Harlots, BBC Two review – sublime, ridiculous, and always entertaining

★★★★ HARLOTS, BBC TWO Samantha Morton and Danny Sapani ground third series of madcap brothel drama

Samantha Morton and Danny Sapani ground third series of madcap brothel drama

Back to Georgian brothels, now – at least, for those of us who don’t have a Hulu subscription. The BBC’s airing of the second series of Harlots over the summer felt strangely timely. Barely an episode in and an angry crowd was hammering at the local judge’s door, demanding justice after the needless death of one of the city’s poorest residents.

Enola Holmes review – a new Sherlock-related franchise is afoot

★★★★ ENOLA HOLMES A new Sherlock-related franchise is afoot

Millie Bobby Brown gives the patriarchy what-for in a charming young adult adventure

Its no secret that Arthur Conan Doyles most famous creation lays claim to more appearances on screen than any other fictional character. Over the past several decades, weve seen Sherlock as a pugilist action-hero, a modern-day sleuth, and in a painfully unfunny slapstick guise.

Blueprint Medea, Finborough Theatre online review – well-meaning but clunky update

★★★ BLUE PRINT MEDEA, FINBOROUGH THEATRE Well-meaning but clunky

Updated Greek tragedy has some good ideas but doesn't fully deliver

Medea is the original crazy ex-girlfriend: the wronged woman who takes perfectly understandable revenge on the man who made her life hell. In Blueprint Medea, a new adaptation premiered at the Finborough Theatre in May 2019 and available on YouTube until 2nd August, writer-director Julia Pascal gives us a 21st-century reworking of Euripides’ tragedy. 

Mrs America, BBC Two review - how a conservative revolutionary scuppered the Equal Rights Amendment

★★★★ MRS AMERICA, BBC TWO Cate Blanchett as the Republican housewife superstar who battled the Seventies feminists

Cate Blanchett as the Republican housewife superstar who battled the Seventies feminists

In the midst of our increasingly confrontational politics of race and gender, it was a timely move to make this series (on BBC Two) about Seventies radical feminism and the battle over the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the USA, even if some of the minutiae are liable to sound abstract or alien to British viewers.

On the Record review - #MeToo turns its lens to the music industry, gives the mic to women of colour

★★★ ON THE RECORD #MeToo turns its lens to the music industry, gives the mic to women of colour

An unflinching look at #MeToo, misogyny in hip hop, and the burdens of black women

On the Record, the latest documentary from Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering (acclaimed directors of The Hunting Ground), dives into the sexual misconduct allegations against music mogul Russell Simmons, the so-called ‘Godf

Album: Nadine Shah – Kitchen Sink

★★★★★ NADINE SHAH - KITCHEN SINK A fresh look at women's woes from one who knows

A fresh look at women's woes from one who knows

Why don’t you have children? Why aren’t you married? Why don’t you own your own home? Why are you a failure? These are the societally enforced questions that, as a 34-year-old woman, Nadine Shah finds inescapable. Much like the rest of us. When talking to friends who also considered themselves “non-achievers”, she realised something was very wrong.

The High Note review - Tracee Ellis Ross shines in so-so music dramedy

★★★ THE HIGH NOTE Tracee Ellis Ross shines in so-so music dramedy

This musical lacks originality but Tracee Ellis Ross and Dakota Johnson save the day

Nisha Ganatra’s musical dramedy, penned by first time screenwriter Flora Greeson, isn’t going to win any prizes for originality and is almost unforgivably corny. But the feel-good vibes and winning combination of Tracee Ellis Ross and Dakota Johnson are still likely to win audiences over.