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Joel Golby

Joel Golby is a writer for the Guardian and Vice, and the author of Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant

September 2024

  • Jamali Maddix with Rod of Iron.

    The watcher
    Jamali Maddix: Follow the Leader – this man has made documentary great again!

    The cheeky, charming comic meets paedophile vigilantes, passport bros and a man named King Bullethead – and it will open your eyes like no show has done in years
  • Kevin McCloud presenting Grand Designs.

    The watcher
    Grand Designs: 25 Years & Counting – people enduring hell for a slightly nicer house? It’s TV made in heaven

    Give us another 50 years of this strangely moving, often harebrained show. After watching this celebratory episode, it’s hard not to love Kevin McCloud’s series seven times more than you already do
  • The Perfect Couple. (L to R) Liev Schreiber as Tag Winbury, Nicole Kidman as Greer Winbury in episode 103 of The Perfect Couple. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2024

    The watcher
    The Perfect Couple: Nicole Kidman’s opulent murder mystery is a masterclass in how to make TV

    This adaptation of Elin Hilderbrand’s novel has assembled an astounding cast, shot it gorgeously and perfectly judged its tone. It’s the perfect recipe for brilliant television

August 2024

  • Dame Judi and Jay - The Odd Couple<br>75332 Dame Judi and Jay - The Odd Couple-6

    The watcher
    Dame Judi and Jay: The Odd Couple – the year’s weirdest, most soul-enriching TV show

    Dench and Blades are real-life best friends. As they take each other on a tour of their past, the warmth between them makes for absolutely magical television
  • Lily Collins in Emily in Paris.

    The watcher
    Emily in Paris: this whirlwind of nonsense is basically a story told with dolls by a child

    Yes, it’s terrible. But might it be time to drop the beef with the Lily Collins show – even if it feels like a work scheme for beautiful people who can’t act?
  • Zoe Lister-Jones in Slip.

    The watcher
    Slip: the highly polished comedy that’s like TV’s version of Everything Everywhere All At Once

    This deeply funny series about a woman who leaps into a parallel life every time she orgasms is slick, interesting and full of excellent dialogue. It’s ideal late-night summer viewing

July 2024

  • Joe Swash and Seann Walsh in Battle in the Box.

    The watcher
    Battle in the Box: kids’ birthday parties have better games than Jimmy Carr’s tedious new show

    Two teams of celebrities are locked in a container for 24 hours and compete for points as the comedian host tells the most soulless jokes you’ve ever heard. You’ll yearn for Taskmaster
  • Not just another Game of Thrones thing … Tom Hughes as Titus and Anthony Hopkins as Emperor Vespasian in Those About to Die.

    The watcher
    Those About to Die: this mega-budget Roman epic is as close to actual time travel as it’s possible to get

    Blood, guts, gore and Anthony Hopkins … this swords-and-sandals extravaganza may only be historically accurate-ish, but it’s the best ancient Rome to ever grace our screens
  • The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning.

    The watcher
    The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: a rare TV show that will change your life for the better

    Amy Poehler narrates this soft, soul-cleansing delight – which will make you go for a chic black coffee then throw away nine boxes of rubbish. Blessed relief!

June 2024

  • Paddy &amp; Molly: Show No Mersey.

    The watcher
    Paddy & Molly: Show No Mersey – watching these MMA fighters limp through this show is just painful

    Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett and Molly ‘Meatball’ McCann are best friends and brilliant personalities. So how has this fly-on-the-wall series ended up so deeply awkward?
  • Hugh Bonneville and Karen Gillan in Douglas Is Cancelled.

    The watcher
    Douglas Is Cancelled: Hugh Bonneville’s culture war show is skin-crawling

    This drama about a newsreader caught making misogynistic jokes is full of cartoonish depictions of young people. Steven Moffat’s latest is neither funny nor interesting

    • The watcher
      Outrageous Homes: Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has more fun than anyone else alive

    • It’s eerie, it’s excruciating … Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, please stop talking about football

      Joel Golby

    • The watcher
      Presumed Innocent: Jake Gyllenhaal is at his all-time least charismatic in this sluggish legal thriller

May 2024

  • Composite illustration of all of the author's activities from the week

    ‘Entire evenings of my life have been shaped by the internet’s review culture’: why we’re obsessed with rating systems

    From movies to gyms to holidays, we all love handing out a star rating. Joel Golby explains why – and reviews his life over the past week
  • Hoa Xuande and Robert Downey Jr in The Sympathizer.

    The watcher
    The Sympathizer: Robert Downey Jr totally steals the show in electric spy thriller

    Downey Jr dons bald caps and gnaws cigars to have the most fun imaginable in Park Chan-wook’s inspired espionage show. Believe the hype!

    • The watcher
      The Nevermets: love is weird in this evil version of First Dates

    • The watcher
      Doctor Who: even the haters will find it impossible to resist Ncuti Gatwa

    • The watcher
      Inside No 9: dark, funny and totally riveting – this is the best comedy the UK has ever created

April 2024

  • Arthur Hughes in Shardlake.

    The watcher
    Shardlake: murder mysteries don’t get more fantastically creepy than this

    Set in a spooky Tudor monastery, Arthur Hughes and Sean Bean must solve a fateful crime while all the monks seemingly have secret affairs. It’s fun, knowing TV … I just hope you’ve all done A-level history
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