apple TV+. And, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, we open the Pilot TV agony aunt column.

There’s a returning series bonanza this week as we take our pick from The Gone and The Mayfair Witches, both returning to the Beeb. But that’s okay as we also have two big ticket originals making their TV debut this week, specifically Keeley Hawes and Freddie Highmore comedy thriller The Assassin on Prime Video and Sam Claflin-starring Alexandre Dumas adaptation The Count Of Monte Cristo on U&Drama. Plus there’s much discussion of the correct pronunciation (and actual location) of Guildford.

Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!

Bookish goes Poddish this week as Mark Gatiss joins us on the show to talk about post-war crime solving on U&Alibi (30:01-51:57). Plus we review a trio of time-hopping dramas this week from Aussie/Northern ‘80s drama Mix Tape on BBC2 (1:11:16), epic WWII literary adaptation The Narrow Road To The Deep North on BBC1 (1:26:44), and emancipation and invention adventure Washington Black on Disney+ (1:37:44). And, courtesy of a listener, we delve into the different types of streaming drops from weekly drip-feeds to all-you-can-eat binges.

(Episode 346)

Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!

Too Much is very much the phrase of the week on this episode as not only do we have four guests — specifically Karen Pirie’s Lauren Lyle and Emer Kenny (50:50-1:04:40) and The Walking Dead: Dead City’s Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Scott Gimple (22:53-32:36)— but we also review four shows — specifically Too Much on Netflix (1:04:40), The Institute on MGM+ (1:30:28), Bookish on U&Alibi (1:22:06) and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount+ (1:40:35). So if you had plans today, you might want to reschedule. Oh and we (somehow) find the time for a trip down memory lane discussing iconic TV ads as well. Strap in!

(Episode 345)

Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!

It’s the episode you’ve all been waiting for… James talking about Foundation for a truly heroic amount of time as not only does the team review (1:00:25) the show’s third season (for which James provides Kay with a ‘helpful’ primer on the series) but he also gets to sit down with Jared Harris and chat psychohistory and four-dimensional objects to his heart’s content (31:46-46:22). Elsewhere, we get back into the Boschiverse with Ballard on Prime (1:19:16), and see if throwback ‘90s sitcoms still hold up with Shifting Gears on Disney+ (1:28:22).

Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!

Kay is still on her terribly important work assignment to Rimini this week, so beams into the studio on the airwaves as she, James and Boyd discuss everything from Boyd’s new foray into the world of video influencers to Kay’s poolside celebrity encounters. We’re also joined on the show by Such Brave Girls creator/star Kat Sadler (31:25-50:35), as we tackle that show’s second season (1:20:18), plus in a bumper review episode, we dive back into Squid Game on Netflix (1:14:26), The Bear on Disney+ (1:00:44) and Aussie crime thriller Scrublands on BBC2 (1:28:56).

(Episode 343)

Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!

Christina Hendricks couldn’t stay away and is back on the podcast this week, talking this time about the return of The Buccaneers to Apple TV+ (28:59-50:14). And speaking of Apple, the new show from Dennis Lehane, Smoke, goes under the Pilot TV microscope this week as we follow Taron Egerton and Jurnee Smollett in tracking down a serial arsonist (1:19:07). Plus we join Jordan Gray and Nick Frost in ITV’s supermarket comedy Transaction (59:54), and go undercover with Jensen Ackles in Countdown on Prime (1:11:03).

(Episode 342)

Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!

We bounce from balls to benefits this week as we hang out with a lot of very rich people in YA adaptation We Were Liars on Prime (1:00:45), and Mitford sisters miniseries Outrageous on U&Drama (48:19), then explore the life of a woman taking a creative approach to government welfare cutbacks in Rosie Jones’ comedy Pushers on Channel 4 (38:41). Plus Kay makes her triumphant return and uses the opportunity to quiz us on our (TV-themed) summer holiday plans. All that and James manages to coin an upsetting new phrase for overtly YA TV dramas.

(Episode 341)

Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!

Kay is still on holiday this week, but that’s okay because standing in for her is true crime maven Steph Seelan, plus Cynthia Nixon — although she’s less a Kay stand-in and more a guest, here to talk about the new season of And Just Like That (1:02:13-1:16:13). On this week’s show we have a trio of half hour wonders, specifically Channel 4’s Beth (1:33:57), ITV’s The Consultant (1:25:25), and BBC1’s St Denis Medical (1:42:43). What’s more, we take the opportunity not only to get the latest true crime recommendations from Steph, but to grill her on the genre’s appeal as a whole and try to discover why James wasn’t invited to her wedding.

(Episode 340)

Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!