Writer Janet Mullany is from England, drinks a lot of tea, and likes Jane Austen, reading, and gasping in shock at costumes in historical TV dramas. Her household near Washington DC includes a badly-behaved cat about whom she frequently boasts.
Drama
The excitement at the end of last week's episode, it turns out, wasn't because of a death. Catherine fooled us into expecting a poisoning, but it was an explosion in the kitchen. The cook, who loaded the tampered bread pan into the oven, is injured, and
Drama
At the beginning of this week's episode, The Serpent Queen reveals Rahima has been appointed personal maid to Catherine de Medici, a significant rise in status and salary, new clothes, and more opportunities to learn deadly secrets. It appears the Queen tolerates her company, despite knowing she stole
Movies
Directed by Eva Husson and adapted from Graham Swift’s 2016 novella by writer Alice Birch (Lady Macbeth), Mothering Sunday, with its first-rate cast and stunning cinematography, covers what at first seems some very familiar ground. There are the Downton Abbey-esque upper-class families dealing with their grief
Drama
Starz once again delivers its fearlessly anachronistic brand of history in The Serpent Queen, directed by Stacie Passon (Dickinson) and written by Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road). Was Catherine of Medici a monster or a damaged child? Was she reviled for not conforming to gender norms of the 16th century, a
Drama
Acorn TV's newest offering, Recipes for Love and Murder, is a delight. Episodes 1 and 2 dropped on Monday, Sept. 5, and the remaining eight episodes will air, two per night, every Monday, for the next four weeks. It's the first production from Acorn TV set
PBS
After last week's penultimate episode of COBRA's second season had her quit while Robert was busy firing her, poor Anna has taken to her bed in a cocoon of cashmere and self-care. She's finding consolation in her comfort read, a biography of Dostoyevsky,
PBS
The penultimate episode of COBRA Season 2 begins with the reveal Firestorm is back online and raising fears about the water supply. "Water systems would be a prime target for a cyber attack," says Fraser Walker, director of Crisis Contingency Secretariat, with his usual talent for the obvious.
PBS
Last week's COBRA ended on a cliffhanger: How and why did an irradiated corpse turn up in a truck in the center of London? A meeting between Prime Minister Robert Sutherland and his top team, Home Secretary Joseph Obasi, Foreign Secretary Archie Glover-Morgan, MI5 Director Eleanor James,
Movies
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is a wonderful, feel-good movie, blessed with a strong British and French cast and careful direction by Tony Fabian, who wrote the script with Carroll Cartwright, Keith Thompson, and Olivia Hetreed. It's based on the novel by Paul Gallico. Costume design is
PBS
What fresh new hell can be introduced in this episode of COBRA? So far, Robert Sutherland's Britain has lost a chunk of Kent in an explosion/tsunami; there's been a significant security hack (Ruin Britannia). A Russian oligarch has been assassinated, and there's the
Movies
Netflix's Persuasion is directed by theater director Carrie Cracknell in her first movie venture and written by veteran Ron Bass (My Best Friend's Wedding) and Alice Victoria Winslow (Glaciers). They seem to have concocted it by speed-reading the Flashnotes version, whizzing a copy of Jane
PBS
Episode 2 of COBRA Season 2 opens with the aftermath of the explosion at sea, which has caused immense amounts of damage, extensive flooding, and hundreds of deaths, including that of the local Member of Parliament, with many more missing. The only communication is by mobile phone, straining the system.