TV Report Card: Mary and George, The Gentlemen, The Regime, Dick Turpin, and The Program

This week we’re obsessing over the excellence of Mary and George, embracing Guy Ritchie’s absurdly funny The Gentlemen, and marvelling at Kate Winslet’s awfulness in The Regime.

So much TV — so little time!

A: Mary & George (Binge)

I’ve always loved Julianne Moore, but she is next-level amazing in this historical drama, playing the overbearing mother of a courtesan-on-the-up in Jacobean England. I’m not the only one enjoying this — a day after release, it was sitting at 100 per cent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Obviously, the presence of the delightful Nicholas Galitzine must have helped — has there ever been a more handsome face on television?

A-: The Gentlemen (Netflix)

My esteemed colleague Wenlei Ma recently called this show “a pointless dud”. Ouch! But I have to say, I’m really enjoying this bonkers series from Guy Ritchie. Sure, there were moments in that first episode when I thought about bowing out, but I stuck around, and five episodes in, I’m fully onboard. Absolutely living for Theo James, Kaya Scodelario and Daniel Ings as Eddie, Susie and Freddy. Feel free to judge me — I’m judging myself.

B+: The Regime (Binge)

This series, which sees Kate Winslet return to TV to play an autocratic dictator, has been getting great reviews. I can see why — Winslet is terrific in the role, and is clearly having heaps of fun playing the audacious Chancellor Elena Vernham. I must admit though, it’s hard to stay invested when the two characters at the centre of this story are so thoroughly detestable. A conundrum — am on the fence.

B: The Completely Made Up Adventures Of Dick Turpin (Apple TV Plus)

I quite enjoyed The Witchfinder, the underrated comedy starring Daisy May Cooper from a few years ago. This series, which has The Mighty Boosh’s Noel Fielding in its central role, feels cut from the same cloth. He plays legendary British highwayman Dick Turpin in this gloriously batty and frequently absurd comedy. Sometimes you just need to watch a load of nonsense — this ticks the box.

B: The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping (Netflix)

Tough love for troubled kids — that’s what Academy at Ivy Ridge, a reform school in the States, was promising the parents whose kids were being forcibly taken there. In reality, something far more troubling was going on behind its locked gates. This intensely personal doco from director Katherine Kubler, who spent 15 months housed at a facility, is truly shocking — I struggled to get through the first episode. Disturbing, but fascinating.