Sarah Phelps joins us as a special celebrity co-host on this week's show to talk everything from her latest Agatha Christie adaptation, The Pale Horse to the joys of Mrs Brown's Boys, by way of Baby Yoda sex toys and the logistics of stormtrooper wanking. Meanwhile, we get stuck into *four* other new shows this week, including Netflix's latest spooky old house series, and the delightful second series of Rufus Jones' immigrant comedy, Home.

Armando Iannucci is our guest on the podcast this week, telling us about his love of Star Trek, the fundamental flaw in Virgin Atlantic, and why he chose to break with terrestrial affairs and write a show set in a flying dildo (35:44-49:17).

Also this week, Boyd explains the secret behind Larry David’s comedy genius as we review Season 10 of Curb Your Enthusiasm and we take a trip to heaven with Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi in Miracle Workers. Finally, after about 18 months of build-up, James *finally* gets to talk about Star Trek: Picard. Apologies in advance: that bit goes on for a while! 🖖

Beth Webb stands in for Terri this week as we are prevented from talking about Star Trek: Picard thanks to an inconvenient embargo that we in no way attempt to circumvent by nefarious means. Instead, we hop aboard Armando Iannucci’s new sci-fi show, Avenue 5, embrace the comedy charms of Shrill Season 2 and find out what’s been happening on Netflix’s Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina. Plus you can hear all about how Boyd turned up on Skins and Beth’s attempts to justify her aversion to science fiction.

Happy new year! Pilot TV’s first show of 2020 marks the triumphant return of Netflix’s Sex Education, the declaration of a national emergency in Sky’s Cobra, and a supernatural twist on the modern crime drama with the HBO adaptation of Stephen King’s The Outsider. Plus James, Terri and Boyd thrash out the various shows they managed to cram into the Christmas Break, not least of all the Derry Girls edition of Bake Off.

Another year, another raft of exceptional TV shows. If you were wondering what shows you should be watching over the holiday break, curious as to what you missed over the past 12 months or just looking for the single, definitive checklist of everything that should be on your playlist then look no further. James, Terri and Boyd mull over all the best shows of the past 12 months, running down the official Pilot TV Top 20 shows of the year. Plus, make some extra recommendations and take a look at some of the shows that fell through the cracks over the course of the year. Not only that but Brian Cox stops by to talk Logan Roy and all things Succession Season 2. If you only listen to one TV podcast episode this year, make it this one!

In our final regular show of the year we get bloody with Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat’s Sherlockian take on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, get caught up with Season 2 of Netflix’s stalker series You, and are finally allowed to talk about The Witcher. Plus we fill you in on the Gavin & Stacey and Doctor Who Christmas specials.

This week we’re tapping into that Big Dickens Energy with Steven Knight's take on A Christmas Carol, and continuing in the festive spirit with the Christmas special of Idris Elba’s In The Long Run. Plus, we debate the difference between a comedy and a psychological thriller in our review of ITV's Sticks And Stones. Terri's off on holiday this week but Beth Webb bravely attempts to fill her sweary shoes and keep both James and Boyd in line.

Rupert Grint makes his Pilot TV Podcast debut this week, stopping by to talk all things Servant. Plus we *finally* get the chance to review The Expanse and you won't want to miss Terri's assessment of that one. As counter programming to that, we get into a protracted and somewhat heated argument, debating the merits of the new season of Law & Order: SVU. Plus Alibi's Traces gets a look in as well.

On the podcast this week we're heavy on the Norse as Terri and Boyd try (and fail) to make sense of Vikings Season 5, Apple's latest drops in the form of Octavia Spencer's podcast-themed Truth Be Told, and we enjoy a 90-minute one-off TV drama (not a film) in BBC1's Elizabeth Is Missing. Plus James prepares everyone for next week's return of The Expanse in *excruciating* detail (01:00:14 - 01:04:42).

It's all creepy nannies with M. Night Shyamalan's Servant this week, then a Teutonic apocalypse in Sky's 8 Days and finally a road trip across Australia with Tim Minchin and a suerprisingly sweary 16 year-old in Upright. Plus Boyd shows off his newfound swearing powers, Terri teaches us some Northern slang and James finally gets to Banshee Utopia.

(Note: The Servant review takes place between 36:02 and 45:54 and is clearly signposted, just in case you want to watch that without knowing what it's about).