After the Party (Channel 4) | channel4.com
Rage Against the Regime: Iran (BBC Two) | iPlayer
The Great British Bake Off: The Final (Channel 4) | channel4.com
Smoggie Queens (BBC Three/BBC One) | iPlayer
Anyone out there becoming weary of slow-moving prestige thrillers? Sick of watching the well-coiffed suffering photogenically as they sip vintage plonk at their bespoke kitchen islands? If so, Channel 4’s six-part thriller After the Party, set in Wellington, New Zealand, provides a breath of thrilling fresh air. Created by Robyn Malcolm and Dianne Taylor, it premiered in New Zealand last year; Malcolm, who also stars, has since won the best actress award at French TV festival Séries Mania.
She plays Penny, a plain-speaking teacher first seen schooling her students in the dangers of porn (“Sex is wonderful. Don’t let this shit ruin it for you”). But the story revolves around Penny’s ex-husband and sports coach, Phil (Malcolm’s real-life partner, Scottish actor Peter Mullan), back in town years after she accused him of sexually molesting a drunk teenage boy he insists he was comforting at their house party. Penny feels sure of what she glimpsed through a half-open bedroom door (“You sick fuck!”) but no one else agrees; not her mother (Catherine Wilkin), nor her daughter (Tara Canton), nor even the boy himself (Ian Blackburn).
From there, in two loosely interwoven timelines, the plot hinges on who is to be believed. It’s far from a done deal. The potty-mouthed, volatile Penny is seen behaving erratically, while however coldly furious Phil seems, most people vouch for his good character. The couple’s volcanic rows feel abrasive and real, as does Penny, who keeps flinging off her clothes in her side hustle as a life drawing model, quite possibly a comment on the beauty and dignity of natural female ageing.
I wolfed down the series in one sitting, it’s that riveting. For once it doesn’t feel as if a gorgeous vista – Wellington sits between hills and harbour – is being used as a substitute for plot. The acting throughout is so remarkably naturalistic, you feel as if you’re eavesdropping on real people living real lives. The ending might hit a little too tidily, but that’s a quibble. If you’re in the market for an audacious, uneasy thriller that keeps you guessing, After the Party is one you mustn’t miss.
James Newton’s Rage Against the Regime: Iran (BBC Two) is more than a docuseries – it’s a human rights outrage unfolding before your eyes. In the first episode of two, it establishes the history (the 1979 Iranian revolution that overthrew the monarchy, bringing in stringent laws, especially for women, and installing the Revolutionary Guard Corps), before examining the mass protests – people reacting to a seemingly rigged election in 2009; another major uprising in 2019; and so on – by Iranians desperate for change.
Several of those self-exiled or banished (risking imprisonment or death if they return) give raw, personal accounts of the protests. With some maimed, they talk of being shot at, jailed or of family members killed. A young woman rips up a photo of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei: “The reason for all our miseries.” A man weeps as he talks about being taken to the Kahrizak detention centre, near Tehran, where protesters were tortured, raped and urinated on.
Next week’s concluding episode looks more closely at the erosion of female rights in the country, including women being forced to don hijabs, and the brave stands taken (scarves burned) in defiance of the morality police, which sometimes results in flogging, imprisonment and death. “This is not a game between women and the Islamic republic – it’s war,” says the young woman who ripped up the Khamenei photograph. Others hope the protests will one day lead to change in Iran. Rage Against the Regime is harrowing but essential viewing. The courage on display here is humbling.
On Channel 4, The Great British Bake Off final delivered drama via the medium of baking soda, presided over by judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith and presenters Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond. The finalists (spoiler alert) – meticulous Christiaan, buoyant Georgie and “flavour king” Dylan (the pirate-like dude with the shaved eyebrow who looks as if he should be crowd surfing at Lollapalooza) – did everything they could, but there were testing moments in the pastel-hued tent of doom.
Scones emerged from the oven resembling balled-up socks; plaited bread rolls could have passed for bunions; hanging cake showstoppers drooped like gloomy sponge planets. Ultimately, a worthy winner was crowned but, oh, the humanity. Never underestimate Bake Off. It pretends to be an endearing, homely baking show, but really it’s Reservoir Dogs with pastry brushes.
Live a little dangerously by checking out Smoggie Queens on BBC Three and BBC One. It’s the new out and proud six-part comedy about a gang of queer misfit friends, set in Middlesbrough and created and written by Phil Dunning.
He plays narcissistic Dickie (think a small fry version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show’s Frank-N-Furter), who gets dumped in the opener. His friends are Divine-esque Mam (Mark Benton), sweet Lucinda (Alexandra Mardell), naive Stewart (Elijah Young) and lethargic Sal (Patsy Lowe). Guest stars include Charlotte Riley as Sal’s dreadful girlfriend, and RuPaul’s Drag Race’s Michelle Visage as Dickie’s energy vampire co-worker, who glides through the office like Joan Crawford via Costcutter.
Four episodes (of six) in, Smoggie Queens feels rough and ready, and the comedy tone won’t settle (Alma’s Not Normal? Peter Kay? Hedwig and the Angry Inch?). Featuring everything from Titanic-themed drag brunches to cheerfully assessed dick pics, murder mystery weekend spoofs to blasts of Cheryl Cole’s Fight for This Love, it’s like being horse whipped with a hot-pink feather boa.
At the same time, the show has surrealistic energy and tremendous heart, serving as a homage to the concept of found family. It’s also camp, naughty, lairy, winningly daft (“You should take a good look in the mirror before you criticise other people, Stewart. Your dress is squirty cream!”) and needs to calm down a bit, but there are proper giggles.
Star ratings (out of five)
After the Party ★★★★★
Rage Against the Regime: Iran ★★★★
The Great British Bake Off: The Final ★★★
Smoggie Queens ★★★
What else I’m watching
The Making of Do They Know It’s Christmas?
(BBC Four)
Documentary marking the 40th anniversary of the recording of the Band Aid charity single in aid of famine relief for Ethiopia includes unseen footage of the recording session with 1980s pop stars including the late George Michael. The sheer innocence of the day makes it eerily evocative.
Matlock
(Sky Witness/Now)
Sparky new US legal drama starring the ever-brilliant Kathy Bates. It starts essentially lighthearted, but there’s a twist.
Senna
(Netflix)
New biodrama about Ayrton Senna, the Brazilian F1 driver tragically killed on the track in 1994. Starring Gabriel Leone and impressive visuals, it’s one for Grand Prix buffs.
